Latest from Arts & Literature

Book Review: <i>Smut: Two Unseemly Stories</i>

Two middle-aged ladies are central to Alan Bennett's reflective pair of comedies in Smut.

Book Review: <i>The Silence Beyond</i>

When Michael King died in a road accident in 2004 at the age of 58, New Zealand lost one of its most admired writers and this collection, edited by his novelist daughter Rachael King, reminds us how he earned his reputation.

Book Review: <i>La Rochelle's Road</i>

Tanya Moir's first novel is an example of historical fiction that brings to life a moment in time in a way that is graceful and thoughtful.

Book Review: <i>A Widow's Story - A Memoir</i>

When anyone precious dies, most people attempt to keep their memory alive. This can be done by using their name a lot. Valuing the things they once touched. Or even wore.

Fiction Addiction: Sarah Quigley Q&A

Sarah Quigley - or should I say Dr Sarah Quigley, for she has a doctorate in English literature from Oxford, no less - has long been recognised as one of New Zealand's finest writers.

<i>Peter Bromhead</i>: The International Writer's Block Festival

As guest speaker at the International Writer's Block Festival, I was apprehensive that I might give the anguished attendees too much encouragement.

Book lover: Alexander McCall Smith

We ask the author of more than 60 books what he loves as a bookworm.

Michael Robotham: Money, politics and power

Michael Robotham's wife keeps him grounded, finds Nicky Pellegrino.

Night to honour Hone Tuwhare

Fiction Addiction: 'The Conductor' - Music to my eyes

The compensation for reading a disappointing book is that it makes you better appreciate a satisfying one, writes Bronwyn Sell.

Greer under pressure

Reclusive novelist points the bone at fellow prizewinner

Book Review: <i>Lost In Shangri-La</i>

As with many of his generation, American president Franklin D. Roosevelt had been taken by the idea of "Shangri-La". Writer Mitchell Zuckoff shares this fascination in his new tale about a collision of cultures during the early war era.

Book Review: <i>Hedda Hopper's Hollywood: Celebrity Gossip And American Conservatism</i>

Hedda Hopper was a remarkable woman. Not necessarily likeable, but her influence and reach as Hollywood's premier gossip columnist through the middle of last century is without dispute, as this enlightening book makes clear.

Book lover: Sarah Quigley

Sarah Quigley is a novelist, poet and critic whose latest book, <i>The Conductor</i> (Vintage, $39.99) is on the NZ fiction bestseller list.

Eoin Colfer: Humble glory of the underdog

Eoin Colfer's <i>Artemis Fowl</i> series gained massive success in the shadow of <i>Harry Potter</i>. Expansion into the tricky adult fiction market is the next mission, writes Susie Mesure.