Aaron Topp
His first book, Single Fin (Random House, 2006), is a coming of age tale about a boy obsessed with surfing, based on a true story. The work won the Young Adult Fiction Honour Award at the 2007 New Zealand Post Book Awards for Children and Young Adults, and was also listed as a 2007 Storylines Notable Young Adult Fiction Book.
Creating Waves: How Surfing Inspires our most Creative New Zealanders (HarperCollins, 2009) is an exploration of the relationship of the role surfing and the sea plays in the creative lives of a selection of leading musicians, painters, sculptors, poets and fellow writers. A reviewer for Boat Books said 'Full of fascinating insights into New Zealand's surfing world, Creating Waves will make you want to pick up the surfboard and head for the beach.'
2015 saw the publication of Topp's Young Adult novel Hucking Cody: A Tale of Betrayal, Jealousy, Brotherly Love and Freeriding (Mary Egan Publishing). The novel tells the story of Cody, a young mountain biker whose unlucky run with girls, his family, and his job starts him on a journey of self-discovery. Hucking Cody received a Storylines Notable Book Award in 2016 and was a finalist for the Young Adult Fiction Award in the 2016 New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults.
Genre:
- Biography
- Children's Fiction
- Feature Articles
- Fiction
- Young Adult
Skills:
- Novelist
- Public Speaking
- Readings
- Readings (adults)
- Workshops (adults)
- Workshops (children/schools)
Branch:
Central Districts
Location:
Waipukurau
Publications:
Single Fin
Single Fin (Random House, 2006), is a coming of age tale about a boy obsessed with surfing, based on a true story. The work won the Young Adult Fiction Honour Award at the 2007 New Zealand Post Book Awards for Children and Young Adults, and was also listed as a 2007 Storylines Notable Young Adult Fiction Book.
Creating Waves
Creating Waves: How Surfing Inspires our most Creative New Zealanders (HarperCollins, 2009) is an exploration of the relationship of the role surfing and the sea plays in the creative lives of a selection of leading musicians, painters, sculptors, poets and fellow writers. A reviewer for Boat Books said 'Full of fascinating insights into New Zealand's surfing world, Creating Waves will make you want to pick up the surfboard and head for the beach.'
Hucking Cody
Hucking Cody (Mary Egan Ltd, 2015) is a Young Adult novel that taps into New Zealand's new obsession with mountain biking. Best selling author, Barbara Else calls it "a fast paced and gritty read." Hucking Cody was listed in The Listeners Top 50 Children's Books of 2015, Winner 2016 NZ Storylines Notable Book Award and Finalist in the 2016 New Zealand Children and Young Adult Book Awards.
Nor'east Swell
Nor'east Swell (One Tree House 2022) is about eighteen-year-old surfer Witi. His father is listed as having abandoned his family and that’s just how Witi sees it. But when he is on his surfboard, feeling the surge of the sea, he somehow feels close to him. He also knows his rock-star father was diagnosed as schizophrenic, and lately Witi has been wondering if it is something he could have inherited. He’s hearing things… and sometimes seeing things, and the pull to hit the surf is getting stronger. Alana, his girlfriend, is sticking close and his new Aussie friend, Jordy, is eager to come along, when they try to locate the source of energy that seems to be driving him. Meantime Cyclone Trudy is getting closer and closer.Top 10 bestseller in NZ - Children's and Teens (reported 19 February 2022).