About us

Upstart Press is a leading independent press working with New Zealand authors to create high quality non-fiction, commercial fiction and children’s books.

Our non-fiction list spans food and drink, biography, sport and popular culture. We are particularly strong in the children’s picture book category. Our sports books are primarily published under the Mower imprint.

In addition to our strong presence in the domestic market, we have export agents in the UK, North America and Australia. We also sell rights to other publishers, who publish the books we have created under their own imprints.

Upstart Press was started in late 2013 by Kevin Chapman (formerly Managing Director of Hachette NZ and Anne Geddes Publishing), Patricia Dunmore (the founder of Dunmore Press and an internationally published author) and Warren Adler (formerly Editorial Director of Hachette and previously a director of Rugby Press).

In 2022, Upstart Press acquired New Holland New Zealand which then became a new imprint – White Cloud Books. White Cloud Books publishes across the spectrum of non-fiction, with a particular focus on natural history, travel and New Zealand stories.

In addition to publishing, Upstart offers warehousing and distribution services to other NZ publishers from its Penrose distribution facility. We also act as a sales and distribution agent for Lee Lamb Books (New Zealand), Nimbus Books (Canada), and Dingbats Notebooks (Lebanon).