10 December 2008

With Christmas looming and with it thoughts of gift buying, I talk with Bronwyn Wyllie-Gibb of the University Book Shop about books that have stood out during the year, local books and some of the wonderful choices available for Christmas and your reading wish list.


Earlier in the year I interviewed Geoff Walker, and I have had a lot of requests to replay this interview. Geoff Walker is the Publishing Director or Penguin New Zealand and has been involved in the publishing industry for a very long time.
We talk about the publishing industry in New Zealand, trends and recent changes. We also talk about the effect on the digital age on how books are published and the effects on writers.
Geoff also talks about the process of publishing - how they look at the hundreds of manuscripts submitted each year and what you can do to improve the chances of being picked up.

To listen to this show click here.

12 November 2008

Paul Sorrell is a writer, editor and photographer who has edited several publications, including Murihiku - The Southland Story. His latest project was to write the recently released Fleur's Place, the book about the popular Moeraki restaurant and its vibrant owner Fleur Sullivan. We'll talk about Fleur's Place, and the art of bringing together chefs, photographers and personalities in a project to create a book.




Martha Morseth is a writer, poet and playwright who has had a collection of poetry published - Staying inside the Lines, as well as Yeah, a book of stories for teenagers, and Let's Hear it for the Winner, a book of three plays. Her new collection of short stories for teenagers, A cut of unreal, has just been released and is a mix of ghost and science fiction stories.
We'll talk about the fun of writing about cutting edge technology and ghosts, and also about seeing her play The Trials and Tribulations of Emily performed on stage last year by St Hilda's Collegiate School.


To listen to this show click here.

October 8th 2008

Dr Philip Temple is a highly accomplished and versatile writer, whose list of achievements includes over 40 books published, receiving a Prime Minister's Award for Literary Achievement, being made an ONZM for services to literature and has been the recipient of numerous writing fellowships, including the Robert Burns Fellowship.

We will be talking about the recent new editions of two of his books, Beak of the Moon which was a bestselling novel in 1981 and Presenting New Zealand: an Illustrated History. Both of these books contained considerable re-writes in light of new research, and in Presenting New Zealand, new illustrations.

We'll also talk about the 50th anniversary celebrations of the Robert Burns Fellowship, held in Dunedin this week, which Philip has been involved in organising.


Paddy Richardson is also a past Robert Burns Fellow, and has had recently released her second novel, a psychological crime thriller A Year to Learn a Woman. This is a departure from her previous novel and collections of short stories. We talk about the book, and why crime?


To listen to this show click here.

September 10 2008

Tania Roxborogh is a writer, teacher, family gal and all round very busy person. She had a new book, Kids Behaving Bravely: Raising a resilient Child, launched earlier this year. This is a follow up to No it’s not OK: How to stop the cycle of bullying released last September.
We talk about how parents can instil inner resilience in their children, so they can cope with what life throws at them.
Tania also has a children's novel Space Gum to be released later this month.



Joanna Woods is the author of three biographies. In 2005 she was the Research Fellow at the National and Turnbull Libraries where she did much of the research for her recent book Facing the Music: Charles Baeyertz and The Triad. The Triad was a journal devoted to literature, art, science and music that Charles Baeyertz established in Dunedin in 1893. We chat about The Triad, and Charles - an amazing and almost forgotten character from out past.


To listen to this show click here.

August 13 2008

Geoff Walker is the Publishing Director or Penguin New Zealand and has been involved in the publishing industry for a very long time. I caught up with Geoff when he was on a recent trip to Dunedin.
We talk about the publishing industry in New Zealand, trends and recent changes. We also talk about the effect on the digital age on how books are published and the effects on writers.
Geoff also talks about the process of publishing - how they look at the hundreds of manuscripts submitted each year and what you can do to improve the chances of being picked up.


I enlist the help of guest interviewer Tania Roxborogh to talk with me about my new novel The Ringmaster, by Vanda Symon. The Ringmaster is the second novel in the Sam Shephard detective series and is set in Dunedin.

We talk about the novel, and the importance of characters, particularly in crime fiction. Series enable an author to develop characters, so we talk about this and other advantages in writing a series.

To listen to this show click here.

9 July 2008

Alison Ballance is a natural history writer and award winning wild-life documentary film-maker with Natural History New Zealand. Her 'days at the office' have included being in snow and ice trying to film tigers in Far East Russia, sitting inside gers in Mongolia to wading through leech infested waters in Thailand.

She has written many books, including Dancing with Cranes, in 2005, which tells of some of her film-making adventures, and most recently, the beautiful Southern Alps, which has been named as a finalist in the 2008 Montana New Zealand Book Awards. We'll talk about her recent books, and adventures in a challenging industry.



Janet Frame is New Zealand's most distinguished writer. The recent publication of her novel Towards Another Summer, to critical acclaim, was a decision that had to be made by The Janet Frame Literary Trust. I'll be talking with Pamela Gordon, the Chair of the trust about Janet, and about the pleasures and difficulties in managing the literary legacy of such an important writer.

July marks the celebration of Montana Poetry day, so we will also be talking about Janet Frame the poet and her collection The Goose Bath.

To listen to this show click here.

June 11 2008

Penelope Todd has had a busy time of late. She has recently released Digging for Spain. This book is part travel memoir, part autobiography and about journeys, both physical – relating her experiences on a fellowship to Can Serrat in Spain, and personal – in life and writing. We’ll talk about her experiences, and also about her writing of young adult fiction. The third book in her Watermark trilogy, Zillah was a finalist in this year’s New Zealand Post Book Awards.


Emma Neale has also had a productive year, with the release of her collection of poetry Spark, and also of an anthology of New Zealand Poetry she has edited titled Swings + Roundabouts. We’ll chat about her work, and also the challenges faced by an editor in selecting works for an anthology representing so many people’s writing.


To listen to this show click here.

May 14 2008

First I’ll be chatting to Helen Leach about her latest book The Pavlova Story: A slice of New Zealand’s culinary history. Helen is a Professor of Anthropology at the University of Otago who has enjoyed studying the cultural history of food and recipes and how they evolve. Pavlova is dear to all our hearts, and stomachs, and we’ll chat about the fascinating history of this dish.



Lloyd Davis is a zoologist, writer and film maker, and science communicator, dedicated to making science popular and assessable. He has written numerous books on penguins, for adults and children. Looking for Darwin was released last year and he co-wrote the recently released The business of Documentary Filmmaking. We will chat about his books and his new role as the Stuart Chair in Science Communication at the University of Otago.


To listen to this show click here.

April 9 2008

This month I’ll be chatting with first time novelist Louise Moulin about her recently released book Saltskin. Set in late eighteenth century and modern day Riverton, this is a novel tying the present and the past in the pursuit of love. It is a colourful story full of lively characters and mariners fables.





I’ll also talk with our 2008 Robert Burns Fellow, Sue Wootton about what the fellowship means to her, and her recently released second collection of poetry, Magnetic South.


To listen to this show click here

March 12 2008

Bill O’Brien is a very busy writer of fiction and non-fiction for adults and children and is the 2008 Dunedin College of Education Writer in Residence. We’ll chat about his works, including his recently released book Invisible Evidence : Forensics in New Zealand.





Claire Beynon is an Artist and Poet and has recently combined her love of words and images in Open Book: Poetry and Images. Claire has had many fascinating adventures, including a two month stint with a scientific group in Antarctica, and more recently on The Breaksea, in remote Western Fiordland. We’ll talk about the effects of her environment on her images and poems and how the two are intertwined.

February 13 2008

My holiday continues, well, truth be told, I'm doing a Forensic Biology course at the Otago University Summer School, so I'll be replaying a requested show from late last year.


This month I have the pleasure of chatting with first time novelist Maxine Alterio about Ribbons of Grace. We’ll be chatting about the excitement of seeing that first novel in print and what goes on behind the scenes to get it there, and of course about the book itself, what inspired it and it’s fascinating characters.




Tania Roxborogh is a writer, teacher, family gal and all round very busy person. She has a new book, No it’s not OK: How to stop the cycle of bullying released in September. This is a very topical subject and we chat about bullying, and the difficulties facing children and their parents in this modern age of technology.

January 9 2008

Everyone needs a holiday break, including me, so I will be replaying two interesting interviews from earlier in the year.


Sandy McKay has written many books for children of all ages, including titles in the very popular Kiwi Bites books. Her book Recycled won the Junior Fiction category in the 2002 NZ Post Book Awards. Her most recent work Losing It is directed at teens and tackles friendship, family and anorexia. This year Sandy has also had published the biography One Stroppy Jockey: The Christine Lawn Story.





Jill Caldwell is a market researcher and social trends analyst, who, with co-author Christopher Brown wrote the recently released 8 Tribes – The Hidden Classes of New Zealand, which takes a contemporary look at New Zealanders, grouping them into social tribes based on what motivates and is important to them.

December 12 2007

I chat with Judith Cullen about her latest cook book Dinner in a Basket, Judith Cullen cooks from the market. We'll chat about her buy locally, cook seasonally mantra and, of course, about food for the Christmas table.





I caught up with international bestselling crime writer Ian Rankin on his recent trip to New Zealand and got to talk about writing crime fiction, his latest book Exit Music, and life with and without his creation Detective Inspector John Rebus.

November 14th 2007

This month I talk to local writer Philippa Jamieson about her recently released book The Wild Green Yonder. Philippa tore herself away from the joys of Dunedin to experience New Zealand travelling on the WWOOF scheme (Worldwide Opportunities on Organic Farms.) Over two and a half years she volunteered at 40 locations. We talk about her exploits and the wonderful people she met along the way.



Carl Nixon hails from Christchurch and is an award winning writer of plays, short fiction and novels. His novel Rocking Horse Road was released this year. He most recently won the BNZ Katherine Mansfield Short Story Competition with his story My Beautiful Balloon. I caught up with Carl when he was in Dunedin recently as part of the writers in schools programme.

October 10 2007

This month I have the pleasure of chatting with first time novelist Maxine Alterio about Ribbons of Grace. We’ll be chatting about the excitement of seeing that first novel in print and what goes on behind the scenes to get it there, and of course about the book itself, what inspired it and it’s fascinating characters.




Tania Roxborogh is a writer, teacher, family gal and all round very busy person. She has a new book, No it’s not OK: How to stop the cycle of bullying released in September. This is a very topical subject and we chat about bullying, and the difficulties facing children and their parents in this modern age of technology.

September 12 2007

Laurence Fearnley is this year’s Robert Burns Fellow at the University of Otago and her latest novel, edwin + matilda has recently been released. Sub-titled an unlikely love story it is the second of a trilogy of books set in the Otago and Southland areas.

Walking backwards into your future: coping with grief through continuing bonds is a book by Kath Beattie, on dealing with grief. Kath uses the experiences of real people about how they coped or didn’t cope with the loss of a loved one. We’ll talk about grief and the continued journey of life for the bereaved.

August 8 2007

I’ll be talking with College of Education Writer in Residence Vince Ford about his books and writing for children and teens. We’ll also talk about how to capture the reading imagination of that elusive group – boys.





Barbara Else was in Dunedin recently to talk about her new novel Wild Latitudes. I caught up with her while she was here and we chat about the book, set in Dunedin in 1864, and the joys of writing rollicking historic fiction.

July 11 2007

To kick off the show I’ll be talking to Emma Neale. Emma has had several novels and collections of Poems published and it is in her capacity as poet that we’ll be chatting. Montana Poetry Day is on Friday the 27th of July so to get people in the mood we’ll talk about poetry and our favourite poems.


Georgina White was the 2006 Caroline Plummer Fellow on Community Dance and her recently published book Light Fantastic – Dance floor courtship in New Zealand was the culmination of that work. We’ll talk about her book and the role dances had in shaping relationships and our society over the years.

June 13 2007

Sandy McKay has written many books for children of all ages, including titles in the very popular Kiwi Bites books. Her book Recycled won the Junior Fiction category in the 2002 NZ Post Book Awards. Her most recent work Losing It is directed at teens and tackles friendship, family and anorexia. This year Sandy has also had published the biography One Stroppy Jockey: The Christine Lawn Story.





Jill Caldwell is a market researcher and social trends analyst, who, with co-author Christopher Brown wrote the recently released 8 Tribes – The Hidden Classes of New Zealand, which takes a contemporary look at New Zealanders, grouping them into social tribes based on what motivates and is important to them.

May 9th 2007

Penelope Todd was one of my guests for the very first Write On radio show, when we talked about her book Box. I am delighted to have her back to talk about Zillah, her new book released this month by Longacre Press. Zillah is the final book in the Watermark Trilogy which is written for young adults. I’ll be chatting to Penelope about her writing, the book, and how it feels to let go at the end of a trilogy.




Kiss! Kiss! Yuck! Yuck! is a a favourite picture book in our household and it has been named as a finalist in the New Zealand Post Book Awards and as a Storylines New Zealand Noteable Book. Kyle Mewburn calls Millers Flat home and in 2005 Kyle was awarded the Joy Cowley award to develop Kiss! Kiss! Yuck! Yuck!. I will be talking to him about his experiences with the Joy Cowley Award and his love of writing children’s books.

April 11th 2007

Elizabeth Pulford describes herself as a writer and gardener, enjoying both from her home in Waikouaiti. She has a large number of books published, including books for children, junior and young adult novels and Castello Italiano – an adult fiction novel. We’ll be chatting about her writing and her latest books – a young adult novel Sea Dreamer and a children’s book Castlecliff and the Fossil Princess.




I’ll also be talking to Dunedin writer Ella West about her young adult novel Thieves, which has been named as a finalist in the 2007 New Zealand Post Book Awards and as a Storylines Notable Book. Ella has a background in journalism, so as well as talking about her book, we’ll be talking about how her journalistic skills translate to writing fiction.

March 14 2007

My first guest is a visitor from across the Tasman. Pam Bayfield is in Dunedin this week to launch her book A Leading Lady, The Story of Mary Jolly. Mary Jolly was a respected star of the Dunedin Repertory Society from the 1930’s to 1950’s. Pam will be chatting about Mary Jolly and her book. We will also talk about the pros and cons of self-publishing as this is the fifth book Pam has self-published.



My other guest is going to be me! In a bit of a role reversal I will be on the business end of the questions as Tania Roxborogh interviews me about my crime fiction novel Overkill. We’ll be talking about the book and also the joys of having your first novel in print and the process involved in making the dream a reality.

February 14th 2007

Neville Peat is one of New Zealand’s leading nature writers. He has written over 30 books and is also a photographer, providing many of the images for his works. Most of his titles are on natural history, including Wild Dunedin, which won a Montana Book Award in 1996, and his most recent publication Kiwi – The Peoples Bird. He has written two biographies of Sir Tim Wallace, Hurricane Tim and Winging It, specifically for young people. He has also developed and written museum exhibitions, including Antarctica – the big ice, currently on display at the Otago Museum. Neville has recently returned from Antarctica where he was researching a book on the 50th anniversary of United States/ New Zealand co-operation on the continent. Neville serves on the Otago Regional Council, and is its deputy chair.



Dunedin Author Jackie Ballantyne is having her first novel published by Random House this month. Set in rural south Otago in 1961 How to Stop a Heart from Beating tells of life through the eyes of Solly, a nine-year-old girl. I’ll be chatting to Jackie about her book, and the joy of being published for the first time.

January 12th 2007

I'll be talking with Otago University Special Collections Librarian Donald Kerr about his recently released books. The Smell of Powder is a history of duelling in New Zealand, and yes, it did happen here! Amassing Treasures for all times: Sir George Grey, Colonial Bookman and Collector, tells of another side to Sir George Grey - the book collector.



Robyn Belton's children's book illustrations particularly those of our family favourite Greedy Cat will be familiar to many of you. Robyn was the 2006 recipient of the Margaret Mahy Medal for children's literature. I'll be talking to her about life as an illustrator and her most recent books, Greedy Cat and the Sneeze, and Marta and the Manger Straw.