“The Worm”, Carl Bland and Peter Bland
Published by Little Love
November 2026
Hardback, 92 Pages, RRP $35.00
Full colour throughout
ISBN: 978-1-991436-21-4
For adults aged six and older.
When a giant bird beak breaks through the ceiling and takes his mother away, Little Worm must go on an epic adventure to save her. However, the journey to the surface is riddled with danger and takes the young worm through a dark subterranean world full of empty tunnels and a dilapidated bar. He must dodge the sharp spade of the gardener, outsmart a poisonous spider and battle the ruler of the underworld: the Blind Rat and her henchman, Snail.
The Worm is a story of travelling from the dark into the light, a journey that can take many forms. A physical one, of course. But also, one that leads to a burgeoning sense of our own identity. And of learning to face our fears. The journey of this book is one of enlightenment.
“The writing is smart, funny and kind hearted” “hit that unbridled joy button”
“Exquisitely illustrated, The Worm is a delightfully absurd adventure.”
About the Author
Peter Bland was born in Yorkshire and emigrated to New Zealand in 1954.
Over the last 60 years he has become well known as an award-winning poet and distinguished actor. As well as being one of the founders of Downstage Theatre, he was associated with the Wellington Group of poets, which included James K Baxter and Louis Johnson. Peter has written plays, poems, children’s books and a memoir. He is the recipient of numerous awards for poetry, including the Cholmondeley Award in the United Kingdom and the Prime Minister’s Award for Literary Achievement in New Zealand.
About the Author/Illustrator
Carl Bland is an award-winning playwright and actor. He wrote and created his own theatre shows with Peta Rutter under the name Nightsong Productions. Collaborating with Theatre Stampede, they made Head (2005 winner of the Chapman Tripp Most Original Production award) and 360 – a theatre of recollections for the 2010 New Zealand Festival. 360 won an inaugural Excellence Award and the Hackman Cup at the Auckland Theatre Awards. His play Te Pō premiered at the New Zealand Festival and Auckland Arts Festival in 2016, winning an Excellence Award at the Auckland Theatre Awards. In 2017, he established the theatre company Nightsong with Ben Crowder.
Carl has also been a finalist in the NZ Post Children’s Book Awards in the Picture Book section and a winner of Best Use of Illustration in the Spectrum Book Awards. In 2018, he was the Grimshaw Sargeson Fellow at the University of Auckland.
About Nightsong
Nightsong is an award-winning theatre company from Aotearoa New Zealand, founded by writer, artist and theatre-maker Carl Bland and theatre-maker/director Ben Crowder. For many years, Nightsong has created original theatrical works filled with imagination, humour, heart and a touch of the unexpected. Combining storytelling, visual theatre, music, puppetry and inventive stagecraft, Nightsong creates worlds where the strange and the familiar sit side by side. Recent works include I Want To Be Happy and Mr Red Light.
The Worm began its life as a Nightsong stage production, written by Carl Bland and his father, Peter Bland. Like many Nightsong creations, it grew from a simple idea into something much bigger – a story full of curiosity, wonder and beautifully odd characters.
The premiere season of The Worm was supported by the Local Activation Fund Programme, administered by Tātaki Auckland Unlimited on behalf of the New Zealand Government. Presented at no cost to tamariki and whānau as Auckland emerged from Covid-19 shutdowns, the production brought people together through the joy of live storytelling.
The original stage production featured a celebrated cast including Bronwyn Bradley, David Fane, Andrew Grainger, Albert Latailakepa and Anapela Polata‘ivao, who first brought the characters of The Worm to life. Its distinctive world was shaped by designers and collaborators including Elizabeth Whiting, Andrew Foster, Phil Gregory, Phillippa Campbell and Filament Eleven 11, with original music played live by the Carnivorous Plant Society.
Since its premiere, The Worm has toured throughout Aotearoa, enjoyed return Auckland seasons and continued to delight audiences with its humour, heart and imagination.
Now The Worm begins a new adventure – moving from the stage to the page. Reimagined as an illustrated storybook by Carl and Peter Bland, this tale continues its journey into the hands and imaginations of readers everywhere.
