A writer fills in the gaps in his family's dubious past, writes Nicky Pellegrino.

An exhibition celebrates the work of photographer Frank Hofmann, who fled the Nazis and found sanctuary in Auckland. Adam Gifford reports

Rachel Simon was browsing through a book stall at a conference in Itasca, Illinois, when she found herself drawn to a short book with an arresting title: God Knows His Name: The True Story of John Doe No. 24, by Dave Bakke.

I'm sure the person who coined the phrase "a picture paints a thousand words" thought a thousand words sounded like a lot. But a single picture can paint - or at least inspire - far more words than that.

British writer Hari Kunzru tells Stephen Jewell why he has adopted America as his base and why sci-fi readers are more open to the unusual.

Writer Michael Ondaatje, who won the Booker prize for The English Patient, draws on his own extraordinary life to conjure up evocative tales of displacement. Robert McCrum asks how much reality there is in his fiction.

Call Anita Shreve's books chick lit at your peril, warns Nicky Pellegrino.

Brother, they want me to write you a review but I’m not going to do it. Another book is out. Your collected works.

Barbara Ewing is a UK-based Kiwi actress and writer whose most recent novel is The Circus of Ghosts.

I think everyone could learn a thing or two from New Zealand's Next Top Model.

Louisa Young's enthralling novel begins in the gorgeous, leafy light of upper-class Edwardian England where wealthy, bohemian-ish families plan lives filled with art and beauty, and ends in a darkened world transformed by the violence and pain of World Wa

John Boyne, author of The Boy in Striped Pyjamas, has published a new novel with links to World War I. The Absolutist traces the experiences of a young serviceman through a deft weave of past and present.

Doctor-turned-suspense novelist Tess Gerritsen talks to Craig Sisterson about embracing her heritage and seeing her heroines come alive onscreen.

Books editor Linda Herrick talks to historian Anne Sebba about her new biography of the woman the royal family — and Britain — loved to hate.

In this volume the Griffith writers look inward and backwards to gain some fresh insight into not only their own lives but the lives of us all.

This thoughtful little tome of short stories is perceptive and entertaining.

As Auckland Art Gallery reopens its doors today, Linda Herrick walks through its marvellous collection of New Zealand art.

Shandelle Battersby's week of TV, movies, music and more.

Hundreds of people across France are participating in 'Post-it wars' where workers create pixelated images in their office windows using only Post-it notes.

A terrible thing happened, that day, up at Blackwoods' place, in The Secret River, the first of Grenville's historical novels set in the penal colony of New South Wales.

Every city can lay claim to its fair share of eccentrics. This book is about one of Melbourne's: Edward William Cole.

One of our finest acting and directing talents turns his attention to the classic musical Guys and Dolls. By Dionne Christian

Stephen Jewell talks to New Zealand actress-turned-writer Barbara Ewing about why she’s mesmerised by researching times gone by.

His books sell abroad, but not here. Paul Cleave tells Nicky Pellegrino why.

This book might more accurately have been titled In Love With Dante. It is a wholehearted piece of advocacy for the 14th century writer, of whom Wilson says it "could be argued that he was the greatest of all European poets, of any time or place".

Why are we so enthralled by the pronouncements of the latter-day gurus of self-help, asks Alex Clark.