Just when you thought Sex and the City had taken its last gasp, the creator of the iconic characters releases two novels for younger readers. Rebecca Barry Hill talks to the original Carrie Bradshaw, Candace Bushnell.

Britney Spears' life has been turned into a comic book.

The disintegration of American dreams into nightmares is the leitmotiv of this first novel. Its narrative punches you from the first paragraph: "I'm ten years old ... I opened our front door and found my mother hanging from the rafters..."

Buying ebooks may be convenient but it can't compete with the personality and charm of our best bookshops, writes Danielle Wright.

Brimming from the excitement of the royal nuptials, a story about a self-exiled princess proves timely for writer Monica Ali.

Popular historian Niall Ferguson tells Stephen Jewell how television democratises knowledge and why colonialism wasn't all bad.

Emma Neale is a poet, novelist, teacher and anthologist living in Dunedin. Her latest novel, Fosterling, is the sort of book that can only come from multiple roles and experiences.

Family treasures helped create a stunning, unique cookbook with nostalgic appeal.

This author's début is less than the sum of its brilliant parts.

It is a tale of two cities and two sisters. Atka and Hana were parted as girls in war-torn Sarajevo but then reunited as young women.

Americans love their 'special days', each dedicated to some section of society.

A British actress' first novel reveals her comedic talent.

Nervous readers need not fear, Jason Webster's new Spanish detective, Max Camara of Valencia, hates bullfights.

Elizabeth Smither is an acclaimed New Plymouth-based poet, novelist and short story writer. She has recently released The Commonplace Book (AUP, $34.99), a collection of thoughts about writing and the writer's life.

On May 27, 1942, two Czech parachutists ambushed and wounded SS Obergruppenfuhrer Reinhard Heydrich near Prague. Heydrich was not seriously wounded but a ricochet bullet had carried cloth, wire and wool into the wound.