Features

The Badjelly Chronicles: Episode Three

How New Zealand developed an obsession with Spike Milligan’s beloved baddest witch in all the world. In this five-part series, Gemma Gracewood adventures through the many iterations of Spike Milligan’s Badjelly the Witch to find out why New Zealand loves…

The Badjelly Chronicles: Episode Two

How New Zealand developed an obsession with Spike Milligan’s beloved baddest witch in all the world. In this five-part series, Gemma Gracewood adventures through the many iterations of Spike Milligan’s Badjelly the Witch to find out why New Zealand loves…

The Badjelly Chronicles: Episode One

How New Zealand developed an obsession with Spike Milligan’s beloved baddest witch in all the world. In this five-part series, Gemma Gracewood adventures through the many iterations of Spike Milligan’s Badjelly the Witch to find out why New Zealand loves…

The Reckoning: Is it fair to pass on our despair?

We grew up watching the world end – at least on-screen. Our children are growing up watching it happen in real time. How do we prepare them to inherit a world that’s (supposedly) about to end? Today Elizabeth Kirkby-McLeod, an…

Looking for Lost Wonders with Sarah Ell

As a nation, we like to think of ourselves as conservation-minded, but that hasn’t always been the case. Sarah Ell’s new book Lost Wonders highlights a range of the ‘vanished creatures of Aotearoa’, as well as bring our attention to…

The Mahy Questionnaire: David Hill

Your favourite Mahy Questionnaire is back! Our second instalment of the year features author, playwright, poet, columnist, and critic David Hill. Read on for his takes on hauntings, witches and giraffes! 1. Describe yourself in three words Vague, methodical, surprised….

Damien Wilkins: The Books that formed me

Damien Wilkins has written over a dozen books for adults, including novels, short story collections, and poetry, and this month he releases his first novel for young adults, Aspiring (Annual Ink). Aspiring is set in a town in Central Otago…

Storylines Manuscript Award Finalists 2020

The NZ book awards season has really kicked off in earnest today, but alongside the grown-up awards (The Ockhams) generating a lot of talkonline, it’s also the day that both the Storyline Notable Books 2020 and the Storylines manuscript award…

THE SAMPLING: A Trio of Sophies

Eileen Merriman has been a constant fixture in the Aotearoa YA scene since the 2017 release of her debut, Pieces of You. Each of her books has taken an unflinching approach towards teenage lives and their associated challenges and issues.

School Librarians of Aotearoa: Paul Munnerley

Welcome to our first School Librarians of Aotearoa instalment for 2020! Here, we hear from Paul Munnerley, who has the double duty of overseeing the Hurunui College Library and Hawarden Community Library in North Canterbury. Hurunui College Library – also…