The room where it happened
Ockhams fiction judge Mark Broatch comes clean.
15/05/2020
‘It was impossible to avoid the conspiracy theories’ – Mark Broatch on judging this year’s Ockhams.
Features and Interviews
Ockham NZ Book Awards: Shocks and Stats
Lockdown Ockhams Shockers: Tom Moody investigates.
14/05/2020
Lockdown Ockhams Shockers: Tom Moody investigates.
Writers’ Round Table | 2020
Rough guides, truest voices: the Ockhams 2020 Fiction Round Table.
13/05/2020
Rough guides, truest voices: the Ockhams 2020 Fiction Round Table.
The Interview: Vincent O’Sullivan
Vincent O'Sullivan on the drive to write, the contradictions of fiction, and the dangers of lingering in the poetry hot-house.
06/04/2020
‘I’m sceptical about any group who want others to regard them as special.’
Listen, Memory
David Howard learns how to appear in Ulyanovsk, City of Literature.
27/02/2020
David Howard learns how to appear in Ulyanovsk, City of Literature.
Our Many Pasts: Historical Fiction
Thom Conroy asks: is historical fiction New Zealand’s defining genre?
28/08/2019
Thom Conroy asks: is historical fiction New Zealand’s defining genre?
A Communist in the Family: Searching for Rewi Alley by Elspeth Sandys
Elspeth Sandys illuminates the life of an extraordinary New Zealander.
28/08/2019
Elspeth Sandys illuminates the life of an extraordinary New Zealander.
Writers’ Round Table | May 2019
Writers' Round Table: the fiction finalists at the Ockham NZ Book Awards discuss influences, indignation, politics and passions.
09/05/2019
Writers’ Round Table: the fiction finalists at the Ockham NZ Book Awards discuss influences, indignation, politics and passions.
The Immersion Method
Maxine Alterio on researching novels at home and abroad.
18/04/2019
Maxine Alterio on researching novels at home and abroad.
The Interview – C.K. Stead
Karl Stead and Mark Broatch discuss crossing lines, carrying on and writing well.
08/03/2019
‘I’m basically cheerful’. Stead at 86, on the work of a lifetime.
Display It Like You Stole It: Letter from London
‘If Oceania is a continent, then it is a continent as complex as Europe’. David Eggleton in London for the Royal Academy of Art’s ‘blockbuster’ show.
06/03/2019
‘If Oceania is a continent, then it is a continent as complex as Europe’. David Eggleton in London for the Royal Academy of Art’s ‘blockbuster’ show.
Why Aren’t You Reading Queer?
Celebrate Pride month with an LGBTQI book.
04/02/2019
Celebrate Pride month with an LGBTQI book.
Letter from Europe
Fiona Kidman on a ‘split personality’ in London and Paris.
31/07/2018
Fiona Kidman on a ‘split personality’ in London and Paris.
The Pony Club
Owen Marshall's 2017 New Zealand Book Council Lecture
25/07/2018
Owen Marshall’s 2017 New Zealand Book Council Lecture
Fiction and Factions: the Political Novel in New Zealand
Fiona Farrell: What makes a work of the imagination ‘political’?
26/05/2018
What makes a work of the imagination ‘political’?
Vision Test
David Taylor assesses the 20/20 Poetry Collection, and what we’re exploring – and avoiding – in our literature of unease.
27/04/2018
David Taylor assesses the 20/20 Poetry Collection, and what we’re exploring – and avoiding – in our literature of unease.
Writing in Disguise
Stephanie Johnson on definitions and disguises, and the risks of writing under a pseudonym.
27/04/2018
Stephanie Johnson on definitions and disguises, and the risks of writing under a pseudonym.
Essay from Iowa
Anne Kennedy finds a place to think in the country of dream-merchants.
22/12/2017
Anne Kennedy finds a place to think in the country of dream-merchants
The Interview – Fleur Adcock
Fleur Adcock and Emma Neale discuss parallel activities, chance findings and the many angles of place.
14/12/2017
‘There are so many different kinds of poem’ – Fleur Adcock
Writers’ Picks: Best NZ Books for Christmas
#NZChristmasBookChallenge - NZ writer, NZ publisher, NZ book shop. Support our writers and our industry.
14/12/2017
#NZChristmasBookChallenge – NZ writer, NZ publisher, NZ book shop. Support our writers and our industry.
Letter from Romania
Michael Harlow crosses frontiers and shines light at the World Poetry Festival in Romania
14/12/2017
Michael Harlow crosses frontiers and shines light at the World Poetry Festival in Romania.
Why Aren’t You Reading Brown?
Not enough diversity in your reading diet? Here are 21 reasons to buy/borrow/read books by Maori and Pasifika writers right away.
07/06/2017
Not enough diversity in your reading diet? Here are 21 reasons to buy/borrow/read books by Maori and Pasifika writers right away.
Poutokomanawa – The Heartpost
What kind of house does our literature inhabit?
07/06/2017
What kind of house does our literature inhabit?
The Interview – Lloyd Jones
Bernadette Hall and Lloyd Jones discuss the mysteries of language, dangerous jokes and pitching tents in strange lands.
23/02/2017
‘The magic occurs in the connecting but voice is what makes us believe.’
'I want you to think about what you would like to see at the heart of your national literature ' - Tina Makereti