Interviews

Across the Ditch: Author and editor Sue Whiting

Australian author Sue Whiting has written numerous books in a variety of genres: fiction and nonfiction, picture books through to YA, including the best-selling The Firefighters, and the award-winning A Swim in the Sea. As well as writing for children,…

Tara Black and Chris Riddell: A Drawing Date

Illustrator and live-drawer Tara Black had a Skype date with Chris Riddell in advance of his appearance in New Zealand for the Auckland Writers’ Festival. They discussed his time as the British children’s laureate, his political cartooning, his inspiration for…

Emerging YA Fiction Writer Graci Goldhart

Today we’re delighted to introduce Graci Goldhart, a Young Adult writer, diplomat, and one of the founders of #LoveAtFirstChapter, Editor Thalia: Kia ora Graci! After reading your website, I don’t know whether to begin with dogs, coffee, diplomacy, Korean folklore…

Margaret Mahy Award-winner, Janice Marriott

Janice Marriott has written fiction and non-fiction for children and adults; she is an editor, audio producer, screenwriter, poet, mentor, manuscript assessor, teacher and gardener. She is also the 2018 recipient of the Margaret Mahy Medal, giving her lecture in…

From the Shop Floor: Dorothy Butler's

We are pleased to present a regular monthly series highlighting the work, expertise and enthusiasm of some of the greatest children’s booksellers of New Zealand. Here’s Auckland’s iconic The Dorothy Butler Children’s Bookshop.  The Dorothy Butler Children’s Bookshop has a…

Author interview: Pauline (Vaeluaga) Smith

NZ-Pasifika writer Pauline (Vaeluaga) Smith has recently published her first book, Dawn Raid, as a part of Scholastic’s ‘My New Zealand Story’ series. Leilani Tamu catches up with Pauline to find out more about her writing journey and the experience…

From the Shop Floor: Children's Room Otago

We are pleased to present a regular monthly series highlighting the work, expertise and enthusiasm of some of the greatest children’s booksellers of New Zealand. Here’s The Children’s Room at the University Book Shop in Dunedin. The Children’s Room came…

Writer Interview: Maria Gill and Glyn Harper

Glyn Harper’s and Maria Gill’s latest books are both part of the final year of publishing in commemoration of the centenary of WWI. Bobby the littlest war hero, for 4- to 8-year-old children, is about a canary in the tunnels…

NZ Festival Interview: Sonny Liew

The Art of Charlie Chan Hock Chye tells a tale encompassing stories strewn over decades of the creation of Singapore. The apathetic yet significant cartoonist, Charlie Chan, has documented the era of agitated independence that the Lion City faced at…

Across the Ditch: Kate and Jol Temple

Terri-Rose Baynton, the New Zealand-based illustrator of much-talked-about new picture book Room On Our Rock, interviews Kate and Jol Temple, the Australian authors of Room On Our Rock… The book has one story that can be read two different ways….