Mass murderers, mothers who hate their children, and now cancer ... is there a difficult topic Lionel Shriver won't tackle? Nigel Farndale finds out.

A new biography about talk show host Oprah Winfrey reveals more through what it cannot say.

Talkshow star Oprah Winfrey's father is not actually her biological father, no one is allowed cellphones in her presence, and her staff call her Mary.

One of the special joys of touring New Zealand these days is the number of places you find that sell great food.

A new book covers the former First Lady's marriage and years in the White House, as well as the 1960 campaign and JFK's thoughts on a second term.

Thirty years after the Korean War, an American veteran and an Asian woman are still confronting the conflict that briefly brought them together.

New author D.J. Connell talks to Stephen Jewell about her hilarious novel which has been optioned for a film.

Despite her carefully cultivated "woman of the people" image, Oprah Winfrey takes a dim view of any outsider impertinent enough to wonder what makes her tick.

Natasha Solomons skilfully weaves refugee tales into a novel about adjusting to life in a new land.

A book about Samoan tattooing - tatau - records a story that has been 30 years in the making.

Being green doesn't have to mean deprivation and sacrifice. Eco-journalist Francesca Price shows us how.

A children's bookshop is working with security staff of a nearby tavern and casino over the growing problem of parents leaving children to read while they gamble.

Novels, for all their categorisation as fiction, must, to some extent, draw on the writer's own experiences. Or they must, at least

Sarah Broom, who has a PhD from Oxford, is the author of a book on contemporary British and Irish poets and has just released her

Dylan Horrocks, author of newly published graphic novel Hicksville, said he grew up in two places: In New Zealand and in comics.

Mitch Albom has realised people are hungry for stories that touch them deeply.

Writer Peter Nowak starts his survey of technology by linking war, porn and fast food - the idea surfaced after he saw the lurid sex tape of Paris Hilton.