You'll go a long way to find a more complex character than French writer Michel Houellebecq. He has attracted (and courted) controversy throughout his literary career.

Pendulous earrings are the life of the party.

Bill Manhire's new collection of stories includes a powerful essay on growing up with a father who liked a drink.

Food influenced by the culture of America's sunshine state is the attraction of a new eatery.

Dumped on Facebook by a friend? Me too, writes Laura Marcus, and it stings. Here she looks at online friendships and their effect on your self-esteem.

Jane Phare meets the fashionable foodies changing the way we eat.

Patricia Cornwell's best-selling crime novels are based on obsessive detail and gory research. But the author's own back story is one of the most frightening of all.

Canvas editor Michele Crawshaw shares highlights from tomorrow's Canvas magazine.

At 58, Dawn French is busier than ever. She talks to Lydia Jenkin about love the second time around, her body confidence, and the secrets she's spilling in her new one-woman show.

Get into the blue with a pair of jaunty swim shorts.

Customs St eatery pulls surprises out of its hat.

The food was, unfortunately, not as good as the view.

Alex Casey visits the alternate universe of soap opera Days of Our Lives, as it celebrates 50 years on television screens.

Photographer Jane Ussher has captured some of New Zealand's most beautiful church architecture in her new book, Worship. Here are some of those images.

If your last memory of rosé was bunging a candle in an empty bottle of sweet, fizzy Mateus and thinking it really added to the atmosphere of your student flat, then it's high time you stepped up to something more sophisticated. Here's how to do it ...

Feast your eyes on the marina vista while choosing from a traditional menu that offers something for everyone.

Ever wondered what it's really like to be a pastor or a psychic? Or what a bikini waxer really thinks about their job? Here, nine Kiwis with very different careers reveal - anonymously - the secrets of their working day.

Little Bread and Butter's food is top-notch.