Books
Into the forest and out of grief - the healing power of mushrooms
When writer Long Litt Woon's husband, Eiolf died unexpectedly at the age of 54, she was adrift with grief. And so, she signed up for a course on mushrooming, something she and Eiolf had planned to do… Audio
Catherine Robertson on language and stereotypes
Today is the International Day of Women and Girls in Science - which calls on everyone to "smash stereotypes, defy gender biases and defeat discrimination that hold women and girls back from… Audio
Book review - Family Instructions Upon Release
Phil Vine reviews Family Instructions Upon Release by Elizabeth Kirkby-McLeod, published by The Cuba Press. Audio
Book review - American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins
Cindy Kiro reviews American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins, published by Hachette NZ. Audio
H G Parry: novelist on The Unlikely Escape of Uriah Heep
Fantasy writer H.G (Hannah) Parry's novel The Unlikely Escape of Uriah Heep imagines what might happen if well-known literary characters broke free from the books they inhabit and invaded everyday… Audio
Book review - Best of 2019
Melanie O'Loughlin of Unity Books reviews her favourite reads of last year: Will and Testament by Vigdis Hjorth (Bloomsbury, $23), No Friend But the Mountains by Behrouz Boochani (Pan Macmillan, $25)… Audio
Book review - Best of 2019
Jenna Todd of Time Out Bookstore with her favourite books of 2019: Ducks, Newburyport by Lucy Ellman (Text Publishing) and Childhood by Tove Ditlevesen (Penguin). Lucy Ellmann's Ducks, Newburyport is… Audio
The only advice parents will ever need
The only parenting advice parents will ever need goes like this: you don't have to be perfect, you just have to be present. Audio
Pip Adam looks at George Saunders books
George Saunders is the author of nine books, including the novel Lincoln in the Bardo, which won the Man Booker Prize, and the story collections Pastoralia and Tenth of December, which was a finalist… Audio
Book review - Best of 2019
Elisabeth Easther with her top picks from last year: Pathway of the Birds by Andrew Crowe (David Bateman Ltd), The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead (Hachette), and a round-up of Ann Patchett books. Audio
Jewish holocaust survivor's Auschwitz book published
Under a pile of old clothes, in the barracks of the most notorious of all of Hitler's concentration camps, Dr Eddy de Wind hid a notebook with an account of his life as a prisoner in Auschwitz. Audio
Book review - Best of 2019
Sonja de Friez with her best magical realism reads:The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern (Penguin,$38), and Margaret Mahy's The Tricksters and The Changeover (both published by Hachette). Audio
Writer Scarlett Thomas on her new book - Oligarchy
Writer Scarlett Thomas has referenced some of her own miserable memories of being at boarding school in her latest and 10th novel Oligarchy. Audio
Book review - Best of 2019
Jessie Bray Sharpin reviews her top picks of 2019: The Five: The Untold Lives of the Women Killed by Jack the Ripper by Hallie Rubenhold and Gun Love by Jennifer Clement (both published by Penguin). Audio
Call for a creative non-fiction category for book awards
The Spinoff Books Editor, Catherine Woulfe, is calling for a creative non-fiction category in book awards so that literary brilliance in the genre can be recognised. Audio
Book review - Best of 2019
Louise Ward of Wardini Books with her top picks from 2019: Running With Sherman by Christopher McDougall (Allen & Unwin), The History Speech by Mark Sweet (Huia), and The Good Thieves by Katherine… Audio
Kiwi lighthouses inspiring new generation
A trio of richly illustrated books for young history buffs has been a labour of love for photographer and lighthouse enthusiast Grant Sheehan. 'Ivan and the lighthouse', 'Lucy goes to the lighthouse'… Audio
Book review - Best of 2019
Louise O'Brien with her favourite books from 2019: The Absolute Book by Elizabeth Knox (Victoria University Press), To Calais, in Ordinary Time by James Meek (Allen and Unwin) and Big Sky by Kate… Audio
Book review - Best of 2019
Ralph McAllister with his picks for the best books of 2019: Lady in Waiting by Anne Glenconner (Hachette NZ), Find Me by André Aciman (Faber), The Offing by Benjamin Myers (Bloomsbury). Audio
Book Review - Best of 2019
Bronwyn Wylie-Gibb of University Book Shop, Dunedin, with her favourite books from last year: The Man in the Red Coat by Julian Barnes (Jonathan Cape), The Library of Ice: Readings from a Cold Climate… Audio