Stories

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

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

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

Inspiration: Artwork by Richard “Pops” Baker Artwork location, details and photo credit https://watchthisspace.org.nz/artwork/477   Don� ...More

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

  The Commuting Book presents Paint n’ Pen, a creative writing programme in collaboration with Christchurch City Libraries, The School For Young ...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, ...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 yo ...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 the ...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 foo ...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 set in New Ze ...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 th ...More

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

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

If you are on the bus, go to QR Code 0007 to read this chapter in English or QR Code 0016 to read in Te Reo. To read previous chapters go to Stories Chapter Fi ...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 h ...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 bicyc ...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 was his loat ...More

If you are on the bus, go to QR Code 0007 to read this chapter in English or QR Code 0016 to read in Te Reo. To read previous chapters go to Sto ...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 l ...More

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

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

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

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

knitted scarves wrap around her neck while legs freeze beneath leopard-                                print legg ...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 h ...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 ...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 of ...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 s ...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 pe ...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 fea ...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 ...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

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

If you are on the bus, go to QR Code 0007 to read this chapter in English or QR Code 0016 to read in Te Reo. To read previous chapters go to Stories Upoko ...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 h ...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 sh ...More

Inspiration: Artwork by D Side Artwork location, details and photo credit https://watchthisspace.org.nz/artwork/757   Cluck, cluck, cluck, A pirat ...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 on ...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

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

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