Novels
Book Critic: Catherine Robertson
Author and bookshop co-owner Catherine Robertson is in to talk about the gap between how fiction is categorised, and the actual experience of reading novels. Audio
Nikki and Kirsty are wild about Harry Styles
Sisters Nikki Perry and Kirsty Roby speak with Lynn Freeman about their joint-novel How to Marry Harry. Audio
Rick Gekoski - Rare books and Darke Matter
Author, Mann Booker prize judge and chair, and rare book dealer Rick Gekoski turned to writing novels at the tender age of 72. Darke Matter is his most recent. Audio
Nguyen Phan Que Mai
Vietnamese writer Nguyen Phan Que Mai has published eleven books of poetry and non fiction in Vietnamese, and now for the first time - a novel in English. Audio
Science fiction helps build mental resilience in young people
Historically, those who read sci-fi and fantasy have been stigmatised as nerds, but research by Professor Esther Jones shows sci-fi and fantasy may help young people cope, especially with the stress… Audio
What can novels tell us about getting away with murder?
Writer Peter Swanson says there are eight examples of the perfect murder in fictional writing. Swanson's latest novel, Rules for Perfect Murder, highlights a series of unsolved murders with one thing… Audio
Lately Book Club: Crime books and the colour green
This week on Lately Book Club Dr Carolyn McKay speaks with Karyn Hay from Sydney about the colour green and its close association with crime books. Audio
Damian Barr: Maggie & Me author on his debut novel
Damian Barr is an award-winning Scottish writer whose 2013 coming of age memoir Maggie & Me (about growing up gay in Thatcher-era Scotland), was The Sunday Times' Memoir of the Year. Audio
2019 Literary Moments: Pip Adam, Rachael King & Claire Mabey
The Booker, The Ockham, Atwood, Knox, The closure of the New Zealand Review of Books, covering up white suprematist posters in Newmarket with Hone Tuwahre's poem 'Rain', and Lloyd Jones' proclaiming… Audio
Sandra Arnold's novel The ash, the well and the bluebell
In her third novel The ash, the well and the bluebell, Canterbury writer Sandra Arnold tells a story that spans three centuries. Audio
Books with Pip Adam
Book critic Pip Adam talks about the books she's recommending to start 2019. She's been thinking about the importance of belief in a novel even if it's fiction. Pip is going to talk about the books… Audio
Fishing for Maui deals with depression, fatigue - and good food
Isa Pearl Ritchie writes about a family in crisis in her novel, Fishing for Maui, drawing on her own experiences as a young person who's struggled with depression, anxiety and chronic fatigue. Audio
Nicky Pellegrino: 10th book of Italian deliciousness
Nicky Pellegrino's 10th book - A Year at Hotel Gondola - is out on March 27. It's a landmark moment a long way from her carpe diem moment involving the late TV broadcaster Angela D'Audney… Audio
All Our Secrets
Jennifer Lane's novel All Our Secrets is set in a small rural community where a religious sect have moved in and divided the locals. Audio
Sci-fi novel Star Sailors - Love! Revolution! Aliens! Hokitika!
It's 2045 and as climate change wreaks havoc around the world, New Zealand becomes a sanctuary for the mega rich, who live in gated communities to keep the poor well away. This is the near future as… Audio
Novelist Elspeth Sandys' Magnificent Obsession
Writer Elspeth Sandys offers us an view of a writer's life in her ninth novel, Obsession. The title refers to both several intense relationships in the book, and also the obsession that goes into… Audio
Alexandra Tidswell's new novel inspired by secrets
From impoverished wife of a good for nothing charmer in Warwickshire, to respectable settler in New Zealand - the story of Martha Grimm is told in a novel by her several times great grandaughter… Audio
Eowyn Ivey - Bright Lights in Alaska
Eowyn Ivey's first novel, The Snow Child, became an international best-seller. She talks to Wallace from her home in Alaska about how her life got bigger when The Snow Child became a finalist for a… Audio
Owen Marshall - Love as a Stranger
Owen Marshall is best known, perhaps, as our premier short-story writer, but his range is astonishing. He's an award-winning novelist, a poet, an anthologist - and one of our most distinguished, and… Audio
James Cook's Lost World
Graeme Lay has written a trilogy of novels charting Captain James Cook's life. There are a lot of gaps to fill in - not about the voyages which were thoroughly documented, but about his personal life… Audio