As we head into the Waitangi Day circus, Titewhai and her whanau have been gazumped by literary prima donna Eleanor Catton, writes Brian Rudman.

Je suis hua, writes Deborah Hill Cone, as she asks: "weren't we all just gargling on about free speech in the wake of the Charlie Hebdo massacre?"

What is normal? And what if you don't fit in with society's idea of it? Those are the issues raised by US author Amy Hatvany's thoughtful and compelling new novel

Christchurch crime writer Paul Cleave, whose books have sold more than half a million copies, has no qualms killing people on the page. But now online piracy is killing him, he tells Linda Herrick.

Lucy Wood’s first novel is a magic realist ghost story set in Devon. Lucy Popescu went there to meet her.

The Taxpayers’ Union says Kiwis have done more than enough to support under-fire author Eleanor Catton, who received upward of $50k in funding over the last few years.

Colleen McCullough, the internationally acclaimed Australian author, has died, the Sydney Morning Herald reports.

New Zealand's original Booker Prize winner has defended her successor after Eleanor Catton was criticised for speaking out against the Government and some Kiwi attitudes.

A man twice acquitted for the sexual violation and murder of his adopted niece says a new book tells the truth about how she died.

As the film of their life is released, Jane Hawking recalls how she fell in love with the legendary physicist against the haunting backdrop of his developing motor neurone disease.

Every September 1, Lee Child begins work on another of his massively popular Jack Reacher mysteries. this time, he had Andy Martin looking over his shoulder.

"Tell you what", write the editors of this excellent collection, is a phrase that promises "a revelation, a shift, a new truth".

I can see it plainly now. Stephen King has been playing me. The old Stephen King, the real one. I'd forgotten about him. That was his plan all along.

Porochista Khakpour's new novel is a magical realist take on 9/11.

From Dolly Parton's smelly cabbage soup to Liz Taylor's stinky dip, behind most stars is a mad, fad diet. Writer Rebecca Harrington tried them all.

When a computer virus hacks into the Australian prison system in 2010, it also infects the American corporations that licensed the software.

The quintessential guide book for the scene of New Zealand's most significant war effort covers everything you need to know about the Gallipoli Peninsula.

Word-lovers are being encouraged to ditch new coinages for long-lost words that may have fallen out of favour.

New images of Hagrid, Hermione, Ron and Draco Malfoy have been released ahead of October's release of the Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone illustrated edition.

Down a driveway in a modest house in Hamilton's university suburb is where the magic happens.

Absorbing stories are an ideal way to unwind over summer.

Mussolini hated pasta and Hitler, famously a vegetarian, liked to eat baby pigeons. A new book tells us what tyrants liked for tea. John Walsh reports.

Linda Herrick delves into four new cookbooks that transport the palate around the globe.

Lena Dunham found it "very, very painful" to be criticised for revealing she was date-raped.

Facebook's boss is the latest to hail an ancient pleasure, but he may have missed the point, writes James Walton.

"The Oprah Effect" could turn minor works into million-sellers. Mr Zuckerberg may just do the same.

It's so popular it has been named No1 on the missing book list for Auckland's 55 libraries.