Interviews

Co-Interview: Saradha Koirala and Gareth Ward

Saradha Koirala and Gareth Ward recently wrote sequels to YA books. While it was Gareth’s second time writing a sequel, it was Saradha’s first, so we thought we’d get them to have a talk about how you know your story…

Gavin & Whiti: A Te Wiki o te Reo Māori Kōrero

Gavin Bishop is an acclaimed author and illustrator of many beloved children’s books. Amongst his numerous accolades are the Prime Minister’s Award for Literary Achievement in 2019 and the 2018 Margaret Mahy Book of the Year Award for AOTEAROA. Whiti…

An Interview with Swapna Haddow

Swapna Haddow has serious chops when it comes to comedic writing for children, and this time she’s moved from pigeons and bunnies, to pandas. Bad Panda hits the spot for Pearl DSilva and her two kids, as she prepared to…

Interview with Mandy Hager

Kate McIntyre interviewed Mandy Hager about her new title Protest! Shaping Aotearoa, delving into how she chose her themes, what protests can achieve, and how she is supporting the younger generation. It’s easy to take the rights we have for…

Librarians of Aotearoa: Eliza Jackson

Our librarians of Aotearoa feature is hitting the road! Eliza Jackson is a Mobile Librarian with the Mobile and Access services for Auckland Libraries. As a fluent speaker in te reo Māori, Eliza spends her time bringing the library to…

Book Awards: The Best First Book Finalists

One of our favourite bits of the lead up to the NZCYA Awards each year is getting the finalists in one of the categories to interview one another—and this year is no different. Each of the finalists in the Best…

The Mahy Questionnaire: Leonie Agnew

Award winning writer Leonie Agnew is next up for our Mahy questionnaire. Her latest book The Memory Thief is out this month but it hasn’t stopped her finding the time to answer our questions! Read on, tricksters… 1. Describe yourself…

Book Awards: Young Adult Finalists

There are some cracking YA reads in the NZCYA finalists this year; there’s realness, drama, history, fantasy and just some downright good storytelling. We love hearing about the process, characters and inspiration, so we have asked our finalists some probing…

Across the Ditch: Rebecca Lim

Rebecca Lim is an Australian writer, illustrator and editor and the author of over twenty books, including The Astrologer’s Daughter (A Kirkus Best Book of 2015 and CBCA Notable Book for Older Readers), Afterlight and Wraith. Her work has been…

Co-interview: Joanna Grochowicz & Cristina Sanders

We thought it was high time for the return of our author co-interview—and look at the pair we managed to bring together! Joanna Grochowicz had quickly become a favourite among readers of non-fiction, with her fascinating (and award-winning) dives into…