Ngai Tahu author Nic Low knows the Southern Alps intimately. He's been on 15 treks through the mountains, following historic routes. Now Nic's working on a book about that history called Uprising. But until recently he was writing about the Southern Alps from Australia. He was based in Melbourne for 15 years, working on several writers' festivals as well as taking university courses. Nic's returned home to take up the role of Programme Co-ordinator at the WORD Festival in Christchurch, where he also plans to finish his book. Lynn Freeman asks him how he's juggling the two jobs.