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The Reckoning: The Reasons Why

Following on from the Auckland Writers Festival, David Hill answers the perennial question of authors everywhere: why do you write? In Graeme Lay’s first novel, The Mentor, a sultry female follower approaches the author-narrator, and breathes “Tell me: why do…

A Day in the Life: Feana Tu‘akoi

Feana Tuʻakoi has authored many fiction and non-fiction works for children and is the current University of Otago College of Education Creative New Zealand Children’s Writer in Residence. Here she tells us about why she writes what she writes, and…

Quiz: All Things Booktown!

Featherston Booktown Karukatea Festival kicks off next week, hosted in Aotearoa’s one and only Book Town! But what exactly does it mean to be a ‘Book Town’? Where else in the world might you find them? What is the lore…

From the Shop Floor: For the Love of Books

Featherston Booktown Festival is back this month for its ninth year, so we thought it fitting to kick off this month with a profile of a Featherston-based bookstore! For the Love of Books is a melting pot of second-hand books,…

Books have Borders: The Bologna Book Fair

Selling children’s book rights into new territories, languages, and formats is the business of the Bologna Book Fair in Italy. The 61st year of the fair took place last week and attracted over 1,500 exhibitors and a total of 31,735…

From the Shop Floor: Books & Co

Along the Kāpiti Coast, in sunny Ōtaki, is one of our country’s youngest bookshops—Books & Co! Established in 2021, their team tells us what it’s like being the only independent bookshop in the area, their challenges, opportunities, and what books…

Quiz: Pride

The last two months have been significant for Aotearoa’s LGBTQIA+ community, with several major Pride events being celebrated across the country—so this month’s quiz is centred on the people, pukapuka, and events that make up New Zealand’s queer community.  Questions…