Short Story Book Club Live at LitCrawl Wellington

LitCrawl Wellington 2017

I’ve been enjoying heading in to the RNZ studio now and again this year (here, here, here and here) to take part in Short Story Club, a weekly feature on Jesse Mulligan’s afternoon show. One of my stories, ‘Once had me’, has even been the story for discussion (not, obviously, a week I took part in the discussion; … Read more…

The merry month of May

Dancing round the May-Pole

O, the month of May, the merry month of May, So frolic, so gay, and so green, so green, so green! ‘The Merry Month of May’ by Thomas Dekker (1599) The month just past (So frolic. Much gay. Many green. Wow.) would’ve warranted a celebratory skip around the maypole, if it hadn’t been a bit chilly … Read more…

‘Literary Postcard from Wellington’ for BBC Radio4 Open Book

Prompted by the publication of my novel The Life and Loves of Lena Gaunt in the UK this month, BBC Radio4’s Open Book programme asked me to deliver a Literary Postcard from New Zealand, as part of an occasional series they commission from writers based outside the UK. For my Literary Postcard, I decided to focus … Read more…

Pavlova, Phar Lap, Crowded House and me

Phar Lap. Crown Studios Ltd :Negatives and prints. Ref: 1/2-203509-F. Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand. http://natlib.govt.nz/records/22805634 Yesterday, my novel was released. As is the way with these things, though, the book has already been in bookshops for about a week or so (yes, I’ve been looking) , and has had its first few (very nice) reviews (here and here and here). … Read more…