Authors

Claire Regnault is Senior Curator New Zealand Culture and History at Te Papa and has worked as a curator in the art gallery and museum sector since 1994. Her curatorial practice is eclectic in nature and she is particularly passionate about New Zealands fashion history. She is the author of New Zealand Gown of the Year (2003), and co-author, with Douglas Lloyd Jenkins and Lucy Hammonds of The Dress Circle: New Zealand Fashion Design Since 1940 (2010), which was a finalist in the 2011 NZ Post Book Awards. She is an active member of the Costume & Textile Association of New Zealand, and regularly contributes to the associations symposia and journal.

Marion Rego (nee Quartermain) (b. 1934) made teaching her career but has always loved writing and has been published in several genres - children's stories and songs, travel writing, poetry - and while working for the Correspondence School was involved in broadcasts and written resources for the school, as well as contributing to the New Zealand School Journal. A volume of her poetry, Written on the wind, was published in 2018. Marion Rego performs her work regularly at the Poets to the People readings on the Kapiti Coast. Margaret Jeune was born in Auckland in 1956 and grew up in Wainuiomata. She has a BA in Education and a Post Graduate Diploma in Early Childhood. She has three adult children and four grandchildren. She has been writing since childhood and has had her poetry published in Valley Micropress, Elderberries and Horowhenua Writer's Group anthologies. Three books of her poetry were published by HeadworX in 2019 and she featured in the May 2019 issue of broadsheet. A book of her photographs, A Photo Journey, appeared from ESAW in 2019. Alex Jeune was born in Wellington in 1986. He grew up in Otaki and Levin, and attended Levin's Waiopehu College. He moved to Lower Hutt in 2008 to study at Victoria University of Wellington. He graduated with a BA in Chinese and Sociology. He has had his poetry published in Valley Micropress, in the Horowhenua Writer's Group anthology, Iridescent Blue, and in broadsheet in May 2019. He has read his poetry at the "Poets to the People" Cafe in Kapiti and at the Fringe Bar Open Mic in Wellington City.

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Ben Reid works as an advisor with senior leadership teams across Aotearoa New Zealand, Australia and the Asia-Pacific region, advising on technology strategy, foresight and innovation.He is also a regular commentator and public speaker focusing on new emerging technology trends and their impacts for businesses and society.Ben is the author of the long-running Memia newsletter, read by thousands around the world each week, which explores the cutting edge of AI and other emerging technologies - together with their future implications for humanity.He brings over 25 years' career experience in software development, enterprise architecture, digital transformation and strategic business consulting.

Rachael Reid is an avid traveller, which led to her creating the travel website: 'A Curious New Zealand Travel Guide' and an associated travel blog entitled 'The Curious Kiwi'. A letterbox painted with daisies in Lyttelton inspired Rachael to look for quirky letter boxes on her travels and this collection is the result of years of letterbox hunting from Southland to the Far North. When Rachael's not looking for quirky letterboxes, she enjoys visiting unusual cafes, finding and photographing street art and spending time with her partner who is known to return from work trips with a letter box photo for her collection.

Desiree Reid-Whitaker is the founder and managing director of Cardrona Distillery in Central Otago, New Zealand. Desiree is a Nuffield Scholar and former farmer from South Canterbury. In 2011 she began researching distillation and the crafting of great whiskies and spirits. She travelled widely for two-and-a-half years to learn her craft, including visiting many of the world's great masters in the United States and Scotland. In 2013 she sold her farming business and went in search of the perfect location to realise her dream of creating a whisky that would stand tall on the international stage. Two and a half years later, the spirit flowed from the Cardrona stills for the very first time, and her journey to create world-class spirit began. Desiree lives in Wanaka with her husband Ash, and their two children.

Jade Reidy has been a highly awarded professional non-fiction writer for 40 years, and previous holder of an Oxford University Writers Fellowship. She has performed at the Edinburgh Writers Festival with many literary stars and been publishing director of a poetry imprint.

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Rebecca K Reilly (Ngati Hine, Ngati Wai) is a writer from Tamaki Makaurau. Her first novel, Greta & Valdin, won the Hubert Church Prize for Best First Book, and was published by Simon & Schuster (US) and Penguin (UK) in 2024.

Rebecca K Reilly (Ngāti Hine, Ngāti Wai) is a writer from Tāmaki Makaurau. Greta & Valdin won the Hubert Church Prize for Best First Book, and was published by Simon & Schuster (US) and Penguin (UK) in 2024.

New Zealand artist Clare Reilly has been painting and exhibiting since 1976. Her art has achieved international recognition, finding homes across the world. Clare supports conservation projects through her artworks, which express an underlying connection with the natural environment.

No biography