I’m a words guy. Working out of Wellington and Auckland, I offer editorial services, including editing and producing content for websites, corporate and academic documents, presentations and reports.
My background includes 25 years in journalism. I started out as an arts reporter and feature writer for the old Evening Post newspaper. I’ve produced hundreds of other feature articles and commentary pieces, along with interviews with almost every New Zealand prime minister of the past 30 years and a number of foreign leaders. Plus a few celebrities along the way, including Billy Joel, Audrey Hepburn, Suzanne Vega, Robbie Robertson and Joni Mitchell.
My work has been widely published in media outlets, currently including The Spectator, Quillette, Arab News, the Daily Telegraph, The Australian and RNZ. An archive of 120 or so of my old Guardian pieces can be seen here. My past work for The Chronicle of Higher Education is in the publication’s (paywalled) archive. Some recent items can be seen on this website’s Media page.
I also do a lot of editing, including newsletters and manuscripts, and the arts and food section of the first issue of the recently relaunched North & South magazine. Not forgetting my own books. Massey University Press recently published my seventh, The RNZ Cookbook, a glorious collection of 180 recipes from New Zealand’s best chefs and writers, co-edited with Kathy Paterson. I also pop up at local literary events, most recently the Auckland Writers Festival, where I did a marvellous session on food writing with William Sitwell from the Daily Telegraph.
Away from work, one of my big passions is Middle Eastern dining, which I write about in my popular newsletter. Other pleasures include poetry, comparative religious studies and squash.