Show Notes
Writer and poet Harold Coutts is back to read and discuss “Hoods Landing,” “Terrier, Worrier,” and “This Compulsion In Us” from the 2026 Ockham Awards shortlist ahead of the awards ceremony on 13 May. Featuring bird facts, tarot, and some meta thought on thought.
Books mentioned in this episode: - Hoods Landing, Laura Vincent (Āporo Press) - Terrier, Worrier: A Poem in Five Parts, Anna Jackson (Auckland University Press) - This Compulsion In Us, Tina Makereti (Te Herenga Waka University Press) - The Genius of Birds, Jennifer Ackerman (Scribe Publications) - He Puāwai: A Natural History of New Zealand Flowers, Philip Garnock-Jones (Auckland University Press) - Before the Winter Ends, Khadro Mohamed (Tender Press) - The Book of Guilt, Catherine Chidgey (Te Herenga Waka University Press) - Northbound, Naomi Arnold (HarperCollinsNZ) - A Different Kind of Power, Jacinda Ardern (Penguin)
More from A Little Bit Booked
Ahead of his appearance at the 2026 Nelson Arts Festival, Booker Prize-winning author Shehan Karunatilaka joins to talk about his magical realism novel “The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida” – from ghosts and truth-finding to absurdism and a little bit of hope.
Catherine Chidgey’s latest captivating novel follows Hazel, a young woman who signs up as a Blackpool sideshow act where she won’t eat for 40 days. As the days tick by and strangers watch Hazel transform, she must decide how far she’s willing to go for what she wants.
With over 30 children’s books to his name, author and illustrator Ned Barraud looks at the world a little bit differently. With an eye for detail and love of nature, his love of New Zealand’s environment are brought to life for little readers around the country.
Allyson Gofton’s latest cookbook, Give: Seasonal Recipes for Gifting, is all about recipes you can bake, make and share with the loved ones in your life, any time of the year. We talk everything from recipe development, what qualities a “giftable” recipe needs to have and the secret to flaky pastry. $30 from every book sold goes to support Breast Cancer Cure, funding vital breast cancer research in Aotearoa New Zealand. Learn more at https://breastcancercure.org.nz.
How do you learn to work in publishing? Whitireia Publishing Programme tutor Theresa Crewdson and current student Gaby West do their best to tempt me into a career change...and share some exciting you-heard-it-here-first news about what’s next for the course!