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Playwright's insight hits NZ nerves
It goes to show, as Hare says, the audience - the way it reacts and responds and its current concerns - shapes theatre.
'Feminism is an issue, not a word'
At 82, Gloria Steinem - the woman who spearheaded the women's liberation movement in the United States and beyond - was smoking hot.
Comic book artist, Darwyn Cooke dies at 53
The late artist worked on DC: The New Frontier, Catwoman, Parker and the Batman and Superman animated series.
Book review: Eligible, Curtis Sittenfeld
In recent years there have been far too many reworks of Jane Austen novels.
Kapiti short story in Pacific final berth
The winners of the Ockham New Zealand Book Awards aren't the only local authors toasting success.
Scribe doesn't grow out of it
He cuts scrub to make ends meet and used to pretend to be looking at porn to hide his love of poetry from army mates.
Editorial: Written word continues to enrich us
The Auckland Writers Festival, under way at civic centre venues this week, is a testament to the continued value of the written word.
Former shearer wins top fiction prize
Decades of hard work for Stephen Daisley, a former shearer, farmer and soldier turned author, have paid off.
Auckland Writers Festival: Suburban subjects
It might more commonly be called the City of Sails, but to sociologist and historian Scott Hamilton Auckland is "a city of text", with multiple stories waiting to be told.
Book reveals animosity between First Ladies
Hillary Clinton and Michelle Obama appear to have much in common on the surface, but a new book on the two First Ladies reveals bitter animosity between them, Celia Walden writes.
Thin Lizzy's Phil Lynott: The ace with the bass
Phil Lynott's name is a byword for rock 'n' roll excess. Now a new book explores why the shy church-goer found it so hard to resist temptation, writes Neil Armstrong.
Contest for top book should be a thriller
One New Zealand fiction writer will wake up $50,000 better off on Wednesday thanks to a new literary prize.
Paul Little: Self-obsession - it's all about you
COMMENT: We thought we knew who Americans were, but this year we have seen a new side to their character that has set me wondering about its origins.
Is this the next big thriller novel?
Lisa Hilton's new novel is tipped to be the next big thriller, writes Stephen Jewell.
Book review: Lab Girl, Hope Jahren
Strangely, here we have one autobiography of two people.
Book review: Mothering Sunday, Graham Swift
Graham Swift's consummate novella fills a day, 90-plus years ago post-World War I, when the servant class are free to visit their families.
Philosopher on a mission to be useful
Philosopher Julian Baggini talks to Dionne Christian about moral dilemmas and exchanging ideas.
'Fake Steve Jobs' went to work for a real software firm
When a journalist - and tech industry skeptic - went to work for a start up.
Paul Moon: Is Shakespeare now irrelevant?
COMMENT: Four hundred years after the writer's death it's time to acknowledge Shakespeare has less to offer the modern world.
Hanya Yanagihara on male intimacy
Male friendships have always fascinated American author Hanya Yanagihara.
Books on war for younger readers
Former soldier Glyn Harper, now Professor of War Studies at Massey University, has written numerous history books and children's books.
The 'best living American novelist' on her mid-life crisis
Prolific American writer Jane Smiley has been described as 'the best living American novelist'. She talks to Greg Bruce about Donald Trump, perfectionism and her mid-life crisis.
Book review: Cometh the Hour, Jeffrey Archer
In this, the sixth in Jeffrey Archer's Clifton Chronicles, the master story teller continues the saga of the triumphs and tribulations of the Clifton and Barrington families.
A meeting of cultures
A new book argues the view that World War I is a pointless conflict fails to consider myriad positive experiences that continue to shape our lives today.
Book review: The North Water, Ian McGuire
Ian McGuire's story of brutality, greed and whaling - set aboard a boat off the coast of Greenland - is worth seeking out, especially for those of you who are not squeamish.
Activist and rape survivor channels impulses into writing
Former resistance activist and rape survivor Carmen Aguirre these days channels her revolutionary impulses into theatre and writing, says Dionne Christian.
Sir Quentin Blake - a portrait of the artist
Ghislaine Kenyon tells Craig Sisterson about why she felt compelled to write a book about Sir Quentin Blake, the most renowned illustrator of our time.
Book review: Bend With The Wind, Suraya Dewing
"Nothing moves forward in a story except through conflict," writes Robert McKee of Story Seminar fame.