Sometimes it’s the only way to get in print, and sometimes it’s the best way to keep control of your work. James Russell charts the rise of self-publishing.

Ian McEwan’s new novel centres around a family court judge who gets too involved in one of her cases. She blows it, McEwan tells Linda Herrick.

Sarah Waters’ new novel explores what happens when an ‘unruly passion’ in the form of two lodgers enters a house. She talks to Linda Herrick.

Oh, to write like Alan Bennett. The consummate modulations of mood and structure. The utterly English urbanity and self-deprecation.

Martin Amis is a child of the 20th century, both literally and by literary preoccupation. He was born in the aftermath of World War II and grew up in the shadow of the unholy trinity of great ideologies — fascism, communism and capitalism.

There are two sides to the eReader debate - Shelley Bridgeman is pro paperbacks, while Joanna Hunkin has turned for the hi-tech device. Share your thoughts.

Roald Dahl was born in this month in 1916. As a tribute, here are 10 of my favourite quotes from his books.

An unseen chapter of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory deemed too subversive for young British children has finally been released.

A bestselling author who sells books by the million, Jennifer Weiner is on an almighty mission to get ‘chick lit’ the serious attention she believes it is due.

Children's classic removed from Australian supermarket chain after complaints it contained the word "slut".

A "stunning" biography of a Wellington art dealer has beaten Eleanor Catton's acclaimed novel The Luminaries to win the top New Zealand Post Book Award.

Women who read 'Fifty Shades of Grey' are more likely to have abusive partners and eating disorders, according to academics worried about the novel's impact.

In her beloved Little House series of books, Laura Ingalls Wilder painted a wholesome picture of prairie life in which the most scandalous event was rival Nellie Olsen pulling her pigtails.

In keeping with the almost impermeable wall that prevents a healthy transtasman book trade, Helen Garner is relatively unknown in New Zealand.

I'd love to meet John Crace. The Guardian columnist is acerbic, focused, appallingly funny.

The hacker who took years of Whaleoil blogger Cameron Slater's communications has reached out from behind the pages of 'Dirty Politics' and promised further revelations.

Have our politicians reached a new low in gutter tactics? Nicky Hager picks five crucial parts of his book and invites you to make up your own mind.

The revelation from Nicky Hager that politics is a dirty business comes tens of thousands of years late.

I have tried really, really hard to read Nicky Hager's books. They interest me. But I have never been able to do it. They make my head hurt.

Ignore its uptight reputation. Mansfield Park, celebrating its 200th anniversary, seethes with sex and delves into England’s murkiest corners, writes Paula Byrne.

Amazon's pressuring of publishers and movie studios over income distribution from online sales has so far avoided the glare of US antitrust authorities.

Nicky Hager says his new book Dirty Politics will show Prime Minister John Key has questions to answer: "You will not believe what you read and how bloody awful it is."

The worldwide domination of a building blocks game is a triumph for the power of human imagination. John Naughton looks at how Minecraft has bewitched 40 million of us.