Authors

Nerys started working in kitchens when she was 16 years old. Her background is in fine dining restaurants, working for some of the best chefs in the country. She competed and won several culinary competitions early in her career. This led to her being part of Team New Zealand in 2016 for the esteemed Bocuse D’or - Asia Pacific Continental Selection. Nerys developed a passion for thinking outside of the box and thrives on the challenge of creating and adapting recipes. She started keto early 2019 and found a lack of quality, easy to follow ketogenic recipes. She started creating her own and sharing them on her website.

Heather Whelan has worked as a primary school teacher and children’s librarian. She has previously published a picture book, The Crazy Idea. Heather has also published an art book for teachers, Art Works, and has had many travel stories published in magazines within New Zealand and worldwide. Her new book, Lost, was inspired by her love of history and interest in genealogy.

Bill Whelen is an independent researcher. His interests include studying European expansion into the Pacific in the 18th century and its repercussions on the people of the Pacific, as well as the people of Europe.

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Kāpiti Coast artist Austin Whincup was born in Africa, spent his early childhood years in Kiribati and North Wales, then as a teenager came to live in Aotearoa New Zealand. The influence of the lands Austin has lived in are reflected in his beautiful artwork. In 1998, Austin painted an original set of alphabet art images on the square lids of ice cream containers as a present for his new born nephew Canon. Canon’s parents were delighted with Austin’s gift and asked Wellington storyteller and writer Moira Wairama to write a series of poems to sit alongside the paintings. This led to the creation of BasicallyDifferent which published the artwork and poems as a book titled Alphabet Art together with a set of alphabet cards featuring Austin’s artwork.

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David White studied producing at England's National Film and TV School. By then he'd already co-produced documentary Shihad: Beautiful Machine (2012). His own documentary Meat - which introduces audiences to three farmers and a hunter - had a successful cinema release in 2017. It is one of a number of projects in which White chronicles people who kill animals, so that others may eat them. After acting in one of his own films, White went on to write, direct and co-star in 2020 romantic comedy This Town. Angus Gillies is the author of the so-called Ruatoria Killings series of non-fiction investigations. He has worked as a journalist and producer at TV3 for 20 years, and has written biographies of Matthew Ridge, Adam Parore, Justin Marshall and John Rowles.    

MIKE WHITE has had dogs most of his life, including a giveaway mongrel when he was a teenager, a puppy who was going to be drowned, and his current huntaway, Cooper, who features throughout How to Walk a Dog. They've been wonderful mates, loyal company and frequently disobedient. Some have broken his bones; all have broken his heart when they've gone.White is one of New Zealand's best-known journalists and a senior writer at North & South magazine, where he has won more than 20 national media awards, including the Wolfson Fellowship to Cambridge University. In 2013 he wrote the best-selling true crime book Who Killed Scott Guy?He lives in Wellington with his partner, Nikki, and they walk Cooper along the coast, through the bush and at the city's dog parks.SHARON MURDOCH is an award-winning cartoonist, and the first woman to regularly produce political cartoons for New Zealand mainstream media. She also draws the cartoon cat Munro, who accompanies the daily crossword in Fairfax newspapers, and has produced a book of cartoons about him called Munro: a cat, a mouse, a crossword clue.

Claire Kaahu White affiliates to Kai Tahu tribe, Kati Huirapa and Kai Te Atawhiua sub tribes. Born and raised in Christchurch, NZ where she completed an English Degree from Canterbury University. Claire moved to Hokiana in 2003 with her husband Paul and their three children. They co authored Ko Te Ahupehio o Hata Maria: One hundred years of Motukaraka church history (2010). Claire has also published Not for oneself but for all: The past 150 years of schooling in Rawene (2009). Te Huritaunga o Te Hohepa Te Kohanga Reo (2016) and Te Pou Herenga Waka o Rehua: The Story of Rehua Hostel and Marae, the First 50 years (2021). Claire has a Diploma in Applied Arts, has taught contemporary New Zealand art and has exhibited her works in museums and galleries throughout Aotearoa, New Zealand.

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Xanthe White is the lead designer of her studio Xanthe White Design based in both Auckland and Wellington, New Zealand. The practise has worked for the last 28 years on projects across the globe including New Zealand, United Kingdom, Isle of Mann, France, Singapore, Japan and China. She has published several books on gardening and landscaping and has been involved in writing, radio and television through the years to communicate the art of gardening in a contemporary context. She is also involved in education teaching in studio classes as well as Masterclasses at an international level. She is also President of the Garden Design Society and a fellow of the organisation as well as an awarded Meritae Alumnae of Baradene. She lives in Auckland New Zealand with her husband Chris and their children Jacob and Sophie.