Three loners who're struggling to cope with life end up at an institution in Bavaria, The Palace, where experiments are being carried out on people with suicidal tendencies. This is the scenario for The Suicide Club, the latest novel from Berlin-based New Zealand writer, Sarah Quigley. Bright and Gibby are very protective of their friend, Lace, and that protectiveness soon turns to love. But is The Palace going to do them all more harm than good? Lynn Freeman asks Sarah Quigley about tackling the delicate subject of suicide.

What would possess someone to volunteer to be a life drawing model? If you are an artist, is it all right to talk during class? Zoe George gets model Virginia Kennard to bare all regarding life-drawing classes.

Maybe we get the musical theatre we deserve. Italy gets grand opera, Germany gets Wagnerian Ring Cycles, Britain and America tap into pop songs and the Great American Songbook. We get Jingles the Musical.

The Civic is the jewel in Auckland's cinema scene - a throwback to when cinemas weren't just a place to see movies but Motion Picture Palaces. As Auckland Live announces the launch of public tours of Auckland's grand old lady of theatre, The Civic, Simon Morris finds out more from their tour guide, Peter Dobson.

Italian writer Viola di Grado is fascinated by language. A graduate from Turin in Chinese and Japanese, her first novel 30 percent wool, 70 percent acrylic won awards at home for "linguistic invention pushed to the visionary". Viola is here as part of the Auckland Writers Festival, and also appearing in Wellington on Tuesday, talking with Dr Claudia Bernardi, at Victoria University's Kelburn campus, about How to be Viola Di Grado.

New Zealand Baritone James Harrison has now well and truly got his foot on the international opera ladder. He's this year's Dame Malvina Major Foundation Fellow/Scholar, he's taken time out from a busy schedule in Europe to play two roles in New Zealand Opera's production of Carmen. Carmen opens in Wellington on the 1st of June, then travels to Auckland in the 22nd, and finally plays in Christchurch in July.

Christopher Marlowe's Doctor Faustus tells the story of a man who makes a deal with the Devil. He gets unlimited power, money, glory, women - anything he could ever want. But he forgets to check the small print... Faustus doesn't quite know what he's getting himself into, and neither will the lead actor in a new production at Auckland's Basement Theatre because each night a different guest actor will play the part of Faustus - having never rehearsed with the rest of the cast before.

Dunedin writer Paddy Richardson is an established crime writer - but her 7th novel you'll find in the "Historical New Zealand fiction section" of your local bookshop, library or online site.

Last week saw the presentation of the Ockham New Zealand Book Awards - our most prestigious celebration of our top writers. Nicola Legat, Chairwoman of the NZ Book Awards Trust, took some time out from the Auckland Writers' Festival talks about the winners and what this means for New Zealand writing.

This years Auckland Festival of Photography features a string of exhibitions based on this year's theme - Identity. What is identity? How does is shape us and our work? ...and why does is seem so important to talk about it these days?