One of this year’s must-see moments of NZ television aired at 10am on a quiet Sunday morning and almost everybody missed it. It’s not often that New Zealand television presents debate as you’d imagine it: critical, emotional, and at risk of derailing at any moment. The last election debates between party leaders, though pitched as … Read more
‘I could fucking nail you up against the wall,’ says NZ novelist at Northcote appearance in support of candidate Shanan Halbert Novelist and outspoken commentator Alan Duff has unleashed a tirade at a Spinoff camera operator following an event on Wednesday evening at which he was the feature guest in support of Labour’s candidate in … Read more
This week’s Ockham New Zealand national book awards marks the 50th anniversary of book awards in New Zealand. To mark the occasion, we asked 50 experts – authors, publishers, academics, booksellers – to name the very best local books published since 1968. And the winner is Plumb. Maurice Gee’s 1979 novel was almost immediately regarded … Read more
Craig Marriner was a nobody who won the 2002 book of the year award with his first novel Stonedogs, a raw, rough, street-wise tale of bogan life. His second novel sank without trace – and so did Marriner, who disappeared. He returns after a long absence with an evocation of life and literature in his … Read more
Jane Yee, Duncan Greive and Alex Casey gather around a pile of cheesy Lotatoes to talk about the latest happenings in New Zealand television and real life in New Zealand. It’s a huge week on The Real Pod, with the New Zealand pop culture news about as piping hot as the cheesy low-carb Lotatoes that are … Read more
Unladylike shouting from Madeleine Chapman at Alan Duff’s Herald piece on ‘unfeminine’ women, Samoan cleaners and what makes a real Kiwi. Alan Duff went to a bar and heard some women loudly laughing nearby and it made him angry. So he went home and wrote a column about why “unfeminine” women and television presenters aren’t real … Read more