There's nothing like a little local knowledge - someone who can point a visitor in the direction of the best pub or offer the inside word on where to find the least crowded beach spot and how to get a good price on tickets for the museum or gallery.

Two British actors who have forged successful parallel writing careers will headline the Auckland Writers Festival in May.

Reliving the fraught decision, Robin Rinaldi wrote: "I refuse to go to my grave with no children and only four lovers. If I can’t have one, I must have the other".

Celebrity chef and paleo enthusiast Pete Evans has announced his controversial diet book for babies will be published independently, after publishers dumped the book.

'We are part of something very special': Pete Evans insists new Paleo book will be in stores within two weeks after being delayed over controversial baby recipe

Indian novels tend to be sprawling, colourful and chaotic affairs. Em and the Big Hoom is some of those things but not all.

Author Terry Pratchett has died at the age of 66 after a battle with Alzheimer's.

"A baby may die if this book goes ahead." Chef Pete Evans' baby cookbook is delayed over fears recipes, including a liver and bone broth one "could stunt growth of kids".

Never mind the name, Kazuo Ishiguro is one of the best British writers in the business, and his dazzling latest novel, The Buried Giant, may just be his best yet.

Sometimes, as a reviewer, it pays to wait a few days after finishing a book before beginning the review.

Doggie gumbo, puppy paella, red velvet pupcakes and icy pole bones are a sample of the quirky-named treats in a cookbook created especially for dogs.

Dr. Seuss wrote a little-known adult book about seven medieval sisters who never wore clothes.

If you're a Game of Thrones fan who complains about plot spoilers even though the books have been around for more than 10 years, look away now.

Known as an actor in TV satire The Thick Of It and as a comedy writer for Veep, Will Smith has written a mystery thriller set in the Channel Islands. It’s John le Carre meets Middlemarch, he tells Alice Jones.

S.J. Watson’s ambitious follow-up to his best-seller Before I Go To Sleep delves into the murky world of cybersex, he tells Stephen Jewell.

Bold: How to Go Big, Create Wealth and Impact the World, by Peter H. Diamandis and Steven Kotler

Untangling the dramas of a seemingly normal family makes for an authentic read.

Julia Donaldson’s most famous book, The Gruffalo, has won the hearts of children around the world. During a fleeting visit to Auckland and Wellington, Britain’s best-selling author talks to David Larsen.

Roddy Doyle’s new novel, aimed at people with poor literacy, is inspired by a death in his own family, the Booker winner tells Arifa Akbar.

To begin a novel with a character who is dead from the very first page is a risk.

Celia Lashlie, the Kiwi author whose work on the raising of teenage boys earned her respect around the world, has died this morning after a battle with pancreatic cancer.

Acclaimed social researcher and author Celia Lashlie has cancelled all speaking engagements to stay home with her family in Wellington after being diagnosed with terminal cancer.

Celia Lashlie, the Kiwi author whose work on the raising of teenage boys earned her respect around the world, has terminal cancer.