Green MP and former refugee Golriz Ghahraman was there last night when the former Manus Island detainee and acclaimed writer arrived in New Zealand. Last night, quietly and without fanfare a small group made up of human rights activists, literary folk, and just two journalists, came together at Auckland Airport to welcome Behrouz Boochani to … Read more
Spinoff Review of Books literary editor Steve Braunias reports from the Christchurch WORD literary festival. Everyone who is anyone in New Zealand literature was at the Christchurch WORD festival this weekend, apart from Eleanor Catton, CK Stead, Fiona Kidman, Witi Ihimaera, Kelly Ana Morey, Max Harris, Jess Berentson-Shaw, Damien Wilkins, Linda Burgess, Vincent O’Sullivan, Emily … Read more
Hollie McNish – author, poet, activist, mother, spoken word artist, winner of the Ted Hughes Award – is coming to New Zealand to speak at Word Christchurch. Author and Spinoff Parents contributor Holly Walker caught up with McNish to discuss motherhood and writing. When I read award-winning British poet Hollie McNish’s ‘poetic memoir’ about motherhood, … Read more
In this powerful extract from her new book, Chessie Henry interviews her father – a Kaikōura doctor who was caught up in the terrible drama of the Christchurch earthquakes. Dad recounted this story to me on February 14, 2017, nearly six years after the Canterbury earthquake which claimed 185 lives. For some reason we were … Read more
Alex Casey interviews Tara Moss, author of Speaking Out, on why women still need to fight to have their voices heard. Tara Moss is an activist, author, journalist and very cool legend. I devoured her latest book Speaking Out from cover to cover, desperately trying to absorb all of her scorching takes on where women’s voices are at … Read more