Books
Book review: Nina Simone's Gum by Warren Ellis
Sonja de Friez reviews Nina Simone's Gum by Warren Ellis. Audio
Stephen Johnson's Peace Stick
Peace Stick is a novel that started with a chat to a former East German schoolgirl about life behind the Iron Curtain during the Cuban Missile Crisis 60 years ago Author Stephen Johnson shares how he… Audio
Shelly Ferguson: Interior design secrets for a luxury look
Shelley Ferguson is well-known now to most New Zealanders, a former editor of a number of our lifestyle magazines, now a judge on the TV show The Block, and a prominent interior designer. Shelley's… Audio
Book review: Liberation Day by George Saunders
Olly Clifton of Unity Books Auckland reviews Liberation Day by George Saunders, published by Bloomsbury Liberation Day is Saunder's fifth short story collection and first book-length piece of fiction… Audio
Book review: A Heart Full of Headstones by Ian Rankin
Harry Broad reviews A Heart Full of Headstones by Ian Rankin, published by Hachette Audio
Dunedin teen wins short story competition for the second time
A Dunedin teenager has taken out the top spot of the Sargeson secondary schools short story competition - for the second year running. Shima Jack talks to Jesse about her award-winning writing. Audio
The might and reach of Waiau Toa, the Clarence River
In his book The Clarence: People and Places of Waiau Toa, rural journalist Tim Fulton explores more than 200 kilometres of mountains, rivers and valleys bordering Canterbury and Marlborough. Tim tells… Audio, Gallery
Book review: People Person by Joanna Cho
Chris Tse reviews People Person by Joanna Cho, published by Te Herenga Waka University Press Audio
Annie Proulx : How swamps can protect us and the planet
Pulitzer Prize winning American author Annie Proulx talks to Kathryn about her latest book, Fen, Bog and Swamp. The 87 year old writes about the history of wetland destruction and the role it plays in… Audio
Booker Prize 2022: Sri Lankan author Shehan Karunatilaka wins with supernatural satire
Sri Lankan author Shehan Karunatilaka, who studied in New Zealand, has won this year's Booker Prize for his supernatural satire The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida.
Book Critic: Catherine Ross
This week Catherine Ross, who's librarian at Diocesan School for Girls, talks to Jesse about books for young adults. This week's theme is 'Historical Fiction.' Audio
Book review: Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver
Carole Beu of the Women's Bookshop in Ponsonby reviews Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver, published by Faber. Audio
Chris Parker: finding the extraordinary and the hilarious in the ordinary
Lockdown made Auckland comedian Chris Parker an Instagram sensation. He talks to Kim Hill about his recent wedding and new book Here For a Good Time: Organised Thoughts From A Disorganised Mind. Video, Audio
John Evan Harris and The Physician's gun
It reads like a western and it's based on the Maungatapu Murders of 1866, when the notorious Burgess Gang killed five men in a crime that shocked the young colony. In his novel The Physician's Gun… Audio, Gallery
Ruth Bayley's Barefoot inspired by wartime correspondence
Ruth Bayley is a history graduate who's woven what she's read in second world war soldiers' diaries and telegrams into her first novel, Barefoot. It's set between Wellington and the battlefields of… Audio
Catherine Chidgey: life on the farm from a magpie eye’s view
In a remarkable literary feat Catherine Chidgey's seventh novel The Axeman's Carnival is told entirely from the perspective of a magpie on a high country farm. T Audio
Teenager opens her own second-hand bookstore
In the age of shrinking attention spans, one Palmerston North teenager has just opened a second-hand bookstore. After months of preparation, 15-year-old Pari Rao opened Olive Books in time for the… Audio
Book review: Undoctored by Adam Kay
Ralph McAllister reviews Undoctored by Adam Kay, published by Hachette. Audio
Scott Bainbridge on digging into New Zealand's biggest swindle
In 1966 Robert 'Skip' Gardner hopped the Tasman and brought a small group of grifters with him to run a company that was looking distributors to sell its cosmetics through dairies and milk-bars. The… Audio
Book review: The Crown in Vogue by Robin Muir and Josephine
Sonja de Friez reviews The Crown in Vogue by Robin Muir and Josephine Ross, published by Hachette Audio
