Writing
$230,000 secret prize for Wellington writer
The first Ashleigh Young knew of the Windham-Campbell prize was the call to say she had won it. Audio
Patricia Langford: writing up a storm
We tend to hear about young up and coming writers being discovered, but Patricia Langford was in her early 70s when she took up creative writing and caught the eye of her tutors. Award-winning poet… Audio
Growing up gaysian in Australia
Australian writer Ben Law has explored the problems of growing up gay and Asian in Queensland in the ‘90s in a new TV show. He talks with Wallace Chapman. Audio
Tala Tusi: The Teller is the Tale
In her lyrical and amusing 2016 Book Council Lecture, poet and academic Dr Selina Tusitala Marsh takes the listener from the book corner of the Avondale Salvation Army shop to Westminster Abbey. Audio
Deborah Challinor's new novel The Cloud Leopard's Daughter
With 15 novels to her name, Hamilton's Deborah Challinor is a prolific and successful historical fiction writer - here and overseas. Her popular series include The Convict Girls, Children of War and… Audio
Disappointment in international test results
New Zealand has scored its lowest ever ranking in an international test of 15 year old's reading, maths and science skills. Audio
The unlikely existence of Angels In America
Tony Kushner’s Tony winner Angels in America is considered a classic of American theatre, a two part epic clashing together themes of religion, politics, and sexuality. Kushner went on to pen the… Audio
Aotearotica: a literary journal of erotic writing
Christchurch school teacher, Laura Borrowdale, admits her father is horrified that she opened a new literary journal. It's called Aotearotica, and features 80 pages of erotic writing and art. Laura… Audio
Masterpieces with David Hall
A philospher and roving book editor; David Hall works for Bridget Williams Books and recently completed a doctorate at Oxford University in political philosophy, specifically on the nature of… Audio
Spine-tingling - the story of the book
After a thousand years as the world's most powerful medium, does the book still reign supreme? Nine to Noon talks to Keith Houston, about the weighty, living artifacts that you can hold, hoard or… Audio, Gallery
Pasifika playwright Victor Rodger
Victor Rodger is sending out a challenge to other Pasifika writers. Where's the PI book that a nui generation will cherish? Audio
Ashleigh Young: essays and exercise
Ashleigh Young is a poet, essayist and editor, and teaches creative science writing at the International Institute of Modern Letters. Her first collection of personal essays is Can You Tolerate This… Audio
Beyonce, a Haka and a Viral Video
Beyonce's response to a spontaneous haka performed backstage during the singer's 2013 New Zealand tour, was an online sensation - not entirely in a good way. Beyonce posted a video of the spontaneous… Video, Audio
From Fargo to Before the Fall - Noah Hawley
Screenwriter and author Noah Hawley is behind the television adaptation of the classic Coen brothers movie, Fargo. He is a much in demand film and television producer and scriptwriter. His latest… Audio
Stella Duffy: in Ngaio Marsh's world
Stella Duffy is a New Zealand writer and theatre-maker based in London. She has just been awarded an OBE for her services to the arts and she is also writing a new Ngaio Marsh novel, based on four… Audio
Steve Braunias announces the winner of his writer's residency
The announcement of the winner of the inaugural Surrey Hotel Steve Braunias Memorial Writers Residency in Association with The Spinoff. The residency received over 50 entries, and a selection panel… Audio
Westside takes in the 1981 Springbok tour
The classic New Zealand TV series Outrageous Fortune has become the gift that keeps on giving. Not only did it run for a record-breaking six series, it's turned into a franchise. We've already seen… Video, Audio
Paula Morris - Academy of NZ Literature
A newly launched academy for New Zealand literature has sparked a war of words between writers who're for and against it. Writer Paula Morris wants to support mid career authors by encouraging… Audio
Michel Faber: grief, creativity and faith
Kim Hill talks to Michel Faber, award-winning author of a range of writing, including the novels Under My Skin and The Book of Strange New Things, who is a guest at the Auckland Writers Festival. Audio
Vivian Gornick: re-reading, love, and living alone
Kim Hill talks to the New York journalist, essayist, critic and author about her memoirs Fierce Attachments (1987) and The Odd Woman & the City (2015). Audio
