How to Loiter In a Turf War
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  • Published: 3 May 2022
  • ISBN: 9780143778585
  • Imprint: Penguin
  • Format: Trade Paperback
  • Pages: 176
  • RRP: $28.00

How to Loiter In a Turf War

A Novel

Formats & editions
Tr. Paperback
3 May 2022
EBook
3 May 2022
Audiobook
3 May 2022
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A genre-bending work of autobiographical fiction from one of Aotearoa’s fiercest and most versatile artists.

Like nothing you’ve read before, How to Loiter in a Turf War is a lucid, genre-bending, cinematic work of fiction from one of Aotearoa’s most versatile artists.

It’s a day in the life of three friends beefing with their own city, Tamaki Makaurau. With gentrification closing in and racial tensions sweltering, the girls must cling to their friendship like a life raft, determined not to let their neighbourhood drift out to sea.

Fast, ferociously brilliant, crack-up funny and unforgettably true.

‘This book paints a picture of the Auckland I grew up in — when waiting for the 025 to town was a gamble, and the answer to the question ‘where are you from?’ was an essay, not a sentence. Like everything she makes, Coco Solid imbues this book with fierce intelligence, laser-sharp specificity and cosmic warmth.’ — Rose Matafeo

‘Sharp, funny and dope as hell, How to Loiter in a Turf War is another Coco Solid work of genius. With her piercing prose and expansive worlds, Coco has long been a life-raft for brown kids swimming against the whirlpools of urban realities, and this work is no different. Painfully perceptive, familiar and hopeful.’ — Lana Lopesi

‘This is one of the most exciting books I’ve ever read. A celebration and a challenge and an impressive work of art and intelligence.’ — Pip Adam
  • Published: 3 May 2022
  • ISBN: 9780143778585
  • Imprint: Penguin
  • Format: Trade Paperback
  • Pages: 176
  • RRP: $28.00
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About the author

Coco Solid

Jessica Hansell (Ngāpuhi/Samoa) is a writer, multimedia artist and musician from Auckland, long known by her rap nickname Coco Solid.
She is the creator of cult Māori cartoon Aroha Bridge with screenwriting credits ranging from comedy Wellington Paranormal to indigenous soap Ahikāroa and is a long-time member of Taika Waititi's Piki Films, producers of her forthcoming science-fiction series Jupiter Park.
As Coco Solid, Parallel Dance Ensemble, Badd Energy and Fanau Spa, she has gained a loyal international music following and now heads artist-led record label and production house Kuini Qontrol, which also makes independent film, audio and animation projects. She is co-director of the Onehunga community space Wheke Fortress.

Hansell was named the Fulbright Creative New Zealand Pacific writer in residence in 2018, studying at the University of Hawai'i, where she started writing How To Loiter In A Turf War while researching gentrification in the Pacific.

The following year Coco was named a national Arts Laureate by The Arts Foundation NZ.

Across all mediums she consistently strives to prioritise Oceanic narratives, wāhine, LGBTQIA+ expression and underground creatives of colour.

Instagram (alofanui): 3600 followers
Twitter (alofanui): 3800 followers
Facebook (cocosolid): 4200 likes

portrait photo of Coco Solid

Praise for How to Loiter In a Turf War

The story has a vital pulse. It is written beautifully, laden with the infinitely quotable, generously peppered with the poetic and the profound among the quotidian. We mosey, we loiter – small moments spent here and there – and yet at the same time, there is a sense of urgency.

Natasha Lampard, The Spinoff

How to Loiter in a Turf War is an exuberant and brave book which combines sheer enjoyment with mordant commentary in perfect proportions. Perhaps best of all … it is populated by characters — minor as well as major — whom readers will hope to be able to meet again in a sequel.

North & South

How to Loiter in a Turf War is both incredibly specific and utterly universal in terms of its portrayal of gentrification, colonisation, racism, identity and the indigenous experience.

Remix

Séance-like, Solid’s prose teems with the remembered smells from beloved takeaway joints, the shadows of closed-down establishments, Land War battles, and with the voices of gossiping gods, poets, scholars, artists, families and shop-owners who have tended the turf before now.

Connie Brown, Metro

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Video
How to Loiter In a Turf War by Coco Solid | Book trailer

A genre-bending work of autobiographical fiction from one of Aotearoa’s fiercest and most versatile artists. Like nothing you’ve read before, How to Loiter in a Turf War is a lucid, genre-bending, cinematic work of fiction from one of Aotearoa’s most versatile artists. It’s a day in the life of three friends beefing with their own city, Tamaki Makaurau. With gentrification closing in and racial tensions sweltering, the girls must cling to their friendship like a life raft, determined not to let their neighbourhood drift out to sea. Fast, ferociously brilliant, crack-up funny and unforgettably true. ‘This book paints a picture of the Auckland I grew up in — when waiting for the 025 to town was a gamble, and the answer to the question ‘where are you from?’ was an essay, not a sentence. Like everything she makes, Coco Solid imbues this book with fierce intelligence, laser-sharp specificity and cosmic warmth.’ — Rose Matafeo

Teachers' notes
How to Loiter in a Turf War