I’ve lost count of the number of copies of Freyberg: A Life’s Journey I’ve signed in the past six weeks. Really. I’ve been out and about promoting the book, visiting bookshops, giving talks, meeting people – and signing. Mostly on weekends because that’s when customers usually buy. My publicist at Oratia, Belinda, worked hard to … More Touring the bookstores with ‘Freyberg: A Life’s Journey’
The essence of a biography, at least to me, is exploring the character of a person. Merely knowing what somebody did in their life isn’t enough: we have to know why. And that, of course, is also what novellists do. This doesn’t mean that a biographer makes stuff up. On the contrary, the data is … More Why writing a biography is a bit like writing a novel
Ever wondered what Peter Pan would have been like, had he grown up? Peter Pan’s creator, James Barrie, knew, because that is how he described his friend Bernard Freyberg. Barrie, a successful playwright, met Freyberg while the latter was recovering in a London hospital from war wounds in 1916-17. They formed a firm friendship, thought … More When Peter Pan grew up
Back in 1928, D. H. Lawrence published a book that rocked Britain. It appeared first in France. When he tried to get it released in Britain, it was banned. Lady Chatterley’s Lover finally appeared in expurgated form, both in Britain and the United States. But when Penguin tried to publish it, uncensored, in 1960, they … More The story of Lady Chatterley’s (real) lover
Hot news, my friends. My book Freyberg: A Life’s Journey is being released on 6 October by Oratia Books. It’ll be available in all good New Zealand bookshops, and internationally by direct sale from the publisher’s website. It is the story of one of New Zealand’s greatest heroes; a household name through the middle decades … More Freyberg: a life’s journey
Although I can’t spill too many beans just now, as it were, I can tell you that 2020 is going to be a bumper year for me. My book Living On Shaky Ground was reissued in new and updated form a few weeks back. This week there’s been another new issue. Back in 2018 I … More A bit of publishing news
One of the things I do besides write is advise other people on it – I’ll assess manuscripts, offer ways to fix them and so on. I also edit, and have done that professionally for many years. And I know the publishing industry. I actually worked as a corporate publisher where, among other things, I … More Writing advice services
By late 2003 my publications list included three books on the adventures of the Second New Zealand Division in the First World War: Battle for Crete, Desert Duel and Italian Odyssey. They sold well individually and by 2006 had gone out of print. The question then was what to do next with them; there was … More Book of the week: ‘The Division’ – putting it all together with another oxymoron
Back in 2001 my publishers of the day, Reed New Zealand, offered me an unheard-of deal: a multi-book contract. This was an absolute rarity in New Zealand, and I jumped at the chance. It involved writing three military histories in a series. I’ve covered the first two in earlier posts. The third was on New … More Book of the week: ‘Pacific War’ – sneaking an oxymoron into the title
I often envisage the difference between non-fiction and fiction writing as similar to the distinction between a photographer and a representational artist. Both have to produce something well-structured and appealing. The difference is that the photographer has to work with what is there, whereas the artist can, if needed, use license to achieve the same … More Book of the week: ‘Italian Odyssey’ – a drama in three acts
Matthew Wright 
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