8 September 2010

Scottish Crime writer Val McDermid was in Dunedin recently to promote her latest novel Trick of the Dark. McDermid is internationally renowned for her crime fiction and in particular her Wire in the Blood novels, which have been made into a television series by the BBC. She was the recipient of the 2010 Cartier Diamond Dagger Award of the Crime Writers Association. We talk about her life in crime writing as well as her new novel.

Dunedin writer Sue Wootton has until now been known as a poet and short story writer. She is now adding Children’s Book Writer to her list of achievements, with the publication of Cloudcatcher. We’ll talk about her experiences in writing work for children as well as her passion for poetry and short fiction. 


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11 August 2010

Neville Peat is a writer of fiction and non-fiction books that relate to his love of the natural environment. He was the 2007 recipient of the Creative New Zealand Michael King Writer's Fellowship which he used for the research involved in his latest book The Tasman: Biography of an Ocean. We talk about the huge undertaking it is to write a biography of an ocean and all of the facets he had to cover.









Philip Temple published his memoir Chance is a Fine Thing in 2009. I will replay an interview I did with Philip at the time where we talked about the book and some of the stories in the life of this outstanding and respected writer in his long and fruitful career.




To listen to this episode click here.

14 July 2010

Bill O'Brien is the writer of many books for children and adults. Bill is a retired police officer and has written several books relating to police issues including Aramoana - Twenty-two hours of Terror, and Invisible Evidence - Forensics in New Zealand. We'll talk about his writing and his new book - Blue Adrenalin - Life in the New Zealand Police.






Joan Bishop is a cooking writer for The Otago Daily Times and the writer of Joan Bishop's New Zealand Cock Pot and Slow Cooker Cook Book which was first published in 1985 and has recently had a new edition produced with more recipes. We'll talk about the joys of slow cooking, and also the art of the food writer.

9 June 2010

Paddy Richardson has recently released her third novel, Hunting Blind, a psychological thriller which starts out with the disappearance of a little girl in Wanaka, and moves around Dunedin, and other familiar locations in the South Island. We'll talk about Hunting Blind, the allure of writing crime fiction, and the perception of crime fiction in the writing world.





Bronwyn Wylie-Gibb from Dunedin's The University Book Shop is a regular guest on the show. Join us as we chat about current books, trends and whats hot in the book world.

12 May 2010

Penelope Todd has recently released her novel Island. It is a story set on a 19th century quarantine island, a story of love and of death. We talk about her new novel, and the journey from being a very successful writer for young adults to writing a literary novel for adults.







Karen Trebilcock is the 2010 Otago University College of Education Children's Writer in residence. Under the pseudonym Ella West she has written the Thieves trilogy for young adults. We'll talk about her books, the residency and her new foray into writing for the stage.

14 April 2010

Kyle Mewburn is a finalist in the New Zealand Post Children's Book Awards for 2010 with his picture book Old Huhu, illustrated by Rachel Driscoll. We talk about the book, his other publications and the busy life of a children's writer.







Tania Roxborogh is also a finalist in the New Zealand Post Children's Book Awards, with her young adult fiction novel Banquo's Son. I replay an interview I had with Tania in September last year, where we talked about Banquo's Son, and the pressure that comes with writing a sequel to Shakespeare's Macbeth.

10 March 2010

Michele Powles has recently arrived in Dunedin from Auckland to take up her position as the Robert Burns Fellow at the University of Otago. Last year she had published her first novel Weathered Bones, a tale of three women past and present. We talk about the novel and what the fellowship means to her





Bronwyn Wylie-Gibb from Dunedin's The University Book Shop is a regular guest on the show. Join us as we chat about current books, trends and whats hot in the book world.