We’re excited to be giving away three copies of In With Both Feet by John Reynolds to our GrownUps members!
To be in the draw, simply make sure you’re a GrownUps member, signed up to our newsletter, and fill in your details at the bottom of the page.
A fascinating memoir of a New Zealander, a road map to one man’s personal life, work and reflections, told with humour and heart
John Reynolds, a 22-year-old Kiwi with a teaching diploma, began his overseas travels in 1964, which gave him a lifelong passion for travel and new experiences. He taught in various countries, played piano in London pubs, escaped arrest in East Berlin, and attended the Easter Uprising commemoration in Ireland. He experienced apartheid in South Africa, was threatened with a rifle on the Zambezi River and escaped from an angry female elephant in Zimbabwe. In Canada he hosted a weekly radio show and conducted a high school band at Montreal’s World’s Fair.
John turned these experiences into a lifelong journey, writing books, screenplays, radio scripts, musicals and films. His genuine interest in people and the insights from his own journeys were key to the narratives.
In With Both Feet is the road map to John’s personal life and work, a gallery of clear-sighted reflections and amusing anecdotes whose generosity and humour will inform and amuse a wide range of readers.
About the Author
John Reynolds is a New Zealand-born academic and freelance writer of screenplays, novels and musicals. He qualified as a teacher and spent a number of years teaching overseas in England, Saskatchewan Canada, Rhodesia/Zimbabwe, and Australia. During that time, he travelled widely through Eastern Europe during the Cold War, South Africa under apartheid and throughout North America. He gained an MA from San Jose State University, California, with the support of a Creative New Zealand grant, and a PhD from the University of Auckland, undertaking an in-depth study of the life and works of pioneer New Zealand filmmaker John O’Shea.
John now focuses on his writing. He has also narrated audiobooks for Blind and Low Vision NZ (formerly the New Zealand Blind Institute). John has co-authored six full-length musicals with local composers Gary Daverne, Shade Smith and Mal Smith: Robyn Hood Outlaw Princess, Starblaze, Valley of the Voodons, Windust, Sink the Warrior and Pirates and Petticoats.
John has written five novels, two of which, Uncommon Enemy and Low Flying, he has narrated as audiobooks. His latest publication, his autobiography, is titled In With Both Feet: A Passport Full of Memoires. He is currently completing a new novel, After You’ve Gone, that tells the story of a Kiwi female ambulance driver transporting wounded soldiers from the western front in World War One. All his novels are available on Amazon. John and his wife, Bess, live in Torbay, near their five grandchildren.
To read an extract from John’s book, click here
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Terms and conditions
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You must be a GrownUps member and subscribed to our newsletter to be eligible to enter.
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The competition closes on 6th May 2026. Winners will be notified via email by 7th May 2026.
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It is your responsibility to provide a correct New Zealand postal address for prize delivery. GrownUps is not responsible for prizes sent to incorrect addresses.
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Winners will be drawn at random by the GrownUps administration team.
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GrownUps employees and their immediate families are not eligible to enter.
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By entering, you agree to GrownUps using your name on social media as a winner of the competition.
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One entry per household.
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The prize is non-transferable and cannot be exchanged for cash or other items.
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You must reside in New Zealand, as the prize can only be delivered within New Zealand.
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You must be over 50 years of age to enter. Please ensure your membership details are up to date in your dashboard.
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