On July 16 2025, Whitireia and WelTec announced that it won’t be continuing its Graduate Diploma in Publishing – the only accredited publishing course in New Zealand – beyond this year. What is Whitireia Publishing? Why is it important? And can it be saved?
What is Whitireia Publishing?
Whitireia Publishing is the only accredited publishing course in Aotearoa and has been running for over 30 years – it is essentially a prerequisite for entering the industry.
During the year-long qualification, tutors teach project management, editing, typesetting, production, publicity and marketing. Every student works on actual publications in partnership with publishers; and class time is supplemented by long-running partnerships with the industry itself – guest speakers and work placements in publishing houses and literary organisations are a central part of the year. Once completed, graduates gain a level-7 Graduate Diploma in Publishing (Applied).
Here’s a potted history: The course was set up in 1993 by Daphne Brasell who was a publisher herself and had worked in the Government Printing Office Publications unit. Brasell saw that the arrival of computers and the internet would change the game and so set up the course to train people in up-to-date production skills and industry knowledge.
The course became a joint venture with Whitireia Community Polytechnic and the inaugural class of Whitireia Publishing ākonga started at the Porirua campus. In 1998 the course shifted to central Wellington and moved around a variety of locations including The Terrace/Lambton Quay (above Parsons Books & Music), the Wellington Working Men’s Club in Cuba Mall and 15 Dixon Street. In 2018 the course moved to Te Auaha at 65 Dixon Street.
Why is it in the news?
On July 16 Whitireia announced it was closing the Te Auaha campus on Dixon Street, and that it will discontinue Whitireia Publishing, among other courses. The news came after the government’s announcement of a shakeup of the country’s polytechnics, with Whitireia and WelTec named as one of the four institutions that will stay within Te Pūkenga as they “work towards viability”. Current publishing students will complete their year (2025) but the course will not be offered in 2026.
Publisher at Penguin NZ, Grace Thomas – herself a graduate of Whitireia Publishing (2016) – says that it is a great course that works: “I’ve never seen a work placement student who couldn’t be put right to work on something, or an intern who wasn’t immediately overqualified for that title. That’s remarkable.”
Thomas said the cut to the programme is “killer” because it’s such a key part of the publishing ecosystem in Aotearoa. “It’s bloody hard publishing anything in New Zealand, it’s a small market, and I’m actually struggling to articulate how much it freaks me out that the Whitireia Publishing list itself might go.”
What is the ‘Whitireia publishing list’?
As part of the course, Whitireia students help produce actual books that are published by indie publishers like Landing Press, the Cuba Press and Āporo Press, which Thomas says “is one of the most exciting new presses I’ve seen in some time”.
In 2023 Whitireia Publishing celebrated 30 years by releasing Everything I Know About Books: An Insider Look at Publishing in Aotearoa, edited by Odessa Owens and Theresa Crewdson (tutors of Whitireia Publishing) – an anthology of 70 essays from industry professionals from all facets of the sector including publishers, writers, editors, book festival makers and critics.
Thomas says that the books Whitireia students make with such independent publishers offers diversity to Aotearoa’s bookshelves. “There will still be diversity and genre and people challenging traditional models without the programme,” she says, “but in my opinion it’ll be so much harder.”
The book Whitireia Publishing produced to celebrate 30 years.
How is Whitireia ‘part of the publishing ecosystem’?
The Spinoff spoke with many publishers who unanimously expressed concern that Whitireia Publishing may cease to operate, citing how essential the course is for learning the trade and providing a direct road into the industry.
The publishing industry in New Zealand is small and doesn’t have the resources to train new staff from scratch. Whitireia Publishing prepares people for the industry so that when they enter it they can hit the ground running. It’s an apprenticeship style model that provides work-ready graduates and has been tried and true for three decades.
Whitireia has had astonishing success with a paid internship programme that started in 2005. These annual internships are awarded to three top graduates to enable them to work in publishing houses for six months. They’re run by the Publishers Association of New Zealand (PANZ) and are funded by Creative New Zealand. Data shows that 72.7% of interns have their employment extended at the close of the internship.
As well as paid internships, there are scholarships available to support study: The Mason Publishing Trust provides an annual scholarship for a student in financial need; Penguin Random House New Zealand awards an annual scholarship to encourage Māori and Pacific enrolments; and Excel Digital also offers one.
Graduates from the course can take the skills they have gained into publishing houses, but also into legal publishing, educational publishing, communications, PR, and any role working with content in the public or private sectors. Thomas says that by the end of her year all of her classmates had jobs lined up: “I boldly challenge any other arts-adjacent programme to compete with that ROI!”
Thomas’s “bold challenge” is supported by the fact that there are Whitireia Publishing graduates, often in senior positions, in every major publishing house in the country:
Allen & Unwin: five staff of fifteen are graduates of Whitireia Publishing
Auckland Art Gallery: Clare McIntosh (managing editor)
Auckland University Press: Lauren Donald (publishing associate)
Bateman Books: Hope Lenzen, Jemma Moreira, Louise Russell and Sarah Hillocks
Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetū: Sarah Pepperle (publications coordinator)
Gecko Press: Rachel Lawson (publisher at large)
Hachette Aotearoa New Zealand: Mel Winder (managing director), Kate Stephenson (senior publisher, Moa Press) and Dom Visini (editor)
HarperCollins: Holly Hunter (commissioning editor), Sarah Yankelowitz (editor)
HUIA: Trinity Thompson-Browne
Massey University Press: three employees (editorial staff)
Otago University Press: Rebecca Newnham (administrator), Mel Stevens (editor), Meg Hamilton (marketing and publicity)
Penguin: Catherine O’Loughlin (publisher, children’s) and Grace Thomas (publisher)
Te Herenga Waka University Press: Kyleigh Hodgson (editor), Jasmine Sargent (editor Māori)
Te Papa Press: two employees (editorial staff), and one current intern
Can Whitireia Publishing be saved?
The Spinoff received a statement from the Publishers Association of New Zealand that says: “PANZ has expressed interest in some form of strategic partnership with Whitireia. We see significant value in maintaining continuity of the course, as the only full-time publishing qualification in New Zealand, its closure would create an unprecedented skills gap at a time when our industry can least afford further disruption. A working group has been formed to explore the viability of course continuation.”