Olivia Spooner
Olivia Spooner is the number one bestselling author of two historical fiction novels, The Girl from London and The Songbirds of Florence. Olivia is also the author of two contemporary novels, A Way Back to Happy and A Bumpy Year. She has worked as a Community and Hospital Pharmacist in Auckland, Wellington and London and gone on to complete a number of writing courses, including a Masters in Creative Writing at AUT and has had several short stories published. Olivia lives with her husband and three children in Auckland, and runs an independent bookstore The Booklover Bookshop in the seaside suburb of Milford. She is the host of the Booklover Banter podcast where she chats with other booksellers, authors, publishers and others working in the book industry.
2025 festival sessions
Wartime Stories
Olivia Spooner in conversation with Tessa Nicholson
5:00pm-6:00pm, Saturday 19 July, Whitehaven Room, ASB Theatre Marlborough, $25
Olivia’s bestselling historical fiction novels, The Girl from London and The Songbirds of Florence, are fictional stories of brave women living through little known true events in World War II. Olivia discusses how she researches and writes compelling fiction that honours true historical events and the people who lived through them in ways that resonate with her modern day readers.
Buy tickets
Book Chats with Book Lovers
Nalini Singh and Olivia Spooner in conversation with Tania Miller
12:00pm-1:00pm, Sunday 20 July, Anderson Theatre, ASB Theatre Marlborough, $25
A session to reignite your love of reading! Enjoy hearing passionate readers (who are also wonderful writers) talk about the books they love. Think of this session as listening into conversations at the coolest book club in town: Nalini Singh, an internationally bestselling writer of romance and crime thrillers, and Olivia Spooner, bestselling author, book store owner and member of not one, but two book clubs, discuss their lifelong loves of reading, writing and talking about books. Nalini and Olivia will also reflect on stories by other writers that have inspired and influenced the stories they have chosen to pursue as authors and shaped their writing style. Tania Miller brings a wealth of knowledge and enthusiasm for books to her role as interviewer for this session.
Buy tickets