Stories

‘Can I lick the spoon? Please Gran…please.’ Although my older brother got the china mixing bowl as it is in families, I would take the spoon on to the ...More

A wedding in the Depression could be – well, depressing when a girl’s happiest day was pinched by poverty. So when Pauline and Eddie married it was simp ...More

Chapter 1 Anna looped bubble-wrap around her father’s favorite sculpture: a peacock made entirely out of mirrors. The only upside of moving out o ...More

The strap pinches my neck. My fingers poise above the keys. Moonlight highlights the skeletal frame of my alto saxophone. I stretch my eyes out into ...More

Despite the Lockdown the tides continue to tumble and dance against the land’s surfaces each trying to reach their destination. Each grit of ...More

don’t you find this world absolutely hilarious? one second, the globe is turning and earth’s on the brink of extinction: the next the world is sti ...More

I shuffle forward, cautious of not popping the two-metre bubble that surrounds every person around me. I look behind and see people lost and confu ...More

Slip while walking onto cold, slippery tiles into the bathroom for the twentieth time. Land on your right arm break it like a twig. Or, forget to put ...More

Yessssss, I thought the first day of Lockdown Breakfast was yum on the first day of Lockdown It was cloudy School was out on the first day of Lock ...More

I miss you, Life Outside the Gate. ​My gate isn’t very high, but now it feels like the top is touching the clouds. ​Whenever I think ab ...More

“What else will I need?” “Just that will be enough.” I finish filling my drink bottle and prepare myself for the unknown, not knowing if I will ...More

I was rushing around like a headless chicken; measuring, collecting cardboard and forming the plan of attack. My mission? To build a scale model of a Vol ...More

Nobody told me to dress for an apocalypse black raincoat, sweater yellow ‘To match the bees,’ I said, only they’ve all disappeared and the leaves are m ...More

A seagull stands still, eyeing humans who are finishing their fish’n’chips. It perches upon a dark grey hard-edged rock, its white plumage flicker ...More

This book was written on the traditional lands of the Wurundjeri people and the Wathaurong people of the Kulin nation, as well as on the traditional lands o ...More

We are part of WORD Christchurch 2020 Spring Festival and once again our Stories on the Go initiative is sharing stories by some of the Festival writers. ...More

I was looking forward to 2011. I hadn’t been finding 2010 to be a very settled year. On one level I put the unsettled feeling down to it being the ...More

So, there are two people walking up View Street after the five o’clock session. He is walking ahead. She is walking behind. View Street is steep ...More

With its face to the black and ass to the blue, orbital scaffolding repurposed for the next generation ship, the Gilman was a thing of impossible ugly be ...More

Drexel relaxed in the beat of swiping inner seams of jeans as the heft of cans tapped a pattern against his spine. In the chill air of just-before-d ...More

She is heavy on my bedroom wall. I reconstructed her, slapping mortar between each brick, but my room is not big enough so she is reduced to eyes, ...More

you visit Tuesday after the accident, arms full of pink stargazers and crossword puzzles asking about my slip tentatively, a tight-lipped smile as ...More

Abstract An eighteen-year-old alien moves to Dunedin to study. There she eats minerals, deconstructs, ingests poison, disintegrates, and ultimatel ...More

When Mo was born her mother fractured into tiny pieces, her father disintegrated and her family broke up completely. Mo was left in the care of a variety of fos ...More

tally stick historical a piece of wood scored across with notches for the items of an account and then split into halves, each party keeping one family a set o ...More

The house at 660 Castle Street was built as a Presbyterian Manse in 1923, designed by architect E.W. Walden and built by Loan and Watson. By the tim ...More

I had a sinking feeling in my stomach that January when I arrived in Dunedin. I stood in front of the dirty shallow porch of my flat and it wasn’t qu ...More

It was a pretty chill place to live for the first two thirds of the year. It was a place of freedom and acceptance, a place of thinking, talking, ...More

The talk and chatter of my family over the hum of the radio, beneath the conversations of the sheep and the rustle of plants, dancing in the wind. All this t ...More

Inspired by a brooch made from bullets, Kaiapoi Museum.   The bullets are usually found in the sand, often around a day after a battle, make sure it� ...More

Photos are a very powerful thing. Memories caught in time and plastered forever, or maybe not, onto my pages. Every inch of my skin is tattooed with ink ...More

We flip on the trampoline and wince as our fragile flesh scrapes the net. We stare at screens try to improve our eyesight by gazing deep into the pixelated worl ...More

Dear Earth, Before we go, we’d just like to say a few things. When we first arrived, we were born into a world that (so it seemed) you had adapted solely for ...More

Polly lounges in her usual spot at McDonalds, fourth table from the right. She studies the colour of the wall behind her. Red, her favourite colou ...More

Looking for somewhere to bide your time until Ragnarok? Well, look no further! Valhalla provides a number of move-in-ready houses at affordable pr ...More

When a baby is born, it’s the happiest day of your life You are handed a bundle of perfection, You make a promise to be the baby’s prot ...More

In my game, Zombies roam. In my game, Creepers groan. In my game, skeletons run with arrows & bows. In my game, I am the only good guy. In my game, vil ...More

My garden was always my haven. How could it not be, when I spent half my life in a sulphury darkness? I had a villa, marble and gold, fragranced wi ...More

My monster is quite unique With a certain frame of mind He specialises in fear, you know The very best of his kind Although he creaks the floorboards (jumping ...More

Who lives in a pineapple under the sea? It could be you! A cute, three-roomed pineapple in one of the most in-demand locations in the world! Buy now and ...More

A pirate ran off with my heart today, stitched it to his billowing sleeve, which was sweet, I suppose. He pilfered my shirt too, refusing to do his own ...More

The sun is lazily rising from the horizon as the harakeke steps in time with the wind. It’s almost as though they are dancing to a song, only they ...More

I am a kākāpō. I live in Whenua Hou (Codfish Island). I BOOM rimu berries. They are delicious. I TWEET mosses and ferns. They are padded. I HOOT ...More

Sitting on the small brick fence outside the night shelter, watching the early morning commuters. Thinking about the dream he had last night. He wa ...More

Large brown seals dot the craggy flat like giant cigars spilled from a box. They roll and scratch against the rough rock, big blobs blending in with brown ...More

On the first night, Grace dreamed of country music. Traditional troubadours like Hank Williams, Dolly Parton, Willie Nelson. She woke up with the twang a ...More

Right in the middle of trying to keep the schnitzel from burning and the broccoli from becoming a waterlogged mess and while Lucy fed the goldfish ...More

We rode with the wind at our backs. Cut across Mr Sandbird’s yard even as he yelled at us to get off his property. Gave him the finger and lau ...More

The photo shows two dozen red and yellow beetles inside a dog’s mouth. A trail of ladybug-like insects thumbtacked to the roof and wedged behind the front tee ...More

Stories on the Go is expanding and you can now get your daily dose of literature at these locations. Scan the QR code to read a short story while you wait! # ...More

Leila stood in the doorway, her little legs shaking in her blueberry pjs. “I don’t want to, Daddy,” she whispered. “Come on, sweetheart,” ...More

One by one he turns the pages of the book. The paper rustles against his dry fingers and I swallow in anticipation. He reads the words and his face cracks ...More

Some relationships are destined to last. Others end in tears, mass destruction or an intractable skin rash. My love affair in the winter of 2002 was doomed from ...More

At school, we studied the atom of protons, electrons and neutrons. Didn’t know of quarks with seven flavours, an elementary particle my dear Watson, thi ...More

  Prefabricated tilt-slab with steel reinforcing shipped from a Guangzhou factory a city street long. Delivered by a bevy of cranes criss-crossing ...More

This isn’t the beginning, but somewhere in the middle; she’s clambering the leftover scaffold like the flying fox on YouTube she saw scaling a sky-tre ...More

This line is the marriage line. It’s open-ended. This line is the intellect. It’s a circle inside a circle. This line is the heart line. Like the water. ...More

Ozmond had a round head; he was floating, dreamed he was on a wave with other round heads. When his head fell off, his eyes sprang open. A group of people st ...More

Inspiration: Artwork by Cracked Ink Artwork location, details and photo credit https://watchthisspace.org.nz/artwork/625   Silver fences ...More

Inspiration: Artwork by Jacob Yikes Artwork location, details and photo credit https://watchthisspace.org.nz/artwork/416   The afternoon sun has mad ...More

Inspiration: “Elephants” by Owen Dippie Artwork location, details and photo credit https://watchthisspace.org.nz/artwork/386    ...More

Inspiration: “Hide and Seek” by Wongi “Freak” Wilson Artwork location, details and photo credit https://watchthisspace.org.nz/art ...More

Inspiration: Artwork by Berst Artwork location, details and photo credit https://watchthisspace.org.nz/artwork/456   Picture this ……. Calming, ...More

Inspiration: Artwork by Jacob Yikes Artwork location, details and photo credit: https://watchthisspace.org.nz/artwork/454   Construction, the ...More

Inspiration: Kaitaki by Fin Dac Artwork location, details and photo credit https://watchthisspace.org.nz/artwork/612   Ōtautahi I am the ...More

Inspiration: High Pressure/Low Pressure by Josh O’Rourke Artwork location, details and photo credits https://watchthisspace.org.nz/artwork/7 ...More

Inspiration: Artwork by Owen Dippie Artwork location, details and photo credit https://watchthisspace.org.nz/artwork/386 Can you recognise other artworks in t ...More

Inspiration: Artwork by Cracked Ink Artwork location, details and photo credit https://watchthisspace.org.nz/artwork/625   Cluttered clouds bri ...More

Inspiration: Artwork by Richard “Pops” Baker Artwork location, details and photo credit https://watchthisspace.org.nz/artwork/477 Don’t han ...More

Inspiration: Artwork by Haruko Furukawa Artwork location, details and photo credit https://watchthisspace.org.nz/artwork/775 The sun settled as it drifted ...More

Inspiration: Artwork by Anne McDonald Artwork location, details and photo credit https://watchthisspace.org.nz/artwork/770 Scratching on a hair ...More

Inspiration: Artwork by Tepid and Wisk Artwork location, details and photo credit https://watchthisspace.org.nz/artwork/533   A continuous loop repe ...More

Inspiration: Forces by Dr. Suits Artwork location, details and photo credit https://watchthisspace.org.nz/artwork/800   She gasped. The game ...More

Inspiration: Artwork by Berst Artwork location, details and photo credit https://watchthisspace.org.nz/artwork/456 A strange creature followed m ...More

Inspiration: Artwork by D Side Artwork location, details and photo credit https://watchthisspace.org.nz/artwork/757 Cluck, cluck, cluck, A pirate digging. Dig ...More

Inspiration: She came from the stars by Vexta Artwork location, details and photo credit https://watchthisspace.org.nz/artwork/375 Cracks in ...More

Inspiration: Kaitaki by Fin Dac Artwork location, details and photo credit https://watchthisspace.org.nz/artwork/612 Feathers rising high above the clou ...More

Inspiration: Forces by Dr. Suits Artwork location, details and photo credit https://watchthisspace.org.nz/artwork/800   Geometry at odds And c ...More

Inspiration: The Hector Dive by Telmo and Miel Artwork location, details and photo credit https://watchthisspace.org.nz/artwork/393   Take me ...More

Inspiration: High Pressure/Low Pressure by Josh O’Rourke Artwork location, details and photo credit https://watchthisspace.org.nz/artwork/799 Lear ...More

I am lost in countless dizzying turns and endless corridors. A bare light bulb flickers as I pass beneath it. I flinch involuntarily. Ping! The famili ...More

Nobody knew who he was. Or where he came from. Only that he lived on the traffic island in the middle of the intersection and had one arm. When he first appe ...More

I remember the clock He liked to count down Whether we liked it or not, Whether we smiled or frowned He hung in my house On the nursery wall We saw him as big ...More

Meet her in the forest You’ll find her fascinating She may not welcome you but she has no choice in this The tree which she is forever linked to ...More

When someone tells you to picture a magician, what do you think of? Daniel Radcliffe, complete with a wand and broomstick? Or perhaps a cheesy performer wit ...More

Flowers. There are a lot of flowers. Every day someone crouches by me, one hand on their heart and the other holding a bunch of flowers. Lilies, lilacs, ros ...More

Grayce huddled in the dark of her bedroom. The slithering sound came again, something scraping, knocking. Scrape-knock-knock-slide-slither. Somewhere in th ...More

They didn’t want my name to be conventional. It’s a quick, sharp sound, a sound that belongs with cricket chirps and snapping twigs, brilliant as a flas ...More

Miraculously the Yellow dagger Somehow appeared on the Table next to the Elevating bottle Really, this was all very strange Yet, started making sen ...More

Hazel leaned over, brushing her lips against her sister’s forehead. “Goodbye.” She fumbled with the window, shoving it open, greeted by ...More

“I”m pregnant again”.    I was measuring flour into the sieve and gently banging it against the heel of my hand.  He was hunched over ...More

Get your daily dose of words for those who can’t live without them or who don’t usually have time to read. Find a QR code on a bus, scan it and read a ...More

Today, my feelings are too big for my body They catch and hold fast in my throat They stream down my face And burn on my skin May they emerge as kindness ...More

The murmur of voices Are symphony to flashing lights Tapping keys Coloured lines of code Changing Adjusting Advancing. Jumbles of letters Make up words ...More

To send a letter you must have something important to say. Got it? Good, now write it on a piece of paper, then pop it in an envelope and seal it with your s ...More

Kiss frogs. Sleep for 100 years. Turn into a human and not speaking. Sneak out late at night. Change your mum into a bear and back again. Lose your ...More

Take some Milky Way dust Mix in some galaxies Wrench some light from inside a black hole It should be spaghettified and tender Knead in some rusty ...More

“What do you intend to do about this disgraceful situation?” Alison Carrington seethed. Mayor Harper stared at the outraged, elderly woman, like a man ab ...More

To read previous chapters go to Stories Chapter Eight Ari slid his feet under the sheets and the warm covers. He pulled the duvet up to his chin and ...More

To read previous chapters go to Stories Chapter Seven “Ari,” his father said. “You and I know this water, mate. When I say ‘Jump!’ I want you ...More

To read previous chapters go to Stories Chapter Six In his dream, Ari covered his head with his hands and crouched down, hiding. He could hear people calling t ...More

To read previous chapters go to Stories Upoko Tuarima I te kāinga, ka pākōkō a Pāpā ki roto i te kuaha. “Paiā! Te kaha hoki o te ua i wah ...More

To read previous chapters go to Stories Chapter Five Back at home, Ari’s dad came thumping up the steps and burst through their front door. Woohoo! ...More

His fur is silky black, blue eyes wild, teeth glistening white – white like the snow that fell last winter, like the oleander that grows by t ...More

“Come on, Moon, it’s time to hunt.” Sunrise went first to check if there was any danger. Moon tried to go before Sunrise had said the coas ...More

Zzzzz ….. zzzz ……. An annoying noise was causing hindrance to my much desired afternoon nap. I somehow manage to open my eyes partially, and ...More

knitted scarves wrap around her neck while legs freeze beneath leopard-                                print legging ...More

Help us build a map!  This is a crowdsource platform ideal for writers, publishers, but also passionate readers and map enthusiasts. Upload a book ...More

To read previous chapters go to Stories Upoko Tuawhā Ka mātakina e Ari te karaka i a te wā ka whakatata atu ki te toru karaka. Me puta tere ia i ...More

To read previous chapters go to Stories Chapter Four Ari watched the hands on the clock move towards three o’clock. He knew he had to get away fro ...More

When I pick her up she feels warm and frail. She’s like a giraffe sticking her neck high above the canopy searching for a decent snack. When she f ...More

You can do it for fitness You can do it for play You can ride your bike All of the day When you drive in a car It creates pollution Join with me Start th ...More

Feijoas roll down the roof to be pecked by the birds startling the rats which scurry above. A grimy workbench dusty with tools next to a soggy, wet lead chewed ...More

It is with great pleasure that we announce that The School for Young Writers and the WRITE ON Magazine are now part of our fantastic group of suppor ...More

Walking across the multi-story car park, her heels clicked and echoed amongst the few silent vehicles. The sound vanished into the dark exit ramps. Her footst ...More

To read previous chapters go to Stories Upoko Tuatoru Ka māma te wairua a Ari i tana kitenga atu i a Māmā e whanga ana ki a Koro i te hōhipera. I ...More

To read previous chapters go to Stories Chapter Three Ari was really relieved to see his mum waiting in the emergency room when they got there. Koro ha ...More

Being the middle child of five girls and three boys in 1940’s and 50’s in my native Ireland, I never had the chance to actually own a bicycle ...More

Once I was riding on a weekend group ride. We were strung out along a straight, flat stretch of road. It occurred to me that the cyclists ahead of me woul ...More

The baby’s finally asleep. The father is home from work. I haven’t been alone in days. This is it…. “She’s asleep”…”I’m just off for ...More

I was two years old when I got my first bike It was better than your little trike We found it in the bushes My dad fixed it up for me He welded it back ...More

Oh bicycle, Oh bicycle, I shall call you Amelia. Amelia, Amelia, I love you so. You carry me around. Amelia, Amelia, Riding you is divine. You are the ...More

My life is divided into two revolving states. During one, I eat healthily, run almost every day and don’t drink. I call this ‘Zen’. The other state is a d ...More

Google maps you take me though the underpass fast on my bike in the night my lights flash on the shapes of down and outs the louts, layabouts who shout ob ...More

She lay in bed, eyes tight shut against the grey light, trying not to notice it as it becomes paler and paler through her eyelids. “Concentrate” she whisper ...More

The Strange Sagas of Sabrina Summers Saga 1: The Uncooperative Flying Carpet Prologue It was a terrible day for a wedding. The rain slanted down by the bucket ...More

The trick is to hear the voices in the rain but not to listen. What’s the phrase? Feel the fear and do it anyway. Well not only can I feel the ...More

At my father’s funeral an old man in a crumpled black suit gets up to speak. He rises slowly on old man’s legs from among the dark suits and neatly combed h ...More

She chewed her biro, and read the evaluation form. “On a scale of one to five, five being highest, how much did you enjoy this activity?” One. “On a sc ...More

Eve is busy setting the long thin tables – fork knife fork knife fork knife – and doesn’t see him approach. “Do you want some help?” She ...More

They’d been walking for about an hour. They’d started in Madras Street, at the office. William was down for the week, the presentation had gone well a ...More

Jerry and his friend, Ross, were playing in Jerry’s sandpit. Charlie appeared. “What are you playing?” Charlie asked Jerry. “Planes.” Jerry ...More

The time had come. In the warm darkness of his egg, the flamingo chick moved. Crack! His mother stood up. She fussed about, touching the egg gently wit ...More

It’s what I could do to help Fleur out. Family is family. The last Friday each month, we’d drive into the city from opposite directions, and in the motel c ...More

I ate my brother. I was always fond of him, looked up to him. He was older than me. I measured myself against him. We stood back to back. At first I only ...More

“And the prize for the bravest pirate goes to …” Greybeard, the oldest of all the pirates, held up a piece of paper and waved it around dr ...More

First, find a location. Find a shabby farm that keeps its neighbours at arm’s length. Find a house with a rusted roof, with guttering that dribbles down ...More

Pull-my-Finger the Giant only had one joke, probably like your dad or grandad. But he was very fond of it and he told it as often as he could. This was it ...More

John paused and turned away from his screen to glance at the steaming cup of coffee. Something felt a little off but he couldn’t place his finger on it ...More

To read previous chapters go to Stories Upoko Tuarua Parahutihuti ana tā Emmy oma ki te waha o te kura, ka waiho mai a Ari ki tana puehu, ā, ka hemo ki tua o ...More

To read previous chapters go to Stories Chapter Two Emmy flew through the school gate ahead of Ari, disappearing in the direction of her classroo ...More

The dragonfly’s eyes are made up of multiple hexagons. Inside each hexagon is a black and white picture of my face. I’ve printed the photos from my fi ...More

TCB: It is always a cause for excitement when we received one of your books for our Read and Share project. Your unique storytelling has captivated millions ...More

Trailing my clackity clack bumblebee Golly in the other hand, I follow the tall back of my Dad down the garden path. Full of questions, I shadow him into his ...More

Find the hidden sequence of words: the first letter of each makes the puzzle answer. e.g. he offers trust = HOT Sometimes fresh air feels like waking up after ...More

His hatred of cordyline australis was spawned in his ancestry. When the council planted them along the coastal path he couldn’t sleep, so strong wa ...More

It’s been nearly 70 years since my children left home. That sounds ridiculous but I am 120 years old. When they left, my house felt empty. I began to n ...More

It’s morning. I know this because the clock says 7.23 and a finger of light is trying to pull back the curtains. My room faces east. So that make ...More

To read previous chapters go to Stories Upoko Tuatahi Ka takoto a Ari ki tana moenga, ka whakataurite i tōna hū ki te pito o tōna matiwae-nui, m ...More

To read previous chapters go to Stories Chapter One Ari lay on his bed, balancing his sneaker on the tip of his big toe, counting how many seconds he c ...More

‘How’s Alex?’ Hope said. She and Molly were sitting in a café by the river in early spring drinking tea from the same pot. Molly sighed, looked out ...More

because of their size they gather crystals and clouds sharp and sparse collections of sun-catchers until that first nasty week in June then they look sof ...More

It was a glimpse into Paradise. The sun caught the old town first, its jumble of faded pastels glowing like the gilded ceilings of the Vatican – yellow, ...More

Extract from Mazarine (Chapter Twelve) Twelve I hadn’t expected Sophie Greenaway to be at work in the middle of the summer break and so soon after ...More

Con walks down the streets of Newtown from Berhampore, past the damp, narrow houses, tipped into the wind, cold rain spitting into his face. There� ...More

Ka kuhu atu a Ari ki roto i te māhanahana o ngā hīti me ngā paraikete. Ka kumea ake e ia kia pūmahana a roto. Te koa hoki ōna kua hoki pai ...More

“E Ari, e taunga ana tā tāua mōhio ki ngā wai nei. Ka tae te wā, me peke koe i te taha, hikina o waewae kia māpuna tō mānū i te wai, e hoa. Kei m ...More

Ka moemoeā a mō tana noho huna, tana noho koropuku. Ka rongo ia i ētahi tangata e kimi ana i a ia, e karanga ana i tōna ingoa. Kātahi ka huhut ...More