Blog Archives
Two issues beyond the 20th anniversary edition of New Zealand Books and two before our 100th issue, we’ve reached another milestone. The determined enthusiasts who founded the journal might well have predicted the first two, and will certainly have hoped…
Many Happy Returns! We’re delighted to be writing the editorial for this 20th anniversary issue of New Zealand Books. It contains the usual excellent reviews, but also new poetry and prose, and reflections from leading writers and those in the…
Creative tensions Few things are more mystifying than other people’s fascinations. Stamp collecting, astrology or devoted re-enactment of famous battle scenes appear, to the non-enthusiast, at best inexplicable, at worst embarrassing, silly and – to misapply a line from Monty…
Going online Now in its 18th year, New Zealand Books is coming of age. Starting with this issue, you’ll be able to read us online as well as in print. Thanks to the foresight of our publisher Peppercorn Press and…
Going online Now in its 18th year, New Zealand Books is coming of age. Starting with this issue, you’ll be able to read us online as well as in print. Thanks to the foresight of our publisher Peppercorn Press and…
Hares and tortoises Readers, reviewers and authors may have noticed (and perhaps even grumbled) that NZB reviews tend to run rather later in the life of a book than those broadcast, or appearing elsewhere. Newspapers, magazines and radio usually feature…
Fruit and veg Who’d be a judge? Particularly a literary judge. As Kevin Ireland once observed, when you’re a judge, the only ones who love you are the winners. Which, taken to the other extreme, can mean former mates crossing…
The haunting Street banners calling for donations to the annual City Mission book sale had us each confidently scanning our shelves for give-aways, applying a literary version of that wardrobe rule – haven’t worn it for at least two seasons?…
A modest makeover With this, its 77th issue, New Zealand Books reverts to a quarterly, and one with a new look: notably, a striking front cover, a fresh typeface and an elegant new page design. It is, of course, common…
The importance of being earnest Palmerston North writer Craig Harrison once glumly observed in an interview with one of us that, although the trend might be apparent only to someone who had read all 140 entries in Palmerston North’s Evening…