This episode is the first in a three-part series celebrating the publication of AUP New Poets 5 edited by Anna Jackson and published by Auckland University Press. (Image of Carolyn DeCarlo by Tabitha Arthur) Launched in 1999, AUP New Poets first introduced readers to Anna Jackson, Sonja Yelich, Janis Freegard, Chris Tse and many other significant … Continue reading Ep 66: Part 1 AUP New Poets 5 – Carolyn DeCarlo talks about Zachary Schomburg’s ‘Inside We Make Children Sandwiches’ and ‘Spy Valley’ by Carolyn DeCarlo

July 31, 2019 is the 100th anniversary of the birth of Italian Jewish chemist, writer, and Holocaust survivor Primo Levi. On the occasion of Levi's centenary, Giacomo Lichtner has written 'One Hundred Years of Primo Levi', an essay offering ten reasons to 're-read and re-consider the empathy, rage and understated greatness' of If This is … Continue reading Ep 65: Giacomo Lichtner talks to Pip Adam about his essay ‘One hundred years of Primo Levi’

This episode I spoke to Sharon Lam and her publisher Murdoch Stephens about Sharon's novel Lonely Asian Woman - it's writing and publication. Sharon's work also appears on Episode 40 of Better off Read where we showcased some writing from Starling magazine Lonely Asian Woman is the debut novel of Sharon Lam. It ruthlessly skews stereotypes of Asian-New Zealanders at … Continue reading Ep 64: Sharon Lam and publisher Murdoch Stephens talk to Pip Adam about Sharon Lam’s novel ‘Lonely Asian Woman’

Nowhere to Be Found by Bae Suah is one of my favourite novels. In this episode I spoke with Sora Kim-Russell who translated Bae Suah's novel from Korean to English. Sora is an amazing literary translator who has translated some of my other favourite books including The Hole by Pyun Hye-young and a book I can't wait to read The … Continue reading Ep 63: Sora Kim-Russell talks to Pip Adam about Bae Suah’s novel ‘Nowhere to Be Found’

In this episode I talk to Brandy Scott, a radio presenter based in Dubai. Her 20-year journalism career has seen her work across radio, newspapers and magazines in several countries. We talked about her first novel Not Bad People. Not Bad People is a clever, compelling debut novel with a unique premise of what happens when three … Continue reading Ep 62: Brandy Scott talks to Pip Adam about her novel ‘Not Bad People’

In this episode Pip Adam (that's me) answers questions about The New Animals This episode contains SPOILERS!! Thanks everyone for an awesome year! Better off Read is available on iTunes where you can subscribe by clicking here Better off Read is also available on PodBean where you can subscribe by clicking here Or you can listen to it … Continue reading Ep 61: The New Animals SPOILER Episode

It’s hard to explain why Anne Kennedy’s The Ice Shelf is so incredible – I think the only way to find out is to read it. I was lucky enough to speak with Anne about her amazing work at Unity Books in Wellington last week. Thanks to Anne, Unity Books Wellington and Victoria University Press … Continue reading Ep 60: Pip Adam talks to Anne Kennedy about ‘The Ice Shelf’ at Unity Books Wellington

Hi All, Toward the end of December we'll be recording a spoiler episode on The New Animals. You can ask questions here And I will try to answer them Thanks Pip  

Elizabeth Heritage is a Wellington-based freelancer working in the book trade and the New Zealand media. You can read about Elizabeth's work on her website One of Elizabeth's many skills is in the area of Copyright Licensing. From 2014 to 2017 she worked as the Communications Lead for Creative Commons Aotearoa NZ. On her website … Continue reading Ep 59: Pip Adam talks to Elizabeth Heritage about Copyright

This episode I caught up with poet, essayist and teacher Helen Heath. Helen recently published an astounding collection of poetry which poses the question Are Friends Electric? We got together to talk about Fleur Adcock's poem 'Gas', first published in her 1971 collection High Tide in the Garden and it's also available in Fleur Adcock Poems 1960-2000, and Helen's … Continue reading Ep 58: Pip Adam talks to Helen Heath about ‘Gas’ by Fleur Adcock and ARE FRIENDS ELECTRIC? by Helen Heath