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Claire Mabey

@clairemabey

Writer. Founder of Verb Wellington. Books editor at The Spinoff. Sylvia Townsend Warner fan. Mum. Author of The Raven’s Eye Runaways, an MG adventure (2024) 🍃Substack at clairemabey@substack.com | clairemabey.com

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24.09.2023
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Latest posts by Claire Mabey @clairemabey

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‘Radical, funny, compassionate’: Speed is Emotional, reviewed How a show about one person's experience of ADHD feels like it's for all of us....

‘Radical, funny, compassionate’: Speed is Emotional, reviewed

12.03.2026 01:02 👍 1 🔁 2 💬 0 📌 0

But still!

12.03.2026 06:43 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0

Thank you!

12.03.2026 06:43 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

Argh! And what a fine T-shirt too 💖💖💖

12.03.2026 06:32 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0
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It was a beautiful day AND my book arrived! 💚

12.03.2026 06:28 👍 17 🔁 1 💬 3 📌 0
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Garner, Pilkey, Radden Keefe: Auckland Writers Festival brings out the big names Five days, dozens of writers, 170+ events – here are the ones you really don't want to miss....

Garner, Pilkey, Radden Keefe: Auckland Writers Festival brings out the big names

11.03.2026 01:17 👍 0 🔁 1 💬 0 📌 0
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‘I was hungry for stories’: Isaac du Toit on growing up as a dyslexic reader 'I feel like people with dyslexia are often labeled reluctant readers. I struggled to learn to read, but I wasn't reluctant at all.'...

‘I was hungry for stories’: Isaac du Toit on growing up as a dyslexic reader

11.03.2026 02:21 👍 3 🔁 1 💬 0 📌 0
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Garner, Pilkey, Radden Keefe: Auckland Writers Festival brings out the big names Five days, dozens of writers, 170+ events – here are the ones you really don't want to miss.

Want some Auckland Writers Festival picks? Here's @clairemabey.bsky.social on @thespinoff.bsky.social thespinoff.co.nz/books/11-03-... ^DR

11.03.2026 00:46 👍 1 🔁 1 💬 0 📌 0
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‘Incredibly liveable and creatively buzzy’: Bret McKenzie’s guide to Wellington/Te Whanganui-a-Tara The Flight of the Conchords comedian shares the New Zealand capital’s best coffee, nature spots and the pastries he’ll queue out the door for

www.theguardian.com/travel/2026/...

09.03.2026 00:20 👍 15 🔁 7 💬 0 📌 1
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The student I can never forget  'A middle-aged face stops me in the street. Mr Hill! Remember me? I know that I need to remember, and remember positively – I'll try to explain why.'...

The student I can never forget

06.03.2026 18:30 👍 2 🔁 1 💬 1 📌 0
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The Brighter Future What would this country look like in a decade or so if we actually did what so desperately needs doing?

Emily Writes @emilywrites.co.nz and I are starting a new series called The Brighter Future, where writers and artists and poets and so on imagine what a better future might look like, if we actually did some of the needful that's right in front of us: www.emilywrites.co.nz/the-brighter...

04.03.2026 05:41 👍 62 🔁 24 💬 5 📌 3

This needs to be done because Sylvia Townsend Warner deserves all the remembering we can manage

04.03.2026 07:40 👍 95 🔁 38 💬 2 📌 2
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Government announces homeless move-on orders - for all town centres, not just Auckland Police can move on rough sleepers or people displaying disorderly behaviour as young as 14-years-old.

'The powers will mean police can move on rough sleepers or people displaying disorderly behaviour as young as 14-years-old.' Is a chilling thing to read. Especially when you're not eligible for a benefit until 16 & they're fucking with eligibility for 17 & 18 year olds www.rnz.co.nz/news/politic...

22.02.2026 21:29 👍 27 🔁 13 💬 1 📌 1

!!! ❤️

20.02.2026 00:34 👍 5 🔁 2 💬 0 📌 0

YAY! I am nervous and excited!

17.02.2026 21:54 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
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New book is coming! April 2026 - 🐦‍⬛📖🍎❤️ it’s a defiant story written in a defiant mood 👀 bit.ly/RavensEyeReb...

17.02.2026 20:20 👍 4 🔁 1 💬 1 📌 0

Honestly if NZ parties don’t front up about their plans for climate & basic infrastructure we should be deeply ashamed -NZ has a sewerage crisis in all our major cities, we have flooding & landslides causing loss of life & critical failure s- thinking we can cap rates & manage this, is crazy

17.02.2026 05:40 👍 121 🔁 47 💬 3 📌 2

70 minutes and counting!

17.02.2026 03:49 👍 6 🔁 3 💬 0 📌 0

Kung Hei Fat Choi! Happy year of the fire horse 🐴 May your year bring you luck and fortune 🧧❤️🙏

16.02.2026 19:41 👍 8 🔁 2 💬 0 📌 0
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Review: In Mārama, the greatest horror is always colonisation It’s not gore, bloodshed or cheap thrills that make Mārama a horror: it's the violent subversion of Māori culture....

Review: In Mārama, the greatest horror is always colonisation

15.02.2026 21:30 👍 7 🔁 4 💬 0 📌 1
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‘Really just wants to be Bridgerton’: Emerald Fennell’s ‘Wuthering Heights’, reviewed If you thought the trailer was a travesty, you're not going to like this....

‘Really just wants to be Bridgerton’: Emerald Fennell’s ‘Wuthering Heights’, reviewed

12.02.2026 22:30 👍 4 🔁 3 💬 0 📌 0
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Uncomplicated pleasures in a complicated world: Bill Manhire and Jenny Bornholdt’s new poetry, reviewed Two of Aotearoa’s greatest poets are launching new collections today. We review them both....

Uncomplicated pleasures in a complicated world: Bill Manhire and Jenny Bornholdt’s new poetry, reviewed

11.02.2026 01:30 👍 4 🔁 3 💬 0 📌 1
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Laneway review: Chappell Roan, Wolf Alice and many other glorious acts Holy fucking shit! Chappell fucking Roan! How to even sum her up?...

Laneway review: Chappell Roan, Wolf Alice and many other glorious acts

05.02.2026 23:45 👍 5 🔁 1 💬 0 📌 1
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‘We are all part of a grand design’: Wrestling with George Saunders’ Vigil 'I'm quite snotty, at least in my mind... it’s an albatross to be seen as the genial uncle of American letters.'...

‘We are all part of a grand design’: Wrestling with George Saunders’ Vigil

30.01.2026 17:54 👍 1 🔁 1 💬 0 📌 0

Devastated to hear this, she was such a wonderful talent

30.01.2026 18:55 👍 14 🔁 1 💬 1 📌 0

Devastated!

30.01.2026 18:59 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
SERVED WITH RICE PODDY SEASON 1 - EPISODE 1
SERVED WITH RICE PODDY SEASON 1 - EPISODE 1 YouTube video by served with rice poddy

E1 of SERVED WITH RICE, my PoC-focused literary podcast, is out now, with guest #TigestGirma!

Watch on YouTube or Spotify or check out our website (servedwithricepoddy.com) for all other places available 🥰

youtu.be/8khhWtJxpTQ?...

28.01.2026 22:45 👍 2 🔁 3 💬 0 📌 2
Text reads 'Join us for the launch of Party Boy. Sunday 15 February, 3pm. Woof! bar Dunedin.' The logos of Woof! bar, THWUP and UBS Dunedin are shown. The book cover features prominently: the background is marbled raw meat, and the foreground a collage of coloured letters spelling out 'PARTY BOY'.

Text reads 'Join us for the launch of Party Boy. Sunday 15 February, 3pm. Woof! bar Dunedin.' The logos of Woof! bar, THWUP and UBS Dunedin are shown. The book cover features prominently: the background is marbled raw meat, and the foreground a collage of coloured letters spelling out 'PARTY BOY'.

Join us to launch Party Boy, the highly anticipated debut novel by Breton Dukes!

🎉 Sunday 15 February, 3pm
🎉 Woof! bar, 368 Moray Place, Dunedin
🎉 All welcome!

29.01.2026 20:53 👍 4 🔁 3 💬 1 📌 2

Thanks for your kind words @clairemabey.bsky.social! Such beautiful books in the Longlist, so chuffed to be in such excellent company 📚

28.01.2026 20:17 👍 5 🔁 1 💬 0 📌 0
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Jacinda Ardern longlisted for this year’s Ockham New Zealand book awards Four categories, 44 books, zero AI book covers....

Jacinda Ardern longlisted for this year’s Ockham New Zealand book awards

28.01.2026 18:33 👍 7 🔁 2 💬 1 📌 3