Gecko Press is an independent publisher of children's books based in

Wellington, New Zealand Wellington is Capital of New Zealand, the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the List of cities in New Zealand, third-largest city ...

. The company was founded in 2005 by Julia Marshall, formerly of Appelberg Publishing Agency, winner of the Storylines Margaret Mahy Medal 2021. Marshall was appointed

Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit The New Zealand Order of Merit () is an order of merit in the New Zealand royal honours system. It was established by royal warrant on 30 May 1996 by Elizabeth II, Queen of New Zealand, "for those persons who in any field of endeavour, have r ...

(ONZM) in 2025. Gecko Press publishes English translations of popular books from countries including France, Taiwan, Sweden, Japan, Germany, Poland and the Netherlands. Gecko Press also publish 2–4 original titles each year.

Authors and illustrators

Gecko Press has published and translated a wide range of children's book authors and illustrators. These include: *

Barbro Lindgren Barbro Lindgren (born 18 March 1937) is a Swedish writer of children's books and books for adult readers. For her lasting contribution as a children's writer, Lindgren was a finalist for the biennial, international Hans Christian Andersen Award ...

* Dorothée de Monfreid * Eva Eriksson * Frida Nilsson *

Gavin Bishop Gavin John Bishop (born 1946) is an author and illustrator, from Invercargill, New Zealand. He is known for illustrating books from prominent New Zealand authors, including Joy Cowley and Margaret Mahy. Bishop's first published picture book was ...

* Gitte Spee * Grégoire Solotareff *

Joy Cowley Cassia Joy Cowley (; born 7 August 1936) is a New Zealand author best known for her children's fiction, including the popular series of books Mrs. Wishy-Washy. Writing career Cowley started out writing novels for adults, and her first book, ...

* Juliette MacIver *

Kate De Goldi Kate De Goldi (born 1959) is a New Zealand novelist, children's writer and short story writer. Her early work was published under the pseudonym Kate Flannery. Early life De Goldi was born in Christchurch in 1959. She is of mixed Irish and Italia ...

Margaret Mahy Margaret Mahy (21 March 1936 – 23 July 2012) was a New Zealand author of children's and young adult books. Many of her story plots have strong supernatural elements but her writing concentrates on the themes of human relationships and growi ...

Michal Shalev Michal Shalev () is an Israeli author and illustrator of children's books. She has an MA in children's book illustration from the Cambridge School of Art. She is also a graduate of WIZO Haifa Academy of Design and Education. Select English bi ...

* Rose Lagercrantz *Sarah Davis * Sarah Wilkins *

Stéphanie Blake Stéphanie Blake (born 1968 in Northfield, Minnesota) is an author of children's stories who lives in Paris. She had been published by Random House Random House is an imprint and publishing group of Penguin Random House. Founded in 19 ...

Timo Parvela Timo Parvela (born 19 May 1964 in Jyväskylä) is a Finnish author of juvenile fiction. Parvela matriculated from secondary school in 1983 and graduated from Jyväskylä Teacher Training College in 1988.

* Ulf Nilsson *

Ulf Stark Ulf Gottfrid Stark (12 July 1944 – 13 June 2017) was a Swedish author and screenwriter (he adapted several of his own books for film and wrote the screenplay for the 1999 film '' Tsatsiki, morsan och polisen''). Stark has collaborated with th ...

Books

Gecko Press publishes fiction and non-fiction books for children. Some of its most successful books to date include:

Duck, Death and the Tulip ''Duck, Death and the Tulip'' (German title: ''Ente, Tod und Tulpe'') is a 2007 children's book by German author and illustrator Wolf Erlbruch. The book, which deals with death and the afterlife, has been translated into various languages, incl ...

, which has also been adapted as a stage production and short film, and Poo Bum by

Awards

Since it was established, Gecko Press has been internationally recognised. Prizes include: *2018 – Shortlisted, New Zealand Book Awardsfor Children and Young Adults - ''The Longest Breakfast'' *2017 – Best Publisher winner at the New Zealand Book Industry Awards *2017 – Winner, Best Picture book at the New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults, for ''That's Not A Hippopotamus!'' *2016 – Nominated for

Marsh Award for Children's Literature in Translation The Marsh Award for Children's Literature in Translation was a Literary award, literary prize awarded in the United Kingdom from 1996 until 2017 to the translator of an outstanding work of Children's literature, fiction for young readers translated ...

for ''Detective Gordon: The First Case'' *2013 – Best Children's Publisher of the Year in Oceania at

Bologna Children's Book Fair The Bologna Children's Book Fair or La fiera del libro per ragazzi is the leading professional fair for children's books in the world. Since 1963, it is held yearly for four days in March or April in Bologna, Italy. It is the meeting place for al ...

*2012, 2011 – Finalist, New Zealand Thorpe-Bowker Publisher of the Year *2010 – Runner up, New Zealand Thorpe-Bower Publisher of the Year *2010 –

New Zealand Post Children's Book Awards The New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults are a series of literary awards presented annually to recognise excellence in children's and young adult's literature in New Zealand. The awards were founded in 1982, and have had severa ...

Children's Choice Junior Fiction award for ''Friends: Snake and Lizard'', by Joy Cowley *2010 – Winner Creative Gold Wellington regional business Gold Awards *2009 – Finalist, Wellington regional business Gold Awards *2008 – Winner, New Zealand Thorpe-Bowker Publisher of the Year *2008 – Sunday Star-Times NZ Children's Publisher of the Year *2008 –

Book of the Year for ''Snake and Lizard'' by Joy Cowley

References

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External links

Official Gecko Press website
Children's book publishers Publishing companies established in 2005 Book publishing companies of New Zealand New Zealand companies established in 2005