Charlotte Grimshaw once described her last novel, Foreign City, as a kind of "layer cake" of fiction, reality and fictionalised reality.

Writer Lionel Shriver tells Stephen Jewell how a friend's illness inspired her to take on the injustices of the healthcare system.

A sort of musical quest through the southern US to see if they're still producing the fresh, exciting, untamed roots music which once inspired the world.

Australian author Tom Keneally talks to Graham Reid about how criminals and the rich were thrown together when the country was founded.

A new book shines the spotlight behind the scenes of some of London's style gurus, focusing on their interior design at home.

Kiwi star Anna Paquin is being immortalised in a comic book - but some are questioning her cartoon likeness to the real thing.

What do Maori haka, Fijian firewalking and yoga have in common? According to a book by Canadian writer Andrew Potter they are all part of an authenticity hoax.

Two women as different as the seasons.

That Ian McEwan, what a comedian. It's not a phrase you come across often.

Pared prose brings mystic peace.

Travel writer and historian William Dalrymple talks to Canvas books editor Linda Herrick about tantric rituals, animal sacrifices and the swirling politics of the Indo-Pakistani region.

From global success with the His Dark Materials series for younger readers, Philip Pullman returns to revisit the Christian story.

Christianity rewritten.

Books about authors who are struggling to write can be overly indulgent and introspective.

Kati Kasza's father instilled in her a love of plants and the importance of seeking quality.

Dame Fiona Kidman is back with a new volume of poetry that traces her Irish roots.

Being a large man taking up a space usually occupied by three Vietnamese, writer Walter Mason was obviously an easily noticed foreign visitor in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City (aka Saigon).

Wellington teacher and author Leon Davidson tells Rebecca Barry what inspired him to delve into Anzac history on behalf of younger readers.

War from the horse's mouth.

An artistic diversion from bloody reality, writes Steve Scott.

The historical preoccupation with Gallipoli becomes easily comprehensible when you remember that 8141 Australians and 2721 New Zealanders died during the brief campaign.

Another Anzac Day remembered (this is the 95th anniversary) and another clutch of books with military themes have appeared...