The Marlborough Book Festival
Episodes
Emily Perkins - Lioness
06 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Emily Perkins in conversation with Nikki Macdonald Emily talks about her novel Lioness which won the big fiction prize of 2024, The Acorn Fiction Pri...
Fletcher McKenzie - From the Pilot’s Seat
19 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Fletcher McKenzie in conversation with Des Ashton Fletcher McKenzie is an accomplished author and aviator, known for his engaging books on aviation, i...
Rachael King - The Grimmelings
21 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Rachael King in conversation with Jane Forrest Waghorn What magic lies behind the crafting of spellbinding adventure stories with enduring appeal? Rac...
Lauren Keenan - Time Travellers Guide to History
06 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Lauren Keenan in conversation with Tania Miller How can adults help spark children’s interest in Aotearoa New Zealand history? Lauren often gets ask...
Chris Tse - An Hour with the Poet Laureate
20 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Chris Tse in conversation with Sally McLennan At the 2024 Marlborough Book Festival, the Poet Laureate talks about and reads from his poetry collectio...
Nic Low - Uprising, Walking the Southern Alps of New Zealand
14 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Nic Low is a writer, editor, arts organiser, te reo student, and dad with whakapapa links to Ōraka-Aparima in Southland. His writing on wilderness, t...
Sue McCauley - Landed
25 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Sue McCauley QSM, is a novelist, short story writer, playwright, journalist, and screenwriter. Her first novel, Other Halves (1982), won the Wattie Bo...
Nici Wickes - A Quiet Kitchen
04 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Nici Wickes was the Instagram foodie we all needed during lockdown - down to earth, great fun, and cooking up a storm with mostly pantry ingredients. ...
Anna Smaill - Bird Life, A Novel
13 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Anna Smaill in conversation with Jane Forrest Waghorn Anna’s latest novel moves between reality and magical realism, as two women navigate intense p...
Ron Crosby - Te Kooti’s Last Foray
26 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Marlborough-based historian Ron Crosby has tramped the Urewera forests to retrace the steps of Te Kooti and his pursuers. That legwork deeply informs ...
Tessa Nicholson - Writing Marlborough's Wine Stories
12 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Marlborough-based Wine journalist Tessa Nicholson has interviewed industry players and been witness to challenges overcome and enterprise rewarded. Sp...
Joanne Drayton - The Lives of Others
17 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Joanne Drayton is an art historian, biographer and nonfiction writer. Her personal memoir The Queen’s Wife was published in January this year. Her b...
W J Moloney - Invincible
18 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
W J Moloney discusses Invincible, a novel based on the incredible story of one man’s journey through a world war and onto worldwide sporting glory. ...
Luke Elworthy - The Last Letter of Godfrey Cheathem
21 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Luke Elworthy discusses The Last Letter of Godfrey Cheathem, a satire that explores being the average sibling in a family of creative geniuses and po...
Dr Peter Meihana - Exploding a Pākehā Myth (Wairau launch)
02 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Growing up, Dr Peter Meihana often heard that Māori received special treatment and had advantages that other New Zealanders did not. However, this id...
Soraya Lane - Following the Heart
15 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Soraya Lane has followed her heart creating historical fiction and romance novels. Her series, The Lost Daughters, has been an international success, ...
Robbie Burton - Bushline
26 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Robbie Burton discusses his memoir, Bushline, which tells of life, love and adventures in the outdoors, as well as his long career in publishing. The ...
Joanne Drayton - The Queen’s Wife
18 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Joanne Drayton discusses her memoir, The Queen’s Wife, a modern love story featuring whakapapa, archaeology, art and heartbreak, with Jane Forrest W...
Cristina Sanders - Mrs Jewell and the Wreck of the General Grant
29 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Mrs Jewell and the Wreck of the General Grant is a vivid imagining of the story behind the southern hemisphere's most famous shipwreck. The gold-laden...
Gavin Lang - Seeking the Light
21 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Gavin Lang's book Seeking the Light is about climbing the country’s highest mountains that rise above 3000m, but it's about the importance of gettin...
An Hour with Eileen Merriman
10 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Two consistencies throughout Eileen Merriman’s childhood were her fascination with the human body and a desire to be a doctor. She worked hard at sc...
Catherine Chidgey - The Axeman’s Carnival
21 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
An utterly believable mimicking magpie narrates this extraordinary story set in the beautiful yet harsh landscape of Central Otago. Catherine Chidgey ...
Nick Bollinger - Jumping Sundays
25 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In his latest book, the Ockham illustrated non-fiction award-winning Jumping Sundays: The Rise and Fall of the Counterculture in Aotearoa New Zealand,...
The Heart of the Matter - 2023 Festival Gala Opening
15 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Hear a selection of guest authors take their work off the page and onto the stage in the gala opening of the 2023 Marlborough Book Festival. In order,...
An Hour with Paula Morris
13 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Paula Morris has become a vital voice in New Zealand literature, with highly acclaimed short stories, essays and novels, including 'Rangatira', fictio...
Kate Camp - How To Be Happy Though Human
11 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Kate Camp’s most recent collection of poetry, How To Be Happy Though Human, is strikingly apt for current times. In conversation with Cliff Fell at ...
Lloyd Jones & Kate De Goldi - Landscape & Literature
02 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Place and story go hand in hand. Landscape must first live on the page for it to blossom in the mind of the reader. But landscape in literature is bot...
Sue Orr, Kirsten McDougall & Rebecca K Reilly - Oh So Novel
23 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Three contemporary New Zealand novelists talk writing. Sue Orr, Kirsten McDougall and Rebecca K Reilly discuss their inspiration, processes and genera...
Patricia Grace - From the Centre: A Writer’s Life
04 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In From the Centre: A Writer's Life Patricia Grace takes us through her childhood, education, marriage and up to the present day, in this touching and...
Julie Biuso - Shared Kitchen: Real Food From Scratch
23 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
From cooking for Prime Ministers and dignitaries in Europe, to being chosen as personal chef for Maestro Luciano Pavarotti, having her own television ...
Rebecca K Reilly - Greta & Valdin
13 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Rebecca K Reilly (Ngāti Hine, Ngāti Wai) is the author of the smart and funny debut novel Greta & Valdin, which has topped the bestsellers list ...
Steve Braunias - Missing Persons
21 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Steve Braunias captivated festival audiences at Spy Valley in 2016, talking of the 12 true stories of crime and punishment behind his book Scene of th...
Kate Camp - You Probably Think This Song is About You
16 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Kate Camp talks about her wonderful new memoir You Probably Think This Song is About You brimming with hard-won wisdom and generous humour. In con...
Kate De Goldi - Eddy, Eddy
10 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Eddy, Eddy - in conversation with Tania Miller Kate De Goldi's new book Eddy, Eddy follows Eddy Smallbore, an orphan, who is grappling with identity...
Ruth Shaw - The Bookseller at the End of the World
25 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
"Ruth Shaw's life has been crammed with incredible adventure, and at times damned by terrible tragedy," writes Mike White in Stuff. "There have been p...
Kirsten McDougall - She’s a Killer
15 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
- in conversation with Rachael King Climate change is no laughing matter, but Kirsten McDougall's fast-paced novel She's a Killer set in a foreseeable...
Kate De Goldi & Susan Paris - Skinny Dip Poetry
03 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Susan Paris and Kate De Goldi are changing the landscape for young readers in New Zealand, as they curate fresh writing and illustration from some of ...
Sue Orr - Loop Tracks
12 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Charlie, 15 and pregnant at a time abortion isn’t legally available in New Zealand, makes an impulsive choice with far reaching consequences in the ...
Steve Braunias - Cover Story
02 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The last time Steve Braunias attended the Marlborough Book Festival, he trawled through our op-shops seeking record covers that might reveal insights ...
An Hour With Lloyd Jones
10 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Lloyd Jones is one of New Zealand’s most significant and successful contemporary authors, whose works include The Book of Fame, based on the All Bla...
Colleen Shipley - Wrens Under the Radar
25 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Wrens Under the Radar by Marlborough librarian Colleen Shipley is inspired by the true story of eight women posted to a top-secret mission in Blenheim...
Kirsten McDougall & Dave Lowe - Writing Climate Change
11 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Kirsten McDougall is the author of an eco-thriller novel set in a climate-changed future, Dave Lowe is a scientist who has been raising the alarm abou...
Paula Morris - Shining Land: Looking for Robin Hyde
27 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Award-winning writer Paula Morris delivers a lecture on the fascinating, chaotic and ground-breaking life of the New Zealand journalist, poet, fiction...
Ruth Shaw - The Power of Books
14 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Two women who love books talk books at a book festival. Ruth Shaw, much-loved Manapōuri writer who has found happiness running three tiny bookshops i...
Barbara DeLeo - Sidestepping the Gatekeepers
30 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
There’s never been a better time to self-publish, says Barbara DeLeo. Her workshop at the 2022 Marlborough Book Festival canvasses every step of the...
Abbas Nazari - After the Tampa
13 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
We were thrilled to have Abbas Nazari as our guest for the opening event of the 2022 Marlborough Book Festival. Abbas was seven years old when his f...
Nicolas Dillon - Drawn to the Wild
28 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Nicolas Dillon discusses his very personal and heartfelt tribute to the birds of New Zealand, 'Drawn to the Wild'. This session looks back over the au...
Christine Leunens - From Academia to the Academies
09 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
From Parisian model to bestselling author, Christine Leunens talks about her extraordinary life and work. What was it like to have her novel 'Caging S...
John McCrystal - Shipwreck Tales
25 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
John McCrystal gives us insight into his new book, 'Worse Things Happen at Sea: Tales of nautical mishap, misery and mystery from New Zealand and arou...
Sharon Murdoch - Drawing Attention
10 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Sharon Murdoch started cartooning in her 50s and in a few short years became the first woman to regularly draw political cartoons for a daily newspape...
John McCrystal - Singing the Trail
28 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
John McCrystal tells the story of New Zealand through maps and the explorers who made them. From early Maori and European voyagers, to settlers, surv...
Rebecca Priestley - Fifteen Million Years in Antarctica
03 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Tickets for the Marlborough Book Festival 2022 are on sale now. Should we be paralysed by fear or optimistic for the world future generations will inh...
Elizabeth Knox Part 2 - The Absolute Book
18 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Tickets for the Marlborough Book Festival 2022 are on sale now. The Guardian praised 'The Absolute Book' as "everything a fantasy should be: original,...
Elizabeth Knox Part 1 - A Fantastic Life
05 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Tickets for the 2022 Marlborough Book Festival are now on sale. Elizabeth Knox has been imagining fantastic worlds and characters since she was a chil...
Dame Fiona Kidman - All the Way to Summer
21 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Dame Fiona marked her 80th birthday last year with the publication of 'All the Way to Summer', a beautiful volume of stories; all moving, insightful a...
Becky Manawatu - Auē
07 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
What’s it like when your first published novel wins big awards and receives rave reviews? 'Auē', Becky Manawatu’s story of good kids and grim cir...
Mike White - How To Walk A Dog
24 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Mike White discusses his delightful, funny and moving book 'How To Walk A Dog' with Tessa Nicholson at the 2021 Marlborough Book Festival. Mike talks ...
Brannavan Gnanalingam - Sprigs
09 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The Ockham judges praised 'Sprigs' as “an unflinching novel which forces us to reckon with uncomfortable truths about power and privilege in Aotearo...
Dame Fiona Kidman - Sense of Justice
26 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Dame Fiona Kidman has never shied away from the big topics both on and off the page. She has a deep interest in social justice and telling the story o...
Charity Norman Part 2 - The Secrets of Strangers
12 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In 'The Secret of Strangers' (2020), a gunshot rings out in a London cafe and the lives of five strangers are forever changed. Speaking to Tessa Nicho...
Charity Norman Part 1 - Advocate to Author
27 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Charity Norman’s own life story is as fascinating as the lives she writes about in her gripping novels - minus meth addiction and cult membership. B...
The Ice Shelf: Anne Kennedy
07 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The Ice Shelf: Anne Kennedy in conversation with Naomi Arnold at Spy Valley Winery at the 2019 Marlborough Book Festival.
Our heritage with Dr Vincent O'Malley
07 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
On the Marlborough Book Festival's signature Marlborough Sounds Cruise, guests enjoyed beautiful scenery and brunch including fresh New Zealand King S...
The Art of Simple: Eleanor Ozich
07 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The Art of Simple: Eleanor Ozich in conversation with Charlotte Patterson at The Treehouse at Cloudy Bay at the 2019 Marlborough Book Festival.
Extreme Woke Leftie: Emily Writes
07 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Emily Writes in conversation with Naomi Arnold at The Treehouse at Cloudy Bay at the 2019 Marlborough Book Festival.
2018 Opening Night: Off The Page
05 Dec 2018
Contributed by Lukas
In a Marlborough Book Festival first, some of our guest authors took their stories off the page and brought them to us live on stage, in a fun filled,...
Tina Makereti: Where The Rēkohu Bone Sings
04 Dec 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Tina Makereti writes novels, essays and short stories. When Tina came to investigate her Moriori heritage it led to her first novel, Where the Rēko...
Vincent O'Sullivan: All This By Chance
04 Dec 2018
Contributed by Lukas
One of New Zealand's finest writers, Vincent O'Sullivan came to the 2018 Marlborough Book Festival in the wake of releasing his first novel in 20 ye...
Diana Wichtel: Driving to Treblinka
04 Dec 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Diana Wichtel is an award-winning journalist, well known for her media commentary for the New Zealand Listener. Diana's family memoir Driving to Tre...
Jenny Pattrick: weaving fiction with historical fact
04 Dec 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Jenny Pattrick is one of New Zealand's best selling novelists. In this conversation with Tessa Nicholson at the 2018 Marlborough Book Festival, Jenn...
Selina Tusitala Marsh and Glenn Colquhoun: a love of poetry
04 Dec 2018
Contributed by Lukas
New Zealand Poet Laureate Selina Tusitala Marsh and doctor, award-winning poet and captivating orator Glenn Colquhoun shared the stage at the 2018 M...
Tom Scott and Diana Wichtel: writing about family
04 Dec 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Tom Scott and Diana Wichtel, who both published books about their families in 2017, chat to journalist Nikki Macdonald about the possible perils of wr...
Atholl Anderson: Tangata Whenua
04 Dec 2018
Contributed by Lukas
An eminent archaeologist and historian of Ngai Tahu descent, Atholl Anderson was one of three authors behind the multi award-winning Tangata Whenua: ...
MoreFM radio interview
21 Nov 2017
Contributed by Lukas
In 2017, The Marlborough Readers and Writers Charitable Trust won the supreme Marlborough Trustpower Community Award. Trustee and founding Marlborou...
Poet Brian Turner: an incredible life
20 Nov 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Brian Turner is a New Zealand poet, essayist, biographer and editor, as well as an ardent and accomplished sportsman, conservationist and champion of ...
Digging for dinosaurs with John Pickrell
20 Nov 2017
Contributed by Lukas
John Pickrell is an award-winning journalist, the former editor of Australian Geographic magazine and the author of Flying Dinosaurs, How Fearsome...
The beer geek and the winemaker
20 Nov 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Is beer pong an Olympic sport? What does beer made with stag semen taste like? Author of How To Have A Beer Alice Galletly provides answers to such p...
Dame Anne Salmond in conversation with Peter Jerram
19 Nov 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Dame Anne Salmond makes history intriguing, exciting and highly relevant. An eminent anthropologist, historian, writer and environmentalist, Anne shar...
Long form journalism panel
18 Nov 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Four of New Zealand's leading journalists - Mike White, Nikki Macdonald, Naomi Arnold and Charles Anderson - discuss how they tell stories in depth in...