Authors

K. M TARRANT was born in Temuka, a quiet, friendly little town, in the South Island of New Zealand. From a very young age, she loved to write. As she grew to adulthood, she continued writing but apart from a few memorial pieces for friends who had lost loved ones, she kept her ‘scribbles’ to herself. Tarrant often recited ‘made up stories’ to her three children at bedtime as they preferred those to the books on their shelves. In 2004, Tarrant, her husband, their children and three cats, moved to Lower Hutt where they lived for several years before moving even further north to the North Shore of Auckland. Once there, Tarrant began looking for work, and an inspired suggestion during a phone call with a dear friend and neighbour in Lower Hutt, the wonderful Helen Whatman (sadly now deceased), pointed Tarrant toward a career in funeral service and in 2012 she qualified as an embalmer. ‘Life and Death in Birkenhead’ is her first novel. It borrows from her years as an embalmer and blends two other interests – crime and figuring out what makes people tick.

Pā Henare Tate (Ngāti Manawa, Te Rarawa) was formerly a lecturer at the Auckland Catholic Institute of Theology, and the University of Auckland School of Theology. He obtained a doctorate from The Melbourne College of Divinity, and was a specialist in Māori spirituality. Pā passed away on his turangawaewae in the Hokianga in 2017.

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No biography

Te Maire Tau is an Associate Professor of History at the University of Canterbury and Director of the Ngai TahuResearch Centre. He is the author of Nga Pikituroa o Ngai Tahu: The Oral Traditions of Ngai Tahu (2003) and, with Atholl Anderson, Ngai Tahu: A Migration History (2008).

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No biography

Isabelle Taylor writes sweet, spicy monster romance. She works in a bookstore in New Zealand and has a Creative Writing Masters from the International Institute of Modern Letters. She can be found on Instagram and Tiktok @isabelletaylorauthor.

Jennifer Taylor works closely with the Edith Collier Trust Collection on a daily basis as Curator of Collections at the Sarjeant Gallery Te Whare o Rehua Whanganui. She has managed projects to photograph and catalogue Edith's collection and archive, as well as this publication. Jennifer has curated a number of exhibitions of Edith's work at Sarjeant on the Quay, regularly responds to research enquiries or viewing requests, and presents public talks about Edith and her legacy. In 2017 she led development of the Sarjeant Gallery's award-winning collection portal Explore the Collection, enabling online access to the Edith Collier Trust Collection.

Wilse grew up on a sheep farm in South Otago, attended high school in Dunedin, and studied physics at Canterbury University. He lives in western Canada.