Books & Authors

James Wilson was a typical kiwi farmer. For forty years he ate meat, drank milk. But then he had a health scare. That's when James decided on a big outlook change. He went vegan.  Audio

Sydney-based criminal lawyer turned novelist Sarah Hopkins has spent years defending young people in the children's court. She speaks to Kathryn Ryan about putting her inside information to work, in a… Audio

Louise O'Brien, from quarterly review periodical New Zealand Review of Books Pukapuka Aotearoa, reviews West Island: Five Twentieth-Century New Zealanders in Australia by Stephanie Johnson. This book… Audio

Our feature guest this morning is neuroscientist Dr Guy Leschziner who's written a fascinating book about what we do while we're sleeping - it's called the Nocturnal Brain, and covers everything from… Audio

Author and journalist Lynn Enright  tells Karyn about her new book Vagina: A Re-Education. Audio

Silence is powerful. But it's often lost in the white noise of emails and texts and constant connection. Too much noise is deafening but silence can be dangerous too. Audio

Nocturnes: Popular Music and the Night is a new book looking at how culture changes at night. It can be romantic, but also be a place of terror and of excitement.  Audio

The children's book entries turned out to be the toughest one for this year's PANZ Book Design Awards - in fact they've shortlisted a record nine entries. The awards also include all-important covers… Audio

Frank Sargeson is remembered not only for his writing but also for the other writers he mentored, including Janet Frame. One of the most colourful members of his circle in the 1940s was refugee… Audio

Sir Michael Morpurgo's best known book, War Horse, comes to life on the stage for the first time in New Zealand this month. Audio

Over the past 90 years, Faber & Faber's authors have included William Golding, TS Eliot, WH Auden, Sylvia Plath, Samuel Beckett, Seamus Heaney, Alan Bennett, PD James, John Carey, Kazuo Ishiguro… Audio

What was the children's book that meant most to you growing up? Audio

The Very Hungry Caterpillar is celebrating its 50th anniversary! The best-selling book is was first published in June 1969 and has been translated into 62 languages.  Audio

Tilly Lloyd from Unity Books reviews two new releases by Toby Faber today: Close to the Edge, and Faber & Faber: The Untold Story of a Great Publishing House. These books are published by Muswell… Audio

There's nothing wrong with taking pride in your looks, but being confident about the things you can do is what will really make you feel positively towards yourself, says Turia Pitt. The Australian… Video, Audio

Catriona Ferguson reviews The Accusation by Wendy James, which is published by HarperCollins. Audio

Conspiracy theorists date back to ancient Rome, but social media has given them a vector to distribute their unusual and sometimes dangerous ideas. Audio

Kiran Dass of Time Out Bookstore reviews The Years by Annie Ernaux, which is published by Fitzcarraldo. Audio

Kathryn speaks with award-winning British journalist Angela Saini, whose latest book exposes and challenges race science, which she says is making a subtle come-back. Angela Saini has been described… Audio