An essay by Patrick Evans to mark his new novel The Back of His Head, which imagines that “a complete and utter prick” has won the Nobel Prize for Literature. ‘No entry to all vehicles, writer at work’ – the sign in the Jerusalem street the writer known to the West as SY Agnon lived … Read more
Deborah Coddington’s fetching memoir The Good Life on Te Muna Road (Penguin Random House, $40) tells of her adventures and experiences in the Wairarapa. These days, she makes wine with her husband Colin Carruthers QC; back in the day, she threw parties for Sam Hunt, Tim Shadbolt, Dun Mihaka and others at Waiura, the large … Read more
An occasional series in which we feature an insight or proverb from In the Arena (Penguin Random House, $40), the new book by entrepreneur Diane Foreman and her ghost writer Jenni McManus. On staying slim: In the Arena, by Diane Foreman with Jenni McManus is published by Penguin Random House, RRP $40
Two mates, with a prolific track record in poetry, launched new collections at Time Out Bookstore in Mt Eden recently. Peter Bland and Kevin Ireland rank as a pair of our poetry elders, and their writing has much in common with their ability to muse, to harness striking views of land, air and city, to … Read more
Everyday Confession After ages online and hours in front of TV he got up because he supposed he ‘had to do something’. Brian Turner
An occasional series in which we feature an insight or proverb from In the Arena (Penguin Random House, $40), the new book by entrepreneur Diane Foreman and her ghost writer Jenni McManus. In the Arena, by Diane Foreman with Jenni McManus is published by Penguin Random House, RRP $40
Good Lord, look at the time – it’s Booktober!!! October spawns two literary extravaganza monsters. The winner of the 2015 Man Booker Award is announced on October 14, and the shortlist of the US National Book Awards is revealed on October 16. The Spinoff Review of Books will present rolling coverage of the world’s two … Read more
An occasional series in which we feature an insight or proverb from In the Arena (Penguin Random House, $40), the new book by entrepreneur Diane Foreman and her ghost writer Jenni McManus. On slow people: In the Arena, by Diane Foreman with Jenni McManus is published by Penguin Random House, RRP $40
I love Joe Bennett’s columns. King Rich is his first novel and much of it absolutely sings. It’s also the first novel that I’m aware of to emerge from the Christchurch earthquakes. The time that’s elapsed since the first quake in February 2011 has eclipsed that of World War 1 and will soon overtake that of the second World War. … Read more
How many bottles of red wine does it take to get over an armed robbery? I’ll let you know when I’ve finished drinking them. On a September morning six years ago, I was at work in my antique shop on Dominion Road when a well-spoken young man entered the store, lifted the corner of his … Read more
London writer Max Porter – best known in New Zealand as the editor of Eleanor Catton’s The Luminaries – has published his first novel. He writes exclusively for The Spinoff Review of Books. Grief is the Thing with Feathers is the story of a man whose wife dies. He is left to care for their … Read more
An excerpt from the new book of selected writing by Wellington journalist David Cohen. To the best of my knowledge I am the only journalist in New Zealand to have had his own printed words performed by Bono. It happened in front of 40,000 fans at the U2 concert at Wellington’s Athletic Park, on November … Read more
An occasional series in which we feature an insight or proverb from In the Arena(Penguin Random House, $40), the new book by entrepreneur Diane Foreman and her ghost writer Jenni McManus. On body positivity: In the Arena, by Diane Foreman with Jenni McManus is published by Penguin Random House, RRP $40
Feedback From the way his voice went, it was clear that he loved motorbikes. He sounded happy and excited. He was smiling and the volume was good. It made you feel glad that he’s got a job where he can do what he loves which is riding and also fixing motorbikes. At the … Read more
Wellington author Linda Burgess gaily set out to write a book about churches with her husband, former All Black Bob Burgess. Would their marriage survive? ‘Oh how lovely,’ people said. Even people who knew us. ‘How lovely, to do a book together.’ We’ve done it twice now. In 2007 Random House published my book on … Read more
An occasional series in which we feature an insight or proverb from In the Arena (Penguin Random House, $40), the new book by entrepreneur Diane Foreman and her ghost writer Jenni McManus. On maintaining your privacy: In the Arena, by Diane Foreman with Jenni McManus is published by Penguin Random House, RRP $40
Patched author Jarrod Gilbert reports from the Whanganui Literary Festival held on the weekend. Rachael King and I had a drink at Christchurch airport and had another when we arrived at the Whanganui Writers Festival. In 2013, Whiti Ihimaera called it the best regional writers festival around. I drank to that too. Nicky Hager kicked things off … Read more
An essay by author Graeme Lay on how he came to write his best-selling trilogy of novels about Captain James Cook. I grew up beside the Taranaki coast, first in Oakura, where I started school, then Opunake, so the Tasman Sea with its moody beauty and power was always in sight. It enthralled me. Unsurprisingly, … Read more
The death of blockbuster novelist Jackie Collins reminds Steve Braunias of the awkward time he visited her at her home in Beverly Hills. Jackie Collins was one of the worst writers of the 20th century, every sentence a cliché, every book a dull thud, but she sold somewhere around 140 million copies of her godawful … Read more
As the 2015 World Cup opens, we present an extract from Cory Jane and Scotty Stevenson’s Winging It: Random tales from the Right Wing recalling the closing stages of the last World Cup. That bus ride to Eden Park on the evening of the final was unreal. Every street we turned into there were more people. Richard Kahui … Read more
An occasional series in which we feature an insight or proverb from In the Arena (Penguin Random House, $40), the new book by entrepreneur Diane Foreman and her ghost writer Jenni McManus. On what makes an entrepreneur: If I’m having a facial, I’m thinking, “What if I bought this clinic?” In the Arena, by Diane Foreman … Read more
Who are the most powerful figures in New Zealand literature? The most respected, the most admired, the most sucked-up-to? A panel of experts sat down and bitched and argued until they agreed on a ranking to end all rankings. Their methodology was precise. Much of it was based on the level of fear they would … Read more
Alongside David Slack, who always has a cackle on his lips, I appeared as guest speaker at a session on satirical writing at the Auckland Writers and Readers Festival in May, and it’s possible that I came across as bored, hostile, and baffled, but only at the beginning and the end. It was chaired by … Read more
Steve Braunias talks to Wellington writer Anna Smaill on the eve of the announcement of the shortlist for the 2015 Man Booker Award. Her debut novel The Chimes (Sceptre, $30) has been longlisted; will it make the final six? I remember two literary couples coming to the Listener offices when I worked at the magazine … Read more
An occasional series in which we feature an insight or proverb from In the Arena (Penguin random House, $40), the new book by entrepreneur Diane Foreman and her ghost writer Jenni McManus. On dressing for success: Nothing looks better on a woman than a simple white shirt and black pants. In the Arena, by Diane … Read more
Who writes good creative non-fiction in New Zealand? Journalists hammer away at it with their big fat thumbs, but writer John Summers is rather more nuanced in his fascinating and recently published collection of true stories, The Mermaid Boy (Hue & Cry Press, $30). We got up early, packed away our things and began our … Read more
In an occasional feature, Steve Braunias looks at the literary folk who pop up in the news. First up, following recent revelations from Whakapakari camp, Steve recalls John da Silva’s appearance in the 1979 memoir Life on the Mat. Wrestling legend John da Silva – once the most hirsute man alive – featured in the Weekend Herald’s harrowing … Read more
As it Happens In Queen’s Crescent off Malden Road one’s not likely to meet many once famous men and women, or current nearly-notables in with a chance of becoming household names in Britain. ‘There comes a time,’ an old geezer told me, ‘when you realise you’ve gone about as far as you can go.’ And … Read more
