Novel Makes Longlist
Emily Perkins’ novel The Forrests has made the UK Women’s Prize for Fiction 2013 longlist. The prize, known formerly as the Orange Prize, honours a work of fiction written in English…
News of New Zealanders via Global Media
Wartime President
New Zealand-born actress Stephanie Paul stars as the as the Palin-esque president of the United States, out to save the world in the German-Finnish-Australian thriller Iron Sky, which premiered in Berlin on 11 February….
Flipping out in a Biplane
“New Zealand offers just about every adventure activity you can think of – and many more you’ve likely never even considered,” Elissa Richard writes for Yahoo News Singapore. “Ever wanted to be a pilot? Or…
PNG an ‘exciting economic opportunity’ for NZ
‘Spectacular’ economic growth makes Papua New Guinea (PNG) an exciting economic opportunity for New Zealand, according to William Dihm, PNG High Commissioner to New Zealand, and Marion Crawshaw, NZ High Commissioner to Papua New…
From Digital New York
Film director and writer New Zealander Anna Wilding writes on ‘Digital Hollywood and the Role of Content Creators’ for Herald de Paris. Having attended the recent Digital Hollywood Media Summit in New…
NZ Companies Office promote private sector growth in the Pacific
Pacific Island delgates attended an Auckland workshop organised by the New Zealand Companies Office and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to develop and reform online/electronic business registries in the Pacific Islands, reports Islands Business….
Rising Star of Artisan Dressmakers
New Zealand fashion designer Emilia Wickstead – “already one of the best-kept secrets in the upper echelons of London society” – has been recruited by Selfridges as a bespoke tailor for the department…
Backing Pies in NY
Nine years ago, New Zealand entrepreneur Gareth Hughes started Down Under Bakery (DUB) Pies in Brooklyn, New York. With his shop now selling 5000 items a week, Hughes is looking to expand and he’s…
Get Off the Beaten Track
New Zealand travel specialist for Condé Nast Traveler, South Island-based Jean-Michel Jefferson, offers video tips for trips throughout the country and insights into recent tourism trends. “We’re seeing much more family and multigenerational travel,”…
Equality for Economic Progress
Head of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), New Zealander Helen Clark, said the UN must not backtrack on women’s reproductive rights and that women must have access to health services. Speaking…
Columbia and NZ ‘Strategic Relationship’
President Juan Manuel Santos of Columbia and Prime Minister John Key discussed a ‘strategic relationship’ and a possible free trade agreement, writes Joey O’Gorman in Columbia Reports. John Key’s visit to Columbia was the…
Bell Does Battle
Stuntwoman and actress New Zealander Zoë Bell, 34, headlines a “sly subversion of the women-in-prison genre”, Raze, which is playing in the ‘Midnight Section’ as part of the 2013 Tribeca Film Festival,…
Doing It for Themselves
“If you are a working woman, you would do well to move to New Zealand,” according to The Economist, who have compiled their own “‘glass-ceiling index’ to show where women have the best chance…
Cable Sector Reflections
“As Neil Berkett prepares to depart the stage, the man who has arguably been the most successful CEO in UK cable said he was immensely proud of what has been built at…
Chile and NZ Sign Agreement on Science
President Sebastián Piñera of Chile has signed a new trade agreement with the visiting Prime Minister of New Zealand, John Key, writes Elizabeth Trovall of The Santiago Times. The agreement promises shared innovation in…
Britain Gets a Health Lesson
Midlands Health Network in New Zealand is exploring how best to tackle the problem of the country’s ageing population. Midlands Health Network chief executive John Macaskill-Smith explains in the Guardian how Britain’s…
Mexico, NZ Commit to Stronger Trade Relations
Prime Minister John Key says he and Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto want stronger trade relationships between New Zealand and Mexico, following talks in Mexico City. President Nieto and Prime Minister Key agreed a…
Making Music in Two Worlds
“Being a native of Auckland, singer-songwriter Simon Spire has had a foot in the door of two places since his transition to New York City,” The Aquarian Weekly’s Alessandra Donnelly writes….
Vinyl at Length
New Zealand sextet The Phoenix Foundation feature in the Guardian’s ‘New Music’ section this week, “return with a bittersweet first taster of their 80-minute long new album, Fandango.” “‘Damn the zeitgeist,…
Downton Appearance
World-renowned New Zealand soprano Dame Kiri Te Kanawa is scheduled to appear on the popular British period soap opera, Downton Abbey. Producers of the show announced that Te Kanawa will appear as a guest…
Beyond the Edge
The epic story of the first known ascent of Mt Everest by Sir Edmund Hillary and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay is to be made into a 3D feature by award-winning New Zealand documentary maker Leanne…
NZ film gurus headline a 3D Creative Summit
When the world’s first 3D Creative Summit wanted some film production gurus to speak, it went to New Zealand to get them. Amongst the Summits distinguished guests were Phil Oatley and Meetal Gokul…
Bird-watching Masterpieces
Buller’s Birds of New Zealand: The Complete Work of JG Keulemans is recommended as a “must have for those with an interest in the birds of New Zealand or in bird…
Undeniably entertaining
New Zealand director Andrew Niccol’s latest science-fiction film, an adaptation of Twilight author Stephenie Meyer’s book The Host, has premiered in Los Angeles. Meyer specifically asked for Niccol to direct the film. On the…
Empowering the People
Lyttelton’s Harbour Co-op, which features in the March issue of Monocle, is a company wholly owned by its customers. “While New Zealand has a strong history of co-operatives, a consumer-owned food-retail…
Southern wild
Mount Cook and the Mackenzie Country feature in the March/April issue of the Australian Geographic. “Mt Cook lies within the Southern Alps, a series of mountain ranges stretching along the entire South Island. The…
Militant on the Mainland
“It sucks to be a possum in New Zealand,” according to The Atlantic’s Rachel Gross. “Cars swerve to hit you. Guns point toward you. People feed you little green pellets that taste like cinnamon;…
Painting our Failings
New Zealand artist Mark Cross exhibited part of his collection produced over the past 15 years on the Florida-based Projeckt30 online gallery through March. In his statement Cross says: “Oscillating between…
Amongst the World’s Best
Three New Zealand hotels are included in the 2013 Travel + Leisure compendium of the top-rated 500 hotels around the globe with The Lodge at Kauri Cliffs taking the No 16 spot…
Ned Going Gangbusters
“Brent Marris’ The Ned Waihopai River, made in Marlborough, has become the wine equivalent of Fifty Shades of Grey, a word-of-mouth bestseller, its name passed from school gate to dinner table to book group,…
Keeping Friends and Influencing Nations
Sir Don McKinnon appeared on a BBC ‘Daily Politics’ segment arguing that the Commonwealth is a “pretty good investment” for Britain but it has not “always used it best”. The New Zealander was the…
Neilson Gets ‘Better and Better’
New Zealander Ruban Neilson’s playing and song writing just gets ‘better and better’, according to The Observer. Reviewing his group’s latest CD. Unknown Mortal Orchestra II, The Observer’s Kitty Empire praises the bands songs…
Black Grace Tours US
“Pittsburgh Dance Council’s commitment to finding cutting-edge dance took it halfway around the world for its new offering, the Black Grace company from New Zealand,” Mark Kanny writes for the Pittsburgh…
Kevin Iro: from ‘Kiwi’ League Legend to Marine Reserve Champion
‘At first glance’ Kevin Iro, New Zealand rugby league great, ‘seems a somewhat unlikely ocean champion,’ writes Islands Business. But you don’t play for the ‘Kiwis’ without learning about hard work, and teamwork. That…
Effortless Chic
Since the launch of her ultra-feminine, eponymous line in 1996, Rebecca Taylor has become, without a doubt, one of the most prominent New Zealand-born fashion designers in the business, according to ELLE correspondent Kelsey…
Gifted Broadcaster
Broadcaster Phillip Leishman, who’s career ranged from regional television in Dunedin to Olympic and Commonwealth Games, and to game show Wheel of Fortune, has died aged 61. “He was an extraordinarily gifted presenter and…
NZ Home to World’s Largest Waterslide
New Zealanders Jimi Hunt and Dan Drupstee have built the world’s longest waterslide, writes The Daily Mail. Their slide, at 650 meters long, beat the previous record by nearly 440 meters! Two thousand people…
One of Our Greats Farewelled
“There are few things I can say about my work that are better than saying nothing,” Ralph Hotere once said. With his death on 24 February, aged 81, art commentators and New Zealanders from…
Making Melody in Bollywood
New Zealand musician and composer Mikey McCleary lives in Mumbai where he made his first brief impression with a commercial for Coca-Cola. McCleary, 44, also writes scores for Bollywood films. While new-age Hindi film…
Oscar-nominee’s Homes for Hobbits
Production designer on The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey Hastings-born Dan Hennah, features in an Architectural Digest 2013 Oscar nominees slideshow of the year’s best in set design. “Hennah, who trained as an architect and…
Erakovic Scores WTA Title
‘Run up the flags. New Zealand finally has a winner again,’ said Bob Greene of World Tennis Magazine. He was talking about Marina Erakovic winning her first World Tennis Association (WTA) title. The win…
Ryan Nelsen Scores Coaching Position
Former All Whites skipper Ryan Nelsen, has his first-ever coaching job, at Toronto FC. He faces a huge task trying to turn the club around, writes Sonja Cori Missio in The Guardian. Nelsen was…
Chef Peter Gordon Talks NZ Lamb
New Zealand lamb took center-stage in The Independent’s ‘food and drink’ section recently. Kiwi chef Peter Gordon featured, with a video on cooking lamb fajitas. ‘Since the first delivery in 1882, New Zealand Lamb…
First in Memphis
Marina Erakovic, 24, has became the first New Zealander, since Belinda Cordwell in 1989, to win a Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) title, lifting her first career trophy with a truncated triumph over third-seeded German…
Harmony in China
World-renowned harmonica player New Zealander Brendan Power, 56, whose music can be heard in the 2008 film Atonement, has been touring China this month. Based in Britain for the past 20…
Keoghan Wastes No Time
“ Phil Keoghan of The Amazing Race has scuba dived with a dog, swilled the blood of a cobra and attended a nudist wedding,” Los Angeles Times blogger Mary Forgione writes. “And he…
Dogs on Film
Auckland-born photographer Paul Nathan’s new coffee table book, Couture Dogs captures bedazzled chihuahuas and Yorkshire terriers – the fashion plates of a special breed of dog owners who don’t mind spending a small…
Never a Dull Moment
Four years ago, when Charles Turner was just shy of 91, he and his wife emigrated from London to Wellington. “It has worked,” Turner writes in the Telegraph. “We have a large garden with…
What’s it Like in Paradise?
“Even this self-consciously egalitarian society, which was first to give women the vote in 1893, is not immune to social and economic inequality,” writes Michael White for the Guardian. “What’s it like in paradise…
Economic Aftermath of Canterbury Quake.
Two years ago, an earthquake devastated Christchurch, New Zealand’s second largest city, killing 185 people. The city is but one example of how even the wealthiest countries struggle to recover from large-scale catastrophes, according…
Debut Accomplished and Unexpected
Auckland band Popstrangers have released their debut album Antipodes, an “accomplished and ambitious” record, according to London-based online music magazine musicOMH. “Throughout the album, Popstrangers never leave you feeling comfortable. Just when you think…
Commentaries on Nationality
Unknown Mortal Orchestra’s Ruban Nielson, formerly of The Mint Chicks, attributes his former anonymity and general fame-shyness to, in part, being from New Zealand. Emerging on the scene via an obscure Bandcamp profile in…
Clark Calls for Action
Helen Clark is calling for swift action to halt a surge of diseases such as cancer and diabetes in the Pacific, writes the Samoa Observer. Ms. Clark, a former New Zealand Prime Minister, is…
NZ Congratulated for Plain Packaged Cigarettes
New Zealand will follow Australia’s lead in forcing cigarette makers to sell their products in plain packs, writes Dan Harrison, Health reporter for The Age. ‘Associate Health Minister Tariana Turia announced that she would…
New Zealand Toy Makes World Top 10 List
A New Zealand toy, The Snow Globe, is one of the world’s top ten ‘best creative toys’, according to Britain’s Independent newspaper. The ‘Snow Globe’ is made by Seedlings, founded in 2006 by Phoebe…
Bale to Play Mountaineer
New Zealand mountaineer Rob Hall – who was killed climbing Mt Everest in 1996 aged 35 – will be played by American actor Christian Bale in a forthcoming film about the events which unfolded when two…
