Books

Rebecca Macfie, Lloyd Jones and Gaylene Preston discuss dealing creatively with tough stuff through non-fiction, family memoir, and television drama at the 2014 Christchurch Word Writers and Readers… Audio

Wallace Chapman may have a future as a literary romantic hero now that Daphne Clair De Jong has admitted he is "handsome enough". Daphne began writing romances for Mills and Boon in the late 1970s and… Audio

Vancouver-based writer and journalist Charles Montgomery is a critic of what he calls anti-social planning. Charles says that low-density suburbs where people depend on cars create isolation and… Audio

Naomi Baron's the author of 'Words On Screen: The Fate of Reading in a Digital World' (Oxford University Press). The book explores the experience of reading on a screen versus reading a good old paper… Audio

Celebrated Australian writer, best known for her novel, The Secret River. Her new book is a non-fiction homage, One Life: My Mother's Story. Audio

John McIntyre reviews four children's books by David Hill. "See Ya Simon", "Journey to Tangiwai", "Safe Harbour" and "My Brother's War". Audio

The story of two brothers who fought side-by-side at Gallipoli and the Sinai Desert and communicated with each other on the battlefield by dog whistle, with historian Jock Phillips, who has published… Audio

Published by Hodder. Reviewed by Crystal Beavis. Audio

Reviewed by Rae McGregor Audio

Amy Bloom is an American writer and psychotherapist, she is coming to Auckland Writers Festival next month. She is the author of three novels and three collections of short stories. Her latest novel… Audio

In 1977 Louis Vitton, a French fashion house founded in 1854, only had two stores - in Nice and in Paris. A small group of family owned businesses dominated the luxury fashion industry. Fast forward… Audio

Ben Gracewood talks about John Oliver, and Jon Ronson's new book "So You've Been Publicly Shamed" Audio

Book reviewer Wendyl Nissen talks about 'My Struggle' by Norwegian author Karl Ove Knausgard. Audio

'In the Neighbourhood of Fame' by Bridget van der Zijpp, is published by Victoria University Press. Reviewed by Carole Beu. Audio

British author James Wallman with an alternative perspective on consumerism and de-cluttering: memories live longer than things. Cultural forecaster James Wallman's Stuffocation is inspired in part by… Audio

Meg Wolitzer, a leading USA novelist, talks about her extensive career with Kate De Goldi, focusing on a recent highly-awarded novel The Interestings. Audio

Aucklander Hannah Tunnicliffe ditched her day job in human resources to concentrate on writing and food, and writing about food. She started up a blog called Fork and Fiction and has just released her… Audio

Greil Marcus is an American cultural commentator best known for his writing about rock'n'roll. In his most recent book, though, The History of Rock'n'Roll in 10 Songs, he uses 10 tunes as a set-list… Audio

Journalists Luke Harding, Nicky Hager and Richard King discuss freedom of speech in an era of big data, mass surveillance and the unauthorised release of information on a scale never before seen. The… Audio

Published by Hodder. Reviewed by Sonja de Friez. Audio