Authors

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Jeff Kinney (Author) Jeff Kinney is a #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series and the Awesome Friendly Kid series. He is a six-time Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Award winner for Favorite Book and has been named one of Time magazine's 100 Most Influential People in the World. He spent his childhood in the Washington, D.C., area and moved to New England, where he and his wife own a bookstore named An Unlikely Story. Heni Jacob (Translator) Heni Jacob (Ngati Raukawa, Ngati Porou) lives in Otaki and is a freelance Maori language translator and writer.

Shilo Kino (Nga Puhi, Tainui) is a journalist who works for Marae. She has had her work published in the New Zealand Herald, The Spinoff, The Pantograph Punch, Stuff and Huia Short Stories collections and was a participant in the 2018 Te Papa Tupu writing programme. Shilo is fluent in Mandarin, has lived in Hong Kong and is a member of the Asia New Zealand Foundation Leadership Network of young leaders strengthening ties with Asia.

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Elizabeth (Libby) Kirkby-McLeod's poetry and writing have appeared in a range of New Zealand journals, online publications, and in a public art installation. She is the author of the 'Eugene's Island' junior chapter book series. Her other books include: the poetry collection 'Family Instructions Upon', a children's book 'World Folk Tales', and (as editor) the short story collection, 'Lit: stories from home'.

The concept of children’s books to inspire a connection with nature is the latest brainchild of a local author, Lynn Kirkland. Well known as the founder of the Herb Farm in rural Manawatu, Lynn’s latest inspiration is writing children’s books which teach children about herbs in a fun engaging way. Lynn’s background as a teacher, herbalist and author as well as a grandmother gives her the ideal credentials to be now producing books to connect children with the healing powers of herbs.

Sir John Kirwan, one of the most devastating wingers that world rugby has ever seen, was an All Black from 1984 to 1994. He went on to coach of the Italian and Japanese national rugby teams, as well as the Auckland-based Super Rugby franchise The Blues. Following his playing career, JK became an advocate for depression awareness in New Zealand, fronting a high-profile TV campaign and authoring the bestselling memoir All Blacks Don't Cry. He was knighted in 2012 for his services to mental health.

Mary Kisler MNZM worked for 21 years at Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, latterly as Senior Curator, Mackelvie Collection, International Art. In 2016, she was Craig Hugh Smyth Fellow at the Harvard Centre for Renaissance Art, Villa I Tatti, Florence, researching Italian works held in New Zealand Public Collections. Her previous publications include Angels & Aristocrats: Early European art in New Zealand public collections (Godwit, 2010); Finding Frances Hodgkins (Massey University Press, 2019), and as contributing author and coeditor with Catherine Hammond, Frances Hodgkins - European Journeys (Auckland University Press in Association with Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tamaki, 2019 and Thames and Hudson, 2019). Kisler also helped to create www.completefranceshodgkins.com.

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Megan Kitching was born in Tāmaki Makarau Auckland and now lives in Ōtepoti Dunedin. She holds a PhD in English Literature from Queen Mary University, London, looking at the influence of the natural sciences on eighteenth-century poetry. She has taught English and creative writing in the UK and at the University of Otago. Her poetry has appeared in The Frogmore Papers (UK), takahē, Poetry New Zealand, and Landfall. “The horses,” published in takahē 95, was nominated for Best Small Fictions 2020. In 2021, she was the inaugural Caselberg Trust Elizabeth Brooke-Carr Emerging Writer Resident. At the Point of Seeing is her debut collection.