11 March 2009

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.



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.

11 February 2009

For our February show I’ll be talking with David Howard of The Otago University Press, which this year celebrates its 50th anniversary. Well talk about the humble beginnings of the press and how it has built into a notable publishing house which publishes around twenty books each year. We’ll talk about the kinds of books they publish and also about life in the publishing industry, particularly in these uncertain economic times, and with the effects of the digital age.


The second guest will be Kath Beattie, a Dunedin writer who has recently had her book published by Scholastic, titled My Story: Poor Man’s Gold: The diary of Reuben Radcliffe, Northland, 1899-1900. Kath was a guest on Write On Last year when we talked about a book she had self-pubished, titled Walking backwards into the future: coping with grief through continuing bonds. We’ll be talking about her new book which is about a boy working on the Kauri Gum swamps of Northland, and also we’ll talk about how the process of self publishing went for her, whether she thought it was worthwhile doing it and what advice she would offer to other people considering self-publishing their books.

14 January 2009

I'm having a little summer break, so this show is a replay of one from earlier in the year.

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.


To listen to this show click here.

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.