Massive forces bent faults below the Canterbury Plains, jolting a sleeping city awake at 4.35am. The other world - that occupied by animals - got an almighty fright too.

A new poetry prize has been launched to honour Auckland poet Sarah Broom who passed away in April at the age of 41, just before her collection Gleam was published.

A comedy set in North Korea? Now there's an oxymoron for you.

Crime writer Denise Mina tells Doug Johnstone why she sees herself as a political writer

Dionne Christian finds the Storylines Festival is perfect to encourage kids' love of reading and writing.

It's the shoes at the foot of Bishop Brian Tamaki's impressive all-black ensemble that catch the eye as his delegation sweeps up the library stairs at Massey University's North Shore campus.

Why do we collect things and devote so much time, and in some cases money, to surrounding ourselves with common or unusual objects?

Anne Kennedy is an award-winning poet who has also developed a solid reputation writing novels and screenplays.

It seems strange, in the age of information overload, that we should still be swamped by the fear of the unknown.

A celebrated children's author-turned-publisher has left the country, with a trail of unpaid debts and angry authors in her wake.

A random act of kindness brought 92-year-old fire victim Pearl Sanger close to tears after she received a signed novel from writer Lee Child, not yet released in NZ.

Spirituality and government surveillance are hot topics on Whitcoulls' new Top 100 book list.

The halls of government prove to be an enthralling setting for courtroom drama, writes Stephen Jewell.

Every now and then you get to read a novel that elevates you far beyond the bric-a-brac of everyday routine, takes you apart, reassembles you, and leaves you feeling as though you have been on holiday with a genius.

There are no prizes for guessing what this book is about. This House is Haunted is about a haunted house and, if you like spooky ghost stories, John Boyne’s latest novel does the trick.

Female trainees at Merrill Lynch were handed copies of Seducing the Boys Club: Uncensored Tactics From a Woman at the Top and told to follow its advice

Popular New Zealand books will be produced and reprinted in Australia.

It's a book lover's heaven - more than 80,000 books collected throughout the year are on sale at the Variety Monster Book Fair at Alexandra Park.

Kiwi crime fiction is top class, writes Nicky Pellegrino.

Children in early-childhood education, ages 3 to 5, are to be given ID numbers.

Elena Stejko is an actor, tutor and director.

Lexicographer Dianne Bardsley tells David Larsen about her love affair with words.