Rotorua Daily Post
  • Rotorua Daily Post home
  • Latest news
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Sport
  • Video
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Residential property listings
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
  • Rural
  • Sport

Locations

  • Tauranga
  • Te Puke
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Tokoroa
  • Taupō & Tūrangi

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales

Weather

  • Rotorua
  • Tauranga
  • Whakatāne
  • Tokoroa
  • Taupō

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Rotorua Daily Post

Rotorua book-lovers invited to meet talented local crime writers

Shauni James
By Shauni James
Rotorua Weekender reporter·Rotorua Daily Post·
26 Apr, 2018 10:18 PM3 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Grant Nicol (left) and Joanne Ruth are on the panel for Murder in the Library. Photo/Ben Fraser

Grant Nicol (left) and Joanne Ruth are on the panel for Murder in the Library. Photo/Ben Fraser

Rotorua booklovers are in for a treat, with crime writing events set to become commonplace in the city.

The Ngaio Marsh Awards, in association with Rotorua Library Te Aka Mauri, is holding Murder in the Library next Saturday, 11am to 12.30pm, in the Discovery Space in the library.

"Crime fiction titles are consistently among the most frequently borrowed items at Rotorua Library," Rotorua Library programmes and partnerships lead Lois Haddon says.

Lois encourages members of the public who are interested in crime fiction or crime writing to take up this opportunity to meet and talk with four crime authors.

Ngaio Marsh Awards 2018 contender Poppy Mann will be joined by past Ngaio Marsh Awards finalist Jen Shieff, Rotorua writer Joanne Ruth, and Rotorua Noir co-founder Grant Nicol.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

They will discuss how to create memorable characters, page-turning storylines, and bring the world of their mystery novels to vibrant life.​

Local writer Helen Macfarlane, writing as Poppy Mann, says she does not consider herself to be a crime writer exclusively, though her novels all contain crime - be it murder or mayhem.

She has been writing stories since she was 10, but only seriously in the last 30 years.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Helen says she was pleasantly surprised to be selected for the Ngaio Marsh Awards 2018 with her novel The Night of the Moonflower.

"I encourage people to attend this event to interact with these authors, and discover their methods and ideas and research methods for writing their books.

"It may inspire other people to write a book themselves. It should be an informative and hopefully fun event."

Joanne started writing books later in life, though she has always had stories in her head, she says.

Discover more

Vibrant mural helps captivate children with local stories

07 Jun 02:45 PM

Award-winning comedian to visit Rotorua

14 Jun 02:54 PM

"It was like watching a movie in my head and writing it down. It was fun."

She says Murder in the Library is a great idea because it helps people get to know local authors.

She encourages people to come along to support local creative people and hopes it will encourage young writers to keep going.

Grant says he is looking forward to meeting local crime fiction fans and fellow writers.

Grant is also the co-founder for Rotorua Noir, which will be the first crime writing festival held in New Zealand.

It will be held on January 26 and 27 2019 at the Shambles Theatre, with a day of creative workshops on January 25.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Rotorua Noir will involve two days of panels, with five overseas writers attending from Australia, Iceland, Finland and the United Kingdom, along with New Zealand writers.

There will also be a short story competition, with the winner getting the chance to read their work on stage at the festival.

Founder and judging convenor of the Ngaio Marsh Awards Craig Sisterson says the Rotorua event was an expansion of their Murder in the Library series that has been running since 2015.

"Readers like to be thrilled, to feel excitement and a sense of vicarious danger, and also to be intrigued or puzzled.

"Crime fiction offers all of that, and allows authors to dig deep into many social issues and other important real-life topics, through the prism of an exciting, page-turning story that holds readers attention and can buffer against preachiness or soap-boxing."

No booking is required for Murder in the Library. For more information on Rotorua Noir go to www.rotoruanoir.com.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Save

    Share this article

Latest from Rotorua Daily Post

Rotorua Daily Post

Pene bags season-best performance at mountain biking World Cup

13 Jul 04:37 AM
Rotorua Daily Post

'Palpable grief': Motorcyclist who killed two people had 11 previous driving convictions

12 Jul 11:00 PM
Rotorua Daily Post

Rotorua Barn house has shrine to Harry Potter under the stairs

12 Jul 07:10 PM

From early mornings to easy living

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Rotorua Daily Post

Pene bags season-best performance at mountain biking World Cup

Pene bags season-best performance at mountain biking World Cup

13 Jul 04:37 AM

A Rotorua downhill rider clocks the fastest speed of the round-six final for an 8th place.

'Palpable grief': Motorcyclist who killed two people had 11 previous driving convictions

'Palpable grief': Motorcyclist who killed two people had 11 previous driving convictions

12 Jul 11:00 PM
Rotorua Barn house has shrine to Harry Potter under the stairs

Rotorua Barn house has shrine to Harry Potter under the stairs

12 Jul 07:10 PM
No more 'hunting hui': Māori educators launch association to curb feelings of isolation

No more 'hunting hui': Māori educators launch association to curb feelings of isolation

12 Jul 06:00 PM
Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • Rotorua Daily Post e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Rotorua Daily Post
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP