Authors

Judith Reinken is an historian, scholar and feminist who farms a smallholding in the Far North of New Zealand. When she discovered the whole of the State Archives of Assyria in the library of the University of Auckland, she was intrigued by the story of Naqi'ah (also called Zaqutu) who, as Queen Mother, shared with her son authority to rule their empire. The politics of that time became the story of her life that Dr. Reinken imagined.

Barbara Relph became a professional writer and editor in 2017 when her separation forced her to re-think her life. Now a true digital nomad, she travels between rural Manawatu and central Auckland, armed with her laptop, living her best life. Having personally worked through many of the issues in Uncoupling, Barbara has a strong desire to ease the experience of others.

Natasha Rendell is fascinated with the known and unknown stories of history. In her travels to Egypt, Greece and Turkiye, she was fortunate to visit sites and monuments from the ancient world, which further inspired her writing.

Tamara Rendell has been forever fascinated by mythology, folktales and accounts of magic and mystery. She is inspired by the trees and rambling flower gardens surrounding her home and by an ocean bay along her northern horizon. An author of poetry and fiction, she holds a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature from the University of Waikato Aotearoa New Zealand.

Renee ONZM, Ngati Kahungunu, is one of Aotearoa's writing rangatira, turning 93 in 2022. A novelist, poet and playwright, she was awarded the Prime Minister's Award for Literary Achievement, the Playmarket Award for significant artistic contribution to New Zealand theatre and the Nga Tohu a Ta Kingi Ihaka for a lifetime contribution to toi Maori. Blood Matters is her second crime novel. Renee lives in Otaki.

Renee ONZM, Ngati Kahungunu, is one of Aotearoa's writing rangatira, turning 93 in 2022. A novelist, poet and playwright, she was awarded the Prime Minister's Award for Literary Achievement, the Playmarket Award for significant artistic contribution to New Zealand theatre and the Nga Tohu a Ta Kingi Ihaka for a lifetime contribution to toi Maori. Blood Matters is her second crime novel. Renee lives in Otaki.

Craig Renney is the Economist and Director of Policy at the New Zealand Council of Trade Unions. He previously served as Senior Advisor to the Labour-led government (2017-2023), contributing to the design of the Wellbeing Budgets. He has worked at Treasury, MBIE and the Reserve Bank, and holds qualifi cations in economics, urban policy and public administration. Diana Russell is a Senior Consultant at BERL, specialising in labour markets, wellbeing analysis and equitable outcomes. She previously worked at the NZCTU, leading work on the Future of Work Tripartite Forum, and has held roles in policy, communications and research across government and the union movement. She holds a Master of Business Studies (Economics) with Distinction from Massey University.

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James Renwick is a weather and climate researcher. He is Professor of Physical Geography at Victoria University and has many years of experience in weather and climate research, from statistical weather forecasting to climate change studies. His current interests include Southern Hemisphere climate variability and its impacts on New Zealand and the Antarctic. He was a Lead Author in the last three Assessment Reports of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and has been involved for a number of years with the World Climate Research Programme and the Royal Society of New Zealand's Climate Expert group. In 2018 he won the Prime Minister's Science Communication prize; in 2019 he became a Climate Change Commissioner; and in 2021 he was made a Companion of the Royal Society of New Zealand Te Aparangi. He lives by the sea.