Lynn Freeman

How does this add up? While more and more independent New Zealand publishers are appearing on the scene, new research indicates a growing portion of our population have stopped reading books. A recent… Audio

A New Zealander who defected to ISIS with his Arab wife is being hunted in the Middle East, in a new political thriller by playwright Stuart Hoar. But in the War on Terror, do the old gentlemanly… Audio

When you're buying art - especially old art - top of your check-list is the artwork's provenance. That thorny subject is the theme of the 4th New Zealand Art Crime Symposium in Wellington. Art crime… Audio

The post Second World War art scene is the canvas for Wellington writer and arts commentator Thomasin Sleigh's new novel, Women in the Field, One and Two. It's set in the London and Wellington of the… Audio

Food's role in crime writing isn't limited to being a deadly weapon in its own right - like Roald Dahl's famous short story Lamb to the slaughter. The subject's explored in a new book Blood on the… Audio

There's a lot to celebrate, as well as frustrations to express and issues to discuss, during this month's Asian arts hui in Wellington. It's the third Asian Aotearoa Arts Hui since it was established… Audio

By day she's the Otago Regional Council's Senior Media Advisor - but outside of work hours Emma Schranz is producing a film a year. The University of Otago's Centre for Science Communication… Audio

The prestigious Ngaio Marsh Awards for crime writing were announced on Saturday night at the Word Festival in Christchurch. And two novels where children are put at risk - in Havelock North and in… Audio

Fashion is about as about as visual a subject as there is - who can forget the gigantic yellow dress worn by Rihanna at the Met Ball a few years ago? That dress, and its designer, inspired New Zealand… Audio

Happiness means such different things to different people - that's what writer Mary McCallum riffs on in her first poetry collection XYZ of Happiness. Mary's tells Lynn Freeman she's happiest when… Audio

Visiting Chinese art-jeweller Bifei Cao started using baby formula in his unconventional pieces after hearing the news about the contaminated milk powder scandals. What he didn't realise until coming… Audio

If you had terminal cancer how would you feel about being replaced by your clone? A new play by Christchurch writer James Van Dyk poses this and a whole host of other difficult questions. In The… Audio

Real life partners and award winning opera singers Madison Nonoa and Filipe Manu are taking to the stage to play star-crossed lovers Romeo and Juliet, before they leave New Zealand for London… Audio

Tony Fomison remains one of the most distinctive New Zealand artists of his generations, almost 30 years after his death. The painter's sister Anna is collecting interviews with people who knew Tony… Audio

Choreographer Neil Iremia and writer Victor Rodger are both reflecting on the male violence they witnessed as children, as they collaborate on a dance work called Crying Men. It tells a… Audio

Next month sees the launch of New Zealand Theatre Month, a project which plans to not only celebrate but elevate live, homegrown theatre. It's the brainchild of our most successful playwright Roger… Audio

Zahra Killeen-Chance wanted the perfect backdrop for her new dance work, Elliptical Fictions, that's part of the next Footnote Dance company national tour. So she approached her father Richard… Audio

Writer Virginia Wolf was shocked by Katherine Mansfield's 'commonness,' while the New Zealander said she felt like a cat among tigers, on their first meeting. Wellington playwright Lorae Parry is… Audio

One year down and another year and a bit to go. A year ago this month strengthening work began on the grand old Hawke's Bay Opera House, after 80 percent of submissions to the Hastings District… Audio