Stories


This is our ONLINE COLLECTION of stories, what will you read today? If you don't have time to read now, bookmark your favourite ones and check your Reading List later. 

If you are taking the bus, find our posters, scan and access a curated collection, part of Stories on the Go

Stories for For Adult Readers

“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 the computer. ...More

Biography & Memoir, Food
Sile Mannion

4 min read

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Inspiration: Artwork by Jacob Yikes   The afternoon sun has made Alice sleepy. She follows White Rabbit down a different dark, mossy hol ...More

Inspired by Street Art
Alice Li

2 min read

Published by Paint n' Pen Submission
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Sitting on the small brick fence outside the night shelter, watching the early morning commuters. Thinking about the dream he had last night. He was ...More

Fiction
Karen Clarke

4 min read

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 ...More

Drama, Non Fiction
Jennifer Rankin

1 min read

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  Six centuries ago Polynesian explorers, who inhabited a cosmos in which islands sailed across the sea and stars across the sky, arrived in Aotearoa ...More

* STORIES ON THE GO, History, Non Fiction
Anne Salmond

5 min read

Published by Auckland University Press
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Comedian Chris Parker brings his brilliant comic wit to the page. Star of stand-up, winner of Celebrity Treasure Island and lockdown Instagram sensati ...More

* STORIES ON THE GO, Biography & Memoir, Humor & Comedy
Chris Parker

9 min read

Published by Allen & Unwin
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  No excuses presentation Dave Letele’s incredible life has taken him from footy to failure, crime to community, fat to fit and riches to rags — and ...More

Biography & Memoir, Non Fiction
Dave Letele

16 min read

Published by Penguin Random House
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Kua whakamāorihia tā Paulo Coelho pukapuka whakaaweawe, e kaha nei hoki te hokona puta noa i te ao, ā, koinei te pukapuka nui katoa te whakawhitihia ...More

* STORIES ON THE GO, Action & Adventure, Translation
Paulo Coelho

7 min read

Published by Auckland University Press
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  The chin tattoo confirms the victim is Maori. The whorls of ink from her lower lip to her chin—the moko, is worn only by Maori women. So, h ...More

Mystery & Crime
Catherine Lea

13 min read

Published by Brakelight Press

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?” Sh ...More

Fiction
Rachael King

12 min read

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 – yel ...More

Fiction
Mandy Hager

22 min read

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Inspiration: Kaitaki by Fin Dac Feathers rising high above the clouds Powerful wāhine warrior, our guardian Watching and waiting Protecting Christchurch, ...More

Inspired by Street Art
Published by Paint n' Pen Submission
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Inspiration: High Pressure/Low Pressure by Josh O’Rourke     Rarer than gold Water shading, light dancing, greased lightning. Shimmering, ...More

Inspired by Street Art
Fern Mercier

1 min read

Published by Paint n' Pen Submission
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Inspiration: The Hector Dive by Telmo and Miel     Take me with you, Dolphin, let me Clasp tightly Onto your jagged fin Breath through your ...More

Inspired by Street Art
Published by Paint n' Pen Submission

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

Action & Adventure, Drama, Fantasy & Science Fiction, Fiction
Steven Moe

18 min read

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  “Whenever I think of coming to punish my father, it’s always in a strong wind, and that’s blowing now as I drive up the long, unsealed tr ...More

* STORIES ON THE GO, Contemporary Fiction
Owen Marshall

6 min read

Published by Penguin Random House
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  This is a story of doubt. It is a story of people who left little trace. . . . There are no writings to pore over; no monuments to gaze at; no ...More

* STORIES ON THE GO, History, Non Fiction, NZ History
Jennifer Ashton

20 min read

Published by Auckland University Press

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 obsceni ...More

Non Fiction, Travel & Environment
Melanie Dixon

1 min read

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Monday wooldridge is a fighter with a face like a broken dinner plate. Fifteen years ago, her kid brother Eddy disappeared and she’s been looking for him ev ...More

Contemporary Fiction
Dominic Hoey

6 min read

Published by Penguin Random House

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 scal ...More

Fiction
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Jeanette Fitzsimons was a visionary, a pioneer and a radical. This is the story of someone who battles National and Labour’s lock on parliament and ...More

Biography & Memoir
Gareth Hughes

15 min read

Published by Allen & Unwin
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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, rising ...More

Fiction
Fiona Farrell

31 min read

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 int ...More

Psychological Thriller
Marie Muhl

5 min read

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He kohinga whakaaro, he kohinga wheako hoki mō te waiata me te haka nā tētahi tokānuku kua aua atu e tū ana i taua ao. Ko Tā Tīmoti Kāretu t ...More

* STORIES ON THE GO, Non Fiction, Translation
Published by Auckland University Press
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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 quite as I ...More

History, Non Fiction, NZ History
Sarah K Gallagher

11 min read

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 ca ...More

Fiction
Helen Heath

2 min read

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Inspiration: Artwork by Owen Dippie Ballerina twirling past me dressed in a beautiful blue. Two girls invite me to play their game of hide and s ...More

Inspired by Street Art
Cleo Hopkinson

1 min read

Published by Paint n' Pen Submission

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 bicy ...More

Action & Adventure, Biography & Memoir, History, Non Fiction
Catherine Byrne

4 min read

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Inspiration: Kaitaki by Fin Dac     Ōtautahi I am the guard  Keeper of the land protector of my children Teacher of my students I am the e ...More

Inspired by Street Art
Katelyn Gee

1 min read

Published by Paint n' Pen Submission
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Inspiration: Artwork by Cracked Ink   Silver fences keep me from the touch of tourists. I am kissed by cameras, spoken around, as though I have not lear ...More

Inspired by Street Art
Meché Phillips

1 min read

Published by Paint n' Pen Submission
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Eddy Smallbone (orphan) is grappling with identity, love, loss, and religion. It’s two years since he blew up his school life and the earthqu ...More

Literary Fiction
Kate De Goldi

22 min read

Published by Allen & Unwin
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Inspiration: Artwork by D Side     Cluck, cluck, cluck, A pirate digging. Dig, dig, dig, Deeper in the sand. Brr, brr, The tree leaves swishi ...More

Inspired by Street Art
Selena Budiyanto

1 min read

Published by Paint n' Pen Submission
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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

Fiction
Amy Blythe

29 min read

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Inspiration: Artwork by Tepid and Wisk     A continuous loop repeating itself. A couple seconds closer to your birthday. A few second ...More

Inspired by Street Art
Amor Budiyanto

1 min read

Published by Paint n' Pen Submission
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Losing her daughter to the Christchurch earthquake sends Lily back to her childhood village in Northern England to scatter Charlie’s ashes. It’s a p ...More

* STORIES ON THE GO, Historical Fiction
Sandra Arnold

5 min read

Published by Mākaro Press
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There was the hand to hold and he held it. Beau’s hand, big, bold, Beau’s hand and he felt happy and proud and self-conscious and amazed all at onc ...More

Drama, Fiction
Scott Menzies

8 min read

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  He whakamāoritanga i te pukapuka o Puripāha nā Witi Ihimaera mō ētahi whānau hoariri e rua ki Te Tairāwhiti. Ko Puripāha te tapanga ...More

Fiction, Maori & Pasifika, Translation
Witi Ihimaera

8 min read

Published by Auckland University Press
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On the first night, Grace dreamed of country music. Traditional troubadours like Hank Williams, Dolly Parton, Willie Nelson. She woke up with the twang and rh ...More

Drama, Fiction, Travel & Environment
Jenna Heller

20 min read

  Extract from Mazarine published by Penguin Random House   Twelve I hadn’t expected Sophie Greenaway to be at work in the middle of the su ...More

Action & Adventure, Fiction, Psychological Thriller
Charlotte Grimshaw

22 min read

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‘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 ...More

Historical Fiction
Garrick Batten

8 min read

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Nā J.K. Rowling ~ Nā Leon Heketū Blake  i whakamāori  Ko tētahi o ngā tino kōrero mā ngā tamariki ā mohoa nei, ko tā J.K. Rowling Harry ...More

* STORIES ON THE GO, Action & Adventure, Fantasy & Science Fiction, Translation
J. K. Rowling

33 min read

Published by Auckland University Press
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Tim Saunders writes about his life and work on the farm that’s been in his family for five generations. He encompasses drought, farming during lockdown ...More

* STORIES ON THE GO, Biography & Memoir, Non Fiction, Travel & Environment
Tim Saunders

31 min read

Published by Allen & Unwin
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  In New Zealand’s Martinborough, an ex-wine maker is murdered. The precise planning and execution by the unknown assailant begins a series of vile a ...More

Mystery & Crime, Psychological Thriller
Published by Squabbling Sparrows Press
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Inspiration: Artwork by Richard “Pops” Baker   Don’t hang me on the wall of your lounge Freeze frame frozen in time I need undiluted free ...More

Inspired by Street Art
Published by Paint n' Pen Submission
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Inspiration: High Pressure/Low Pressure by Josh O’Rourke   Dragons fly easy High streams of sibylline light Lazy loops of gold Cerulean ...More

Inspired by Street Art
Fern Mercier

1 min read

Published by Paint n' Pen Submission
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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 ...More

Fantasy & Science Fiction
AJ Fitzwater

16 min read

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A gripping new novel from one of our leading writers. A compulsive and chilling novel about subjugation, survival and the meaning of family. “Up on ...More

Fiction
Carl Nixon

32 min read

Published by Penguin Random House
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  A landmark anthology of creative work – poetry, fiction and essays – by emerging Asian New Zealand writers. This landmark collection of poe ...More

* STORIES ON THE GO, Non Fiction
Paula Morris

24 min read

Published by Auckland University Press

‘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, lo ...More

Fiction
Pip Adam

19 min read

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Inspiration: “Elephants” by Owen Dippie     A family, part of a herd, strong, steady and constant. My first visit to Christchur ...More

Inspired by Street Art
Jean-Paul Leung

1 min read

Published by Paint n' Pen Submission