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Book examines the human form
Known for his evocative and nostalgic portrayal of everyday life, photographer Derek Henderson's third book examines the human form.
Stories just one sentence long earns book prize
An author who pens stories the length of a sentence has scooped this year's Man Booker International Prize.
Twelve Questions: Albert Wendt
I feel privileged and honoured. The recurring fear is: Have I wasted my life writing?
Potter book sells for $200K
A first edition copy of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone that contains author J.K. Rowling's notes and original illustrations fetched 150,000 pounds (NZ$227,415) at auction.
How to nurture a genius
I am sitting at the back of a university physics class while the students cluster in small groups around the whiteboards lining the lecture hall, ready to tackle the day’s equation.
Writers saluted on festival's final day
The final day of the Auckland Writers and Readers Festival was bookended by standing ovations for two of New Zealand's ground-breaking writers of the past 50 years.
Book Review: Levels Of Life
Some natures are drawn to hazard: to explore the familiar from a vertiginously different perspective.
Book Review: Golden Boy
Abigail Tarttelin has written a dramatic and emotionally authentic story. An unusual sexual secret gives this novel raw power, writes Nicky Pellegrino.
My happy place: Graham Beattie, blogger
I am fortunate enough to spend more time in my happy place than anywhere else. My happy place is my office/library. It's on the ground floor of our three-level townhouse in Ponsonby.
Listen to the silence
New Zealand’s Poet Laureate, Ian Wedde, has written two of my all-time favourite poetry collections: The Commonplace Odes and Three Regrets And A Hymn To Beauty.
Book Review: Two Girls In A Boat
Wellingtonian Emma Martin won the Commonwealth Short Story Prize with the title story of this first collection.
Book Review: Americanah
One of the more startling observations in a book filled with acute and startling observations is that Africans only really come to consider they are “black” when they go to the United States.
Writers Festival: Giant books bring the past to life
Rutherfurd, whose new tome is called Paris, had an extra hour added to yesterday's Writers & Readers schedule after selling out tomorrow and recalled having to speak to a row of schoolboys scowling at him.
Writers Festival: Revealed - a name of shame
The city of Auckland was named after "a dud ex-colonial mediocrity who stuffed up on a quite spectacular scale", says British historian William Dalrymple.
Writers Festival: Food for thought
Graham Reid talks to Australian writer Wayne Macauley about food porn and creativity.
A life more ordinary
Tired? Stressed? Unhappy and pressed for time? Well broadcaster Wallace Chapman has some words of advice for you, writes Greg Dixon.
Libraries lend a hand to youth
Far from becoming irrelevant in the digital age, libraries are adapting to become more like youth clubs, finds Danielle Wright.
Binding commitment
Danielle Wright finds a busy kids' book club in Mangere Bridge that's about a lot more than reading and writing.
Book Review: Bangs
Steven Eldred-Grigg is a well-known and respected popular historian and novelist. Bangs is the fourth book in a series of novels that began with the much loved Oracles and Miracles, published in 1987.
Writers Festival: For whom the bell tolls
She’s best-known for her detective novels but British author Kate Atkinson’s latest work is a change of direction, writes Linda Herrick.
Writers Festival: A sanctuary of magic
Carlos Ruiz Zafon tells Stephen Jewell why he likes visiting bookstores and supermarkets.
When robots take over essential tasks
Sherry Turkle shows up begging for a latte. She's left her wallet in her hotel room. She's exhausted, she says, and could do with a coffee.
The Great Gatsby: Different tune for great classic
Dominic Corry went behind the scenes on Baz Luhrmann's extravagant film adaptation of classic novel The Great Gatsby.