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Gift for George delights author
A Massey University author was surprised to hear Prince George would be getting his book as a memento when his parents visit Cambridge next weekend.

Have your cake, read it too
A Lorde figurine performing atop three circular cakes to depict The Lord of the Rings was among creative entries for a Canterbury edible story-telling competition.

12 Questions: Nicky Pellegrino
Nicky Pellegrino is a novelist and former magazine editor who moved to New Zealand for love.

Writers Festival: Where the duck goes, he goes
David Larsen discovers the intriguing backstory behind cartoonist Michael Leunig’s whimsical birds

Buy Crikey: Check local book sites first
I had to buy a book recently. It hurt. Much as I love books, my financially sensible self would rather get them from the library or stock up on a few good novels at the school fair at $2 to $3 each.

Book review: & Son
Hyperbole often surrounds big novels, especially big novels from New York about New York and by New Yorkers, but in Gilbert's case it is all justified.

Stars' stylist shares secrets
If you happen to spot celebrity stylist and designer Rachel Zoe out and about, do not worry - she's not judging you.

World's most-used word celebrates 175 years, OK?
Whatever you're doing this Monday, wherever you might be, take a moment to reflect on the most popular word in the English language, OK?

ABBA: Thank you for the music
A new book charts Abba’s progress from camp 70s novelty act to enduring musical phenomenon. Anna Tyzack meets one of the famous four, Bjorn Ulvaeus.

Two scribes go to war
Could Britain have avoided World War I? Historians Max Hastings and Niall Ferguson have presented rival views on the BBC.

Legends of literature in line-up
Linda Herrick surveys the wealth of names coming to Auckland’s Writers Festival in May.

Swords and jandals
An Arabic scene of dunes and camels was the backdrop for a diverse literary event, writes Linda Herrick.

Divergent's young adult author actually under 30
Divergent, the latest young adult novel poised to become a blockbuster movie, meets all the criteria for the genre.

'Grammar police' ruin English
Imagine a world in which the advances of the science since the publication of 'On the Origin of Species' - or even since Charles Darwin was born - were ignored.

Kiwi author hits big time
A little-known Kiwi author is pinching herself after landing a seven-figure advance and a lucrative film deal for her new book.

There's something about Jane
Nearly 200 years after her death, Jane Austen has become one of the most widely read authors in history. Kerrie Waterworth finds out why she continues to appeal, generation after generation.

Book review: The Lie
It is not easy to decide which lie Helen Dunmore was talking about when she titled her new book.

The dark beneath the light
British-based writer Tom Rob Smith tells Stephen Jewell how real life drama inspired his new novel in a way that disturbed him far more than he expected.

Luminaries setting gets Catton visit
Award-winning author Eleanor Catton spent yesterday in Hokitika, the setting of her critically acclaimed novel The Luminaries.

Celebrities who have written kid's books
Keith Richards is releasing a children's book in September, but he is not the first celebrity to venture into the world of children's publishing.

12 Questions: Peter Williams
Peter Williams, QC, turns 80 this year and is finishing a new book of stories from his long legal career.

Karl Ove Knausgaard: A writer's life
It’s raw, relentless and, at an epic 3500 pages, a best-selling literary phenomenon. But the brutal honesty of Karl Ove Knausgaard’s My Struggle has shocked many — and alienated half of his family, writes Hermione Hoby.

Book review: The Last Word
Consider being commissioned and hard-pressed to write the biography of an old, famous, living author.