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ListenWhakarongo Mai

Listen to author interviews, reviews, and book news. Plus, read reviews about audiobooks by authors from Aotearoa.

Whakarongo ki ngā uiui kaituhi, ngā arotakenga, me ngā kawepūrongo pukapuka. Waihoki, pānuihia ngā arotakenga mō ngā pūpānui nā ngā kaituhi nō Aotearoa.

Now and Then listen article
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Poems changing generations of lives

Adrienne Jansen, publisher at Landing Press, reads some of the cutest poems from anthology Now and Then to Susie Ferguson of RNZ.

25 October 2024
Elizabeth Easter reads the Season Wife
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Behind the scenes on an audiobook recording with Elisabeth Easther

Actress, journalist author and playwright Elisabeth Easther might be a familiar face from her role as Carla Crozier on Shortland Street. She'll also be a familiar voice to audiobook lovers, narrating dozens of New Zealand books. She takes Kete behind the scenes recording The Seasonwife by Saige England.

4 October 2024
make it make sense
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Audiobook review: Make it Make Sense

Nat Baker reviews the audiobook of Make it Make Sense, a conversational book written and narrated by Lucy Blakiston and Bel Hawkins, famous for the podcast 'Shit You Should Care About'.

24 September 2024
Shilo Kino and All that We Know cover
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Shilo Kino: All that We Know

Award-winning New Zealand author Shilo Kino talks about writing her first novel for adults, All that We Know, on RNZ's Saturday Morning programme.

1 August 2024
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Bookshop detectives: Gareth and Louise Ward

Gareth and Louise Ward, booksellers and co-authors of new crime fiction The Bookshop Detectives join Kathryn Ryan of RNZ to talk about the fun they had writing their new novel.

1 August 2024
Take Two audiobook review
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Audiobook review: Take Two

Jessica Grace Smith doesn't beat around the bush when narrating audiobook version of Danielle Hawkins' bestselling Take Two writes Emma Rawson.

21 July 2024
ruby tui audiobook
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Audiobook Review: Straight Up by Ruby Tui

Kate 'not a sports fan' Coughlan tackles the audiobook of Straight Up by Ruby Tui and finds herself falling in love with the NZ rugby star's words and her narration abilities.

1 July 2024
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Matt Heath: learning to love your own life

A "miserable" moment on the banks of Lake Wakatipu was the initial inspiration for Matt Heath's new book A Life Less Punishing: 13 Ways To Love the Life You've Got. Matt speaks with RNZ's Suzie Ferguson.

1 June 2024
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Eileen Merriman's new novel 'The Night She Fell'

Doctor turned young adult writer and now adult fiction writer, Eileen Merriman, has a new book out, 'The Night She Fell'. The story follows the death of a clever law student from a wealthy family who fell from three stories up in her Dunedin student flat. Whodunnit, or whodunwhat? And why? Eileen, who is a clinical director of haematology and lead thrombosis clinician at North Shore Hospital, speaks with RNZ.

9 March 2024
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Sheryl Beaumont on her new novel The War Photographers

Sheryl Beaumont's latest novel weaves together two pivotal points in 20th century history: efforts to crack the enigma code during World War II and the fall of the Berlin Wall. The War Photographers introduces readers to Mae, a young woman recruited from Cambridge to work at Bletchley Park and her granddaughter Rachel, who's working as a photojournalist as the Cold War is drawing to a close. She speaks with Katyhryn Ryan of RNZ

5 March 2024
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Author Paul Cleave on bringing his serial-killer book The Cleaner to TV screens

Paul Cleave is a crime writer and three-time Ngaio Marsh Award winner whose books have been translated into 20 languages. His first novel, The Cleane has been turned into a six part TV series called Dark City: The Cleaner (from March 4 on Neon/Sky Go/SoHo) and Paul has been intricately involved in the process - as the production's screenwriter. He joins Kathryn to talk about bringing his characters to life on screen.

27 February 2024
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Tongariro National Park's beauty through the eyes of an artist

Desmond Bovey lived in France for thirty years, predominantly working as an art director. Upon returning home to Whanganui he was in search of a project to reconnect with Aotearoa - and worked on some environmental projects for DOC and Forest and Bird. The result is his book - Tongariro National Park - an artists field guide. He speaks to Kathryn Ryan of RNZ.

27 February 2024
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How Ferrari helped a New Zealand children's book come to fruition

Flavio Manzoni is a high flying Italian architect and automobile designer - currently Chief Design Officer at Ferrari. He's a big deal, and has an unlikely connection to a self published book by a small New Zealand charity, Bread. Bread’s founder talks to RNZ afternoons.

27 February 2024
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Patricia Grace talks about her inspiration for Bird Child and Other Stories

Patricia Grace is one of Aotearoa's most celebrated Maori fiction authors. She won the New Zealand Book Award for Fiction for Potiki in 1987, and was longlisted for the Man Booker Prize in 2001 with Dogside Story. She has a new collection of short stories, Bird Child and Other Stories, which spans mythology and contemporary Māori life and reimagines ancient tales. The cover art is courtesy of granddaughter Miriama Grace-Smith. Susie and Miriama talk to RNZ’s Susie Ferguson.

6 February 2024
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The story of Treasure Island Caravan Park

Nita Joseph and her late husband Tim opened Treasure Island Caravan Park in Patua, Northland, in 1985 and put a lifetime's worth of hard yakka into creating the perfect summer holiday destination. Nita and author Elaine Webster join Susana Lei'ataua on RNZ’s The Weekend to discuss the book.

25 January 2024
Kete Books
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Tusiata Avia's Big Fat Brown Bitch: 'I was bloody rarked up'

Samoan-NZ writer Tusiata Avia became the target of harassment and death threats earlier this year after her poem 250th anniversary of James Cook's arrival in New Zealand was labelled 'racist' by the ACT party. Avia's new poetry collection Big Fat Brown Bitch was partly written in response to that shocking backlash, she tells RNZ’s Susie Ferguson.

20 December 2023
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Sir John Kirwan's book updated

When rugby legend Sir John Kirwan first released his memoir in 2010 detailing his struggle with mental illness, it was groundbreaking. Now 13 years later, he's updated the book with more stories about his personal experience as well as practical advice. Sir John Kirwan talks to RNZ’s Jesse Mulligan.

20 December 2023
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Spirit of Adventure to set sail celebrating 50 years

A new book tells stories of the voyages of the Spirit of Adventure, a ship which runs programmes for young New Zealanders. Author Roger McDonald and the Spirit of Adventure Trust Chief Executive Bruce Pilbrow discuss the stories that have made the Spirit journey what it is today with Susie Ferguson of RNZ.

20 December 2023
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Sam Low's new cookbook Modern Chinese

Since winning Masterchef in 2022, Sam Low has been figuring out what's important to him as a chef in the New Zealand media. In his new recipe book Modern Chinese, he honours both his cultural heritage and the "love language" of his parents' cooking, Sam tells RNZ’s Kathryn Ryan.

19 October 2023
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Sir Wayne Smith on new memoir about his rugby career

Smith is the only rugby coach to win three Rugby World Cups – two as an assistant coach for the All Blacks and one as head coach with the Black Ferns. He talks to Kathryn Ryan of RNZ about how his coaching style has developed over five decades.

19 October 2023
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Untouchable Girls: The Topp Twins in their own words

For more than 40 years, twin sisters Lynda and Jools Topp have performed as the joyfully anarchic and comedic country music duo The Topp Twins. They talk with Kim Hill of RNZ about their new book Untouchable Girls.

12 October 2023