THE GROOVE BOOK REPORT

  In total, over  60 events will take place between 9-12 November in Te-Whanganui-a-Tara, with over 100 writers  from across Aotearoa. The 10-year anniversary LitCrawl programme will be released 10 October, so hold tight for that!  A ccess the festival programme on their website  here .

A rambling, yet indulgent 'bibliomemoir' of the writer Tony Eyre's lifelong passion - the possession and consumption of literature. For the earliest examples, like 'Tom Brown's School Days' and Enid Blyton's Famous Five Series and Italian art books owned by his parents to an elusive 1922 first edition on a 1/750 copy of Joyce's 'Ulysses' he documents the books and authors that have influenced a life in books.  How they touched him.  How they shaped his passion for book collecting.  The thrill of the chase, hunting down first editions and rare prints.   This is a deep dive into a personal library, and his own personal history, where the book is 'a tangible object of sentiment and delight'.  He shares his his fondness for New Zealand literature - books by Hilliard, Frame and Cross and Hunt amongst other.  And for many of the world's most celebrated authors, too.   As part of his book there's a magical mystery tour of some of our gre...

At the time Alastair Riddell's band Space Waltz was a revelation.  "When the band's album Space Waltz by Alistair Riddell was released in 1975, rock music was a dominant force in Youth Culture", writes author Ian Chapman.  Music was tribal - you were either hard Rock or Reggae or Soul.  You dressed the part and bought in to the sub-cultures.  Space Waltz appeared on Studio One/New Faces , a variety music and Entertainment TV programme tuned in to by the entire country.  With only one channel at the time, it was major exposure.  For that particular show the band were up against a Bavarian Brass Band, a crooner (Frances Ward) and a soprano (Wiki Baker doing 'Bridge Over Troubled Water') and a bearded folkie, Grant Goodwin.  They definitely stood out. And this is the very same talent show that Split Ends eventually came fourth in.  The tall, gangling Riddell, with long hair and make up, hippy, flowing clothes cut a bizarre, androgynous and flamboyan...

Author and publicist, Karen McMillan has penned over 21 books on a wide and diverse range of subjects, published in 10 countries, from bestselling novels, 'The Paris of the East', 'The Paris of the West' and 'Brushstrokes of Memory', to non-fiction that inspires and help us('Everyday Strength' and 'Unbreakable Spirit').   Her popular 'Elastic Island Adventures' series is well into it - a series for Primary School readers.  'Elastic Island Adventures: Rarotonga' was written with the Pacific Resort in Rarotonga in mind.  The Elastic Island Adventures books are all stand alone reads, so they don't need to be read in order.  This is the seventh stand-alone book for 7 to 12-year-olds.  There's also a picture book for younger readers, called 'Blong the Cat’s Costume Caper'.  The kids are expecting to relax on the beach.  However, it’s not long before problems start.  Mighty Moko, the Island's own grumpy gecko lives i...

Julien Blanc-Gras now joins the prestigious tradition of writers in residence at Randell Cottage, where he will reside in Wellington from January to May 2024. As a writer, traveller, journalist, and father, Julien Blanc-Gras has explored the four corners of the world, drawing inspiration from his journeys for many of his works. His debut book, Gringoland, was awarded at the First Novel Festival in Chambéry in 2005. Among his other works are Paradise (before Liquidation) and A Bit of a Special Envoy, written during the lockdown to counter the prevailing atmosphere. He has also contributed extensively to the print media, with publications in renowned outlets such as M le magazine du Monde, L’Obs, Philosophie magazine, Le Temps, Le 1, Long cours, Aller-Retour, GQ, Technikart, and Grazia. He is also a presence on Radio France with the podcast Oli and a travel column on France Inter, as well as on Radio Nova with a literary column. Following the birth of his son and his account of his exper...