Former Prime Minister Dame Jacinda Ardern has announced the release of her book, A Different Kind of Power. 

It is slated to hit shelves on June 3. Pre-orders were being accepted. 

Ardern posted the release date on her Instagram account this morning admitting it had taken her a while to put pen to paper but it was finally done. 

Said Ardern: “I’ve tried to put on a page how it feels to lead - all the highs and lows, the parts of the job people don’t often see, and the many lessons I learned along the way.” 

She said she had shared a manuscript and had received feedback the contents were “surprising”. 

“I guess it’s because I’ve written about things that I haven’t shared before,” Ardern said. 

Dame Jacinda Ardern, former Prime Minister of New Zealand. Photo / AFP 

She said the book was especially for those who were “surprised to find yourself in leadership and for anyone who has ever doubted themselves”. 

Ardern said: “I also wanted to share why I believe in empathetic leadership, and that kindness isn’t just something we should teach our kids, there’s a place for it in politics too.” 

A Different Kind of Power comes despite Ardern’s initial reluctance to write a book. 

But the Herald revealed in June 2023, three months after she ended her time as prime minister, that Ardern had signed with Penguin for the New Zealand and Australian book rights, in a deal understood to be worth more than $1 million. 

Ardern has not publically revealed the value of the deal she signed. 

Two weeks after the Herald revealed the deal, Ardern took to Instagram to address her followers. 

She told her followers she had been asked a lot of questions since leaving Parliament, including whether she’d write a book. 

“At first my answer was no. I didn’t want to write a book that hauled over the internal politics of the last five years, and then someone convinced me that I didn’t have to. That maybe it might be worth expanding on some of things I talked about in my valedictory instead – like the idea you can be your own kind of leader and still make a difference. 

It was expected Ardern would receive an advance of between $1m and $1.5m for the rights in Australasia. 

The only other Kiwi previously in that ballpark has been former All Black Sonny Bill Williams, whose New Zealand, Australian and UK autobiography rights were reportedly sold for A$1m ($1.1m) in 2021. 

Raphael Franks is an Auckland-based reporter who covers breaking news. He joined the Herald as a Te Rito cadet in 2022.