Anne Hayden is a Waikato dairy farmer’s daughter who loves farm animals, especially when they are young. Calves are very special to her. Anne and her husband David moved to the Wairarapa 10 years ago and love it. When they bought a property in Greytown opposite a large calf paddock, it was like presenting nectar to a bee. Every year August brings a new herd of baby calves to look forward to. This has been a lovely transition after decades of urban and academic life. Anne’s other writing includes numerous publications in journals and a co-edited collection, A Restorative Approach to Family Violence: Changing Tack published by Ashgate (2014) and self-published editions about her family, the Cobblestones collection, the Kahutara Hall centennial booklet and a practice manual about restorative justice. No. 30 was the most fun!

I am a young author and when I was 15 I wrote my first novel ECHO about a partially sighted boy who secretly befriends a minke whale. Writing gives me a chance to explore my favourite parts of the world, in this case the wild east coast of New Zealand. I was amazed and delighted when ECHO was a finalist at the New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults in 2023.

Barry Saunders has spent many years writing and performing songs, and touring extensively. Since the mid-1980s he has fronted The Warratahs whose songs have become part of the New Zealand soundscape. Recently he has collaborated on 2 albums with Delaney Davidson, and is proud and excited to say that there is another coming in 2024.

Becky Manawatu is a West Coast author and journalist. Her debut novel Auē, won the 2020 Jann Medlicott Acorn Prize, the MitoQ Best First Book Award and the Ngaio Marsh Award for Best Crime Novel, and almost 5 years on is regarded as a modern classic, with editions published around the world. The sequel Kataraina is to be published in October 2024. She says, ‘I love swimming in the Waimangaroa River Mouth. I have recently discovered the board game Isle of Cats in which players contend for points while rescuing cats from the evil Lord Vesh — it’s among my fave pastimes. I’m proud to be Māori and I feel in awe of our people for the way we show up; it makes me hungrier for our collective prosperity.’

Buddy Mikaere has always been interested in writing. He has been a newspaper columnist, written numerous magazine articles both here and overseas and has completed a number of books and been included in anthologies. Writing sits alongside his career as a resource management consultant and iwi representative. He lives in Coromandel and Tauranga. He is proud of his ancestry and heritage, and was very pleased to head up the Waitangi Tribunal for 6 years.

Former All Black, Carl Hayman is the father of 4 lovely children. After a rugby career of effectively 450 first-class games he has been diagnosed with probably CTE, a form of dementia. He is very proud of his rugby career, but creating his book, Head On with Dylan Cleaver is probably his proudest moment. Opening up your personal life to the public is a tough choice to make. He is amazed at the feedback, and awareness the book has raised around head injuries in sport.

Catharina van Bohemen is a writer, editor and teacher who lives in Auckland. She is the author of Towards Compostela – Walking the Camino de Santiago, and two chapbooks on Jane Austen: Sister and Letter to Susan.

Catherine Robertson is a New Zealand author and was co-owner of Good Books, as independent bookshop in Te Aro, Wellington. She mainly writes for adults, and the novels in her Gabriel's Bay trilogy spent many weeks in the top 10 bestseller list. Last year, she wrote her first children's book, Pearl in a Whirl, based on the real-life adventures of a cat who survived the Cyclone Gabrielle floods. This year, she has branched out into the romance genre, and the first 2 books in her contemporary romantic-comedy series will be launched worldwide in July.

Chris Wikaira (Ngāti Maniapoto, Ngā Puhi) is a former Māori issues correspondent for RNZ. He is a Director of PR company BRG, which specialises in Māori communications services, and leads their Māori strategy work. He regularly appears on RNZ National’s The Panel and, in recent years, has presented the Waitangi Day broadcasts.

Chris Pugsley describes himself as an aged military historian who has been fortunate to make a lifelong career out of his hobby, first in the New Zealand Army where he discovered the delight of researching and writing his first book. Since then he has embarked on a career that involved writing in all its forms, lecturing, and curating major exhibitions — 24 big and little books later, all of which he has loved, lead him to muse, ‘Who could ask for more?’

Craig Renney is the Economist and Director of Policy for the New Zealand Council of Trade Unions. Before taking the role in December 2020, Craig spent 5 years working for Hon. Grant Robertson (New Zealand Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance) as his advisor. Craig has worked for the New Zealand Treasury, Reserve Bank, and the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment. Craig is most proud of his son, Lex.

Spiral Collectives was founded by poet Heather McPherson in 1975 and is perhaps best known as publisher of Keri Hulme's Booker Prize-winning book, The Bone People. Spiral Collectives educate about women’s storytelling practices and legacies. They awhi them with publications, exhibitions, events, film, websites and archives. Cushla Parekowhai is a writer, concept designer and developer, and as a visual artist is known as Dr P. Dr Marian Evans is a Spiral Collectives ancient remnant, trained in creative writing and law.

Daren ‘dk’ Kamali was born in Fiji and came to New Zealand in 1992. He is a researcher — revival and multidisciplinary artist and poet.

Based in Masterton, David Hedley has been a bookseller for 50 years. Hedley’s Books was established in 1907 and has served the Wairarapa for more than a century.

Delaney Davidson is a singer-songwriter from Lyttleton. He is one of the most distinctive figures in Aotearoa’s musical landscape — a multi-instrumentalist who both defines and commands his own unique realm in the shadowy musical world some call 'country-noir'. His lyrical content dredges up classic murder ballads, songs with a deep insight into the human condition but is musically firmly rooted in the blues. For his latest album, Out of my head he has collaborated with Marlon Williams, Hayley Westenra, Sam Scott and Miranda Eastern.

Denis O’Reilly is a social activist. He is chairman of the Waiohiki Community Charitable trust and holds a Masters Degree in Social Practice.

Denise Garland has been involved in the New Zealand beer community for 15 years as a journalist and keen beer lover. Denise works as a producer and editor at RNZ and is also a contributor to the beer magazine and website, Pursuit of Hoppiness. Denise is a certified cicerone® and has been judging beer competitions for more than a decade. She was the winner of the 2019 Brewers Guild Beer Media Award.

Denver Grenell is a writer of horror and dark fiction who lives with his family in Featherston. A life-long horror hound who got back into writing after a long break, he is now making up for lost time, furiously expelling every idea that has collected inside his skull over the years. His debut collection of short stories The Burning Boy & Other stories and Red Ruin, a survival horror novel co-written with Ian J Middleton are both out now through Beware the Moon Publishing.

Dylan Cleaver has been a sports journalist, writer and author since 1996. During that time he has won close to 40 national media awards for work in flagship publications including the New Zealand Herald and The Spinoff. In 2021 he started his own sports newsletter, The Bounce which has thousands of subscribers.

Emily Writes is the author of 3 books — Rants in the Dark (2017), Is It Bedtime Yet? (2018), Needs Adult Supervision (2022). She is a mum of 2, a columnist, an activist, a volunteer, a writer and a friend. She is currently making a living from her online newsletter, Emily Writes Weekly subscriber base. She is also the director of Awhi Ngā Mātua — a charity supporting parents of disabled and medically fragile kids.

Fifi Colston has illustrated over 50 children's books for trade and education in her long career as a freelance creative. Wondering what it would be like to pen the words too, she forayed into writing at the International Institute of Modern Letters with a Masters degree in Creative Writing. In 2019 she was the Otago University College of Education, Creative New Zealand Writer in Residence where she wrote and illustrated 2 picture books and her fourth junior fiction novel to date, Masher which is published by Penguin Random House. Cover and internal illustrations by herself of course! She says of her work, ‘What I'm most proud of is that in my (so far) 44 year- long and varied career in the arts, I never, ever gave up, even when it all looked too hard. It means my life is often budget, but immensely fulfilling and I wouldn’t swap it for any other job.’ In her 60s she has taken up all year-round cold-water sea swimming and is delighted by the joy it brings.

Francesca is a Learning Designer, writer, literary translator, interpreter, and mother to Billie and Ella. She moved to Aotearoa 10 years ago and has made a home here. Among other publications, she translated a book of selected poems by Janet Frame (Parleranno le tempeste, Gabriele Capelli editore) that received critical acclaim in Italy. Her latest publication is her translation of, and commentary on the beginning of The Bone People by Keri Hulme.

Gary Young is an experienced actor who initially trained at The Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute in London and later graduated with a Bachelor of Arts Degree majoring in acting at the New Zelaand Drama School: Toi Whakaari.  He is a dedicated and disciplined actor, who delves into the psychological core of his roles and relishes 'finding the touchstone'. In his short life Gary Young says that the moments that stick in his head are the times when he has taken the time to listen to people. He loves to hear their stories, feel their emotion and begin to understand them, and to a lesser extent, himself.

Gavin Bishop ONZM has won Best New Zealand Children's Book of the Year 5 times, Best Illustrated Children's Book of the Year 5 times and Best Non-Fiction Children's Book of the Year 3 times. In 2018 he was awarded the Ngā Tohu ā Tā Kingi Ihaka Award for a lifetime contribution to Māori art and culture, and in 2019 the Prime Minister's Award for Literary Achievement. He has recently been nominated for the 2024 Hans Christian Andersen Award, the highest award for Children's Literature in the world.

Grace Teuila Taylor was born in Aotearoa, New Zealand and is of Samoan, English and Japanese heritage. She is an artist of upu/word dedicated to holding spaces for storytellers of Te Moana-nui-a- Kiwa. She is the author of My Own Darling (2015) and curated UPU at the Silo Theatre in Auckland in 2020. She has published 2 poetry collections with Ala Press — Afakasi Speaks (2013) and Full Broken Bloom (2017). She is also co-director of Flying Fetu, which aims to build abundant futures for Moana writers and writing.

Greg Ryan is Professor of History, and Proctor at Lincoln University. His research passions have led to publications on rugby, racing and beer among other things. He is a fellow of the Australian Society for Sports History, and Managing Editor of the International Journal of the History of Sport.

Gregory Hill is a dilletante railway enthusiast who has had a lifelong desire to stand on the antipode of his house in Newtown, Wellington. These 2 passions combined and culminated in the subject matter of his first book. Gregory’s 42-year career as a French horn player in symphony orchestras in New Zealand and Australia bears little obvious relevance to round-the-world rail travel or his antipodean adventure, but a life in music opened his mind to the potential beauties to be found in a stressed and unhappy world.

Poet, painter, print-maker, art curator and essayist, Gregory O'Brien has written numerous books across a variety of genre. His 2019 book-length essay, Always song in the water was republished in a new, expanded edition by the New Zealand Maritime Museum in Spring 2023 to coincide with a major exhibition at that institution. His monograph, Don Binney: Flight Path appeared around the same time and has been shortlisted for the 2024 Ockham New Zealand Book Awards.

Helen Lehndorf is a writer, teacher and community facilitator who grew up in Taranaki and now lives in the Manawatū. Her memoir A Forager's Life was in the New Zealand non-fiction top 10 for several weeks in 2023. She is happiest with her hands in the soil and does a lot of writing in her head at the same time.

Etta Bollinger is a writer and activist of Pākehā decent based in Te Whanganui a Tara. They have written for the page and performance since 2009. Their first book Articulations was published by Tender Press in 2023 and is a collection of essays on disabled-queer life.

Isa Pearl Ritchie is a former public servant with a PhD but is now a full-time writer with a strong readership in the US and UK. Isa has been writing novels under a handful of pen names for almost 20 years and has published over 20 books across multiple genres in this time. She currently writes cosy, witchy fantasy books which she very much enjoys. Her bestselling books have sold over 300,000 copies.

James Hollings is a journalist and academic who has read and taught about journalism in New Zealand for the past 2 decades. Apart from his family he is most proud of his journalism, his contribution to the cultural and social life of his country, and the many students he has had the pleasure of helping on their career paths.

James Russell dreams up his books in the shadow of Māngere Maunga in Auckland and foists them upon his wife and 2 sons for approval. He's the author of The Dragon Brothers Trilogy of picture books, The Dragon Defenders and Children of the Rush junior fiction series and 2 thrillers for adults — Mine and Lines. When the waves are good, he drops everything to go surfing.

Jenny Bornholdt is a poet who lives in Wellington. Her most recent books are Selected Poems and Lost and Somewhere Else. In 2023 she collaborated on A garden is a long time with her friend Annemarie Hope-Cross, a photographic artist who lived in Central Otago.

Joanna Kidman (Ngāti Maniapoto, Ngāti Raukawa) is Professor of Māori Education and Co-Director of He Whenua Taurikura: Centre for Countering and Preventing Violent Extremism at Victoria University of Wellington. She loves Wellington's eastern coastline and, in the weekends, can often be found walking along the shore or peering into rock pools.

John Campbell loves reading. But that doesn’t pay very well, so he earns a living as TVNZ’s Chief Correspondent. He has a 30-year career as a broadcast journalist in radio and television. In 2017 he was named Global Radio Presenter of the Year at the Association for International Broadcasting Awards in London.

John Daniell played rugby professionally in NZ and France. In 2010, his book Confessions of a Rugby Mercenary won the award for best rugby book at the British Sports Book Awards and his novel The Fixer — set in the world of French rugby — was listed among the 2015 books of the year in the Guardian, the Listener and the NZ Herald. He lives in Featherston where he now makes podcasts with his wife, Noelle McCarthy as Bird of Paradise productions. In 2020 his series The Service was described as ‘must listen, wherever you are in the world’ by The New York Times. His most recent series, Fair Game: Pacific Rugby Against the World was for RNZ.

Josh aka Kokonut is a street dancer from Wellington by way of Niue Island. He’s been fortunate enough to dance all over the globe from representing New Zealand at the World Hip Hop Champs in the USA to volunteering with at risk youth in Vanuatu, to having just come back from teaching at schools in Japan. He is the founder of a collective called Projekt Team which is currently the most successful battle and freestyle crew in the country having won many national events and championships.

Josie Pagani writes a fortnightly column for The Post and Stuff. She is also the CEO of ChildFund, a charity working to protect and support children in places like Gaza and Ukraine, and in the Pacific. She has been involved in progressive think tanks in the UK and Europe and is a regular media commentator. She has worked in aid and development, politics, trade and media for more than 20 years. Most recently she has worked on a cost benefit analysis of policies with Pacific governments, a project funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. She has also been working with the Tony Blair Institute to support Pacific governments.

Joy is a writer of fiction for adults and children. Her books have international acclaim, and she has been short-listed for the Hans Christian Andersen Award. Her spiritual writing has adult readership in many countries. Joy has been Featherston Booktown’s Patron since 2017.

Author of 2 books and writer and researcher of multiple documentaries, Jussie is happiest when she is writing. Over the last 7 years the climate emergency has seen her, together with her family, buy 6,500 hectares of Te Wai Pounamu and lobby at the intersection of agriculture and the climate for better practices and increased profitability.

Kate Mahony is a long-time writer of short stories, a number of which have been long-listed and shortlisted in international competitions. She has an MA in Creative Writing from the International Institute of Modern Letters at Te Herenga Waka University of Wellington. Her interest in her Irish heritage and history led to her debut novel, Secrets of the Land being published in September 2023 by Cloud Ink Press.

Katja Starke is a performance artist and collector of colourful typewriters. With WE THE COLLATERAL she creates highly participatory events combining a love of words and the whimsical with meaningful subjects that run straight-to-the-heart and connect audiences. She has presented her mahi such as The People's Oracle, Compliment Cycle, Your Highlight, Lockdown Laundry and Typewriter Cafe at Arts Festivals and in public spaces all over the motu.

Kelly Body is a zoologist,ecologist and science communicator. She absolutely loves using artwork to connect people with information in an engaging way! Whether that's complxe scientific concepts or just teaching others more about a certain species — especially ones that are completely underrated or misunderstood.

Dame Kerry Prendergast was Mayor of Wellington from 2001 to 2010. She is of Chair Wellington Free Ambulance, Wellington Opera, and serves on several boards. Most importantly in this context, recently completed all 3,012 kilometres Te Araroa Trail.

Kirsty Johnston is an investigative journalist with an interest in climate change and social justice. Her work has helped to change lives, such as the banning of seclusion rooms in primary schools, and the repeal of a law that discriminated against family carers for the disabled. She now works for RNZ. Her most recent podcast is Millie’s Baby.

Lee Murray is an author, editor, essayist, poet and screenwriter. She is Aotearoa's only recipient of the international Shirley Jackson Award, a 5-time Bram Stoker Award® winner, and an NZSA Honorary Literary Fellow. Lee is also a Grimshaw Sargeson Fellow and NZSA Laura Solomon Cuba Press Prize winner for her prose-poetry collection Fox Spirit on a Distant Cloud. She is the first writer of Chinese heritage to receive the New Zealand Prime Minister’s Award for Literary Achievement.

Linda is an avid reader and former board member ReadNZ. She reads literary fiction mostly, but also memoirs and non-fiction. She is a partner at Dentons Kensington Swan, specialising in public law, media law and advocacy. Previously she was a journalist and broadcaster.

Liv Sisson is a forager and fungi enthusiast who has been enchanted by the minutiae of nature for as long as she can remember. Raised in Virginia USA, she first learned how to spot small wonders in the Blue Ridge Mountains and has spent countless hours exploring Aotearoa with a curious eye for the flora, fauna and fungi that define this special place. Her writing appears in The Spinoff, Cuisine and Stuff and she has featured on RNZ. She loves how fungi-spotting micro-adventures introduce wonder and awe into her everyday.

Liz Mellish MNZM is a Trustee on the Featherston Booktown Board. She is the Chair of the Palmerston North Māori Reserve Trust and the Card Reserve Artificial Surface in Featherston. She also maintains directorships across a diverse range of organisations including Metlifecare Palmerston North Retirement Village, Wharewaka O Poneke Ltd, Hikoikoi Management and Haukawakawa Ltd. In her more than 40 years of living in Featherston, Liz has witnessed much change in our town and is deeply connected to the creativity and warmth of the heart of our community.

Lucy Cooper is most proud of the fact that, after nearly half a century on Planet Earth, she has found the job and profession that makes her truly happy and gives her a sense of purpose like no other — journalism! She is also proud to live and work in Wairarapa, a region full of natural and cultural beauty and wonder.

Lynn Freeman was the presenter of RNZ's arts show Standing Room Only (and its predecessors) for 21 years and worked as a journalist, producer and documentary maker for more than a decade beforehand. An ardent conservationist, in 2023 she moved to Forest & Bird to head the communications team. Lynn is Convenor of Judges for the Illustrated Non-fiction category of the 2024 Ockham New Zealand Book Awards.

Madeleine Slavick is a writer and photographer who has published and exhibited internationally. She is the author of The Yellow Chair (Hong Kong, Toronto, New York), Fifty Stories Fifty Images (Hong Kong), Something Beautiful Might Happen (Tokyo) and the author/editor of My Favourite Thing (Beijing, Taiwan). Her first book Round (1998), a collaboration with Barbara Baker, is a collection of poems and photographs of Asia. Town, her first book published in Aotearoa New Zealand, features her prose, poetry and photography. She lives in Wairarapa.

Maggie Rainey-Smith is a novelist, poet, short story writer and essayist. She blogs at acurioushalfhour.com and her website is maggieraineysmith.com Her first poetry collection Formica, a baby boomer memoir, was published in 2022 by The Cuba Press.

Spiral Collectives was founded by poet Heather McPherson in 1975 and is perhaps best known as publisher of Keri Hulme's Booker Prize-winning book, The Bone People. Spiral Collectives educate about women’s storytelling practices and legacies. They awhi them with publications, exhibitions, events, film, websites and archives. Cushla Parekowhai is a writer, concept designer and developer, and as a visual artist is known as Dr P. Dr Marian Evans is a Spiral Collectives ancient remnant, trained in creative writing and law.

Mark Pacey published his first book while still studying at Massey University and continues to find time for writing and publishing outside of his day job as The Markavist - preserving local history at the Wairarapa Archive. A regular contributor to the Wairarapa Times-Age and Midweek, the themes of Mark's books range from brewing, the soft drink industry, shipwrecks, and the history of pharmacy in Wairarapa. His latest work, Our New Zealand Home: The United States Marine Corps, detailed the American military's encampment in Masterton during World War II. He is currently working on a follow-up to Our New Zealand Home, focusing on the American presence in Wellington during the war before moving on to Featherston's World War II Prisoner of War camp.

Mary McCallum is a novelist and poet and a publisher with The Cuba Press and Mākaro Press. She lives in the Wairarapa and Wellington, and is a Featherston Booktown trustee and chair of Karukatea Festival programme committee.

Mātai Ammunson (Ngāti Moe, Ngāti Kahungunu ki Wairarapa, Rangitāne, Te Arawa, Vaimoso) grew up alongside Papawai Marae and is a graphic designer at a social media agency in Wellington. A digital storyteller with a passion for te reo, he is also continuing to study at Victoria University. Mātai and his whānau live alongside Papawai Marae just outside Greytown where they play active, voluntary ahi kaa roles.

Moana Maniapoto MNZM (Ngāti Tuwharetoa, Tuhourangi, Ngāti Pikiao) is a journalist and singer-songwriter. A self-confessed ‘political junkie’ who has never shied away from pushing boundaries. With partner Toby Mills, she has made award-winning documentaries exploring Māori topics and people. Her television show Te Ao with Moana won best current affairs series at the 2021 Voyager Media Awards. As leader of bands Moana and the Moahunters, and Moana & the Tribe she has toured the world fusing traditional Māori and modern sounds. She became an Arts Foundation Laureate in 2007 and was inducted into the APRA NZ Music Hall of Fame in 2016.

Nafanua Purcell Kersel (Faleālupo, Malaelā, Mosula, Satufia, Tuaefu) is a writer, poet and performer born in Samoa and raised in Wellington. Her work has been published in journals, magazines and anthologies. She was the recipient of the 2022 IIML Biggs Family Prize in Poetry with her collection, Black Sugarcane which will be published soon. Nafanua is incredibly proud of her 3 children, Axel, Tawa and Ulimasao.

Ned Barraud’s books have helped kiwi kids connect with nature and learn about all the wonderful creatures which dwell here in Aotearoa. From sharks to moa, dinosaurs to whales, his books have covered so many fascinating subjects. It makes him happy to know that he has provided kids with knowledge about nature and has encouraged them to want to get outside and explore it.

Ole Maiava is a performance poet. In 2012 he performed at the Frankfurt Bookfai when New Zealand was the guest country. In the 1980's he was a TV presenter and reporter for a highly successful children's programme called Spot On. He has 3 children and 4 grandchildren.

Oscar Sweetman is a book reader, movie watcher and gamer. He uses YouTube for personal enjoyment but also to review books. His favourite genres are contemporary YA and thrillers. He lives in Wellington with his Mum, Dad and dog Bowie.

Paora Ammunson (Ngāti Moe, Ngāti Kahungunu ki Wairarapa, Rangitāne, Te Arawa) was a teenager when he began supporting the paepae at Papawai and a young Dad when he welcomed the Waitangi Tribunal to Papawai as they began their inquiry. Now a senior executive and a kaumatua, the Crown apology and settlement to Ngāti Kahungunu ki Wairarapa finally took place a year ago.  Paora and his whānau live alongside Papawai Marae just outside Greytown where they play active, voluntary ahi kaa roles.

Penny Griffin is a highly valued and much-loved librarian in Featherston. Local children have grown up seeing her friendly smile, hearing her read aloud and getting helpful book recommendations from her every time they visit the library.

Peter Biggs, known to his friends as Biggsy, has had a 25-year distinguished career in the advertising industry, leading award-winning agencies in New Zealand and Australia. He has had a significant involvement in the arts sector for many years, including being chair of the Arts Council of New Zealand (Creative NZ) from 1999 to 2006, a member of the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra Board, a trustee of the Arts Foundation of New Zealand, a member of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra Board and a founding board member of the Wheeler Centre for Books, Writing and Ideas in Melbourne. He was chair of Read NZ Te Pou Muramura from 2010 to 2021 and is currently Chair Emeritus. He is a founding trustee of the Featherston Booktown Trust and became chair in 2018. A generous arts philanthropist, Biggsy was appointed a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit in 2013.

Rachel McAlpine was born in Fairlie in 1940 and was first published in the Press children’s page at the age of 10. At present her poems, podcast and performances focus on the experience of aging. Last year her play, The Secret Lives of Extremely Old People sold out at Circa Theatre, and now she is developing a solo show, Unyoung.

Ramon Narayan is a is a poet, DJ, youth worker, facilitator and the co-founder of the South Auckland Poets Collective. His career in Youth Development spanning more than 20 years has taken him across the world, and in 2016 was honoured with a Kiwibank Local Hero award for his work in the community. Since 2010, he has served as the manager for Action Education which runs the largest poetry slam in Aotearoa, providing stages and platforms for over 8,000 young poets each year. In 2023 he was honoured as the closing keynote speaker at INVOLVE 2023: The Stars that Guide Us.

Rob Kennedy’s papermaking pursuits stem from an interest in land-use change and developing productivity values from conservation and native biodiversity. On one side he has the joy of being able to provide access to an enjoyable and creative pursuit, and on the other he is proud to have accepted the challenge of developing a business with a strong social enterprise ethic. He finds it a great pleasure to return to Featherston Booktown to connect with interested and creative people, to share the craft and contribute to growing of the native plant economy.

Robin Payne is an artistic director, lecturer, trainer and actor. She was raised by 2 readers in a home with thousands of books. She has spent her career indulging this love of words, putting them onstage, and sharing them with actors in over 150 productions in 23 countries — always deeply committed to bicultural and intercultural theatre exploration. Her work has ranged from being a guest artist with the Royal Shakespeare Company to Director of NZ Drama School: Te Kura Toi Whakaari o Aotearoa and a Senior Lecturer with the Intercultural Theatre Institute, Singapore. Most recently, she has been guest director for ancient Greek theatre in Hyderabad, India. She is proud to be surrounded by a superb family, who now all work in the same field, filling their own homes with many more books.

Robyn Ramsden is a self-taught bookbinder, classical historian, wahine, wife, mother, occasional gardener, and a climate change educator and activist. Last year she graduated with a BSc in Geology and Science in Society.

Ron Mark has been a milk boy, opossum trapper, scrub cutter, horse rider, professional soldier and officer, mechanical engineer, returned serviceman, small businessman, lead negotiator for te Ngati Kahungunu ki Wairarapa Tamaki Nui a Rua Treaty settlement, 6-term member of parliament, Minister of Defence and Minister for Veterans Affairs, and a humanitarian aid worker in Ukraine. He is the current Mayor of Carterton and has served in that position twice before. He is the grandfather of 14 and great grandfather of 1. He is also an amateur military historian; but most importantly, Ron just wants to be a country music star.

For 16 years Ruth Shaw has owned and operated 45 South and Below Bookshop in Manapouri. In an attempt to ‘retire’, she closed her bookshop for about 6 years, but yearned to open another one. You cannot take books out of a book lover’s life, and she found very quickly that she couldn’t take a bookshop out of her life. She now has 3 very tiny bookshops on a small block of land right beside her home.  She is very proud that her wee bookshops are now known internationally.

Shane Te Pou (Ngāi Tūhoe) is a political commentator whose views appear in many print and online publications, most notably the NZ Herald, Stuff and the Sunday Star-Times. He is a former candidate, campaign manager and executive member of the Labour Party, and a former union official. He is no longer a member of any political party but continues to support candidates and issues from across the political spectrum. Based in Auckland, he is currently Interim CEO of MEGA The Privacy Company.

Sharleen is a mother and grandmother who has lived locally for 40 years, first at South Featherston then in Featherston (Paetūmokai) township. Following her personal career as a research, government and academic statistician, in retirement she now works part time as a statistics education consultant. She has authored or co-authored mathematics textbooks and helped develop statistics web apps and online courses. Now her focus is on writing and illustrating bilingual childrens’ picture books involving animals and birds common in our community. Whānau, gardening and painting occupy her spare time.

A multidisciplinary Son of $outh Auckland of Māori Samoan descent. He has seen many a stage nationally and internationally but is most proud of representing Aotearoa alongside his crew Projekt Team in Vietnam last year. Always raw, always real, he aims to perpetuate the shine that lives within his communities through his mahi.

Steve Braunias is the author of 10 books, including How To Watch A Bird, Civilisation (winner of the General Non-fiction category at the 2013 NZ Post Book Awards), and Missing Persons (winner of the 2023 Ngaio Marsh Award for best non-fiction). As books editor at Newsroom, he focuses exclusively on coverage of New Zealand writing. The best book he has read in the past 12 months was an original 1764 edition of The Castle of Otranto by Horace Walpole. Steve believes literature never got as fantastic as this in the 360 years since.

Sue Bradford has been engaged in left politics and activism since she was still at school. She was a Green MP for 10 years (1999–2009) where her key achievement was a member's bill amending s59 of the Crimes Act which had enabled legalised violence against children. She has a PhD in public policy (AUT 2014) and currently works for Kōtare Research and Education for Social Change in Aotearoa. She is the subject of Jenny Chamberlain's biography Constant Radical.

After an outstandingly successful sporting career which saw her become the World Open Squash Campion 4 times, Dame Susan Devoy served as Race Relations Commissioner from 2013 to 2018. She believes she has lived a full life of meaning and purpose that has made the most of every opportunity. Her autobiography, Dame Suzy D: My Story was released in April, and tells her story with frank honesty and heaps of humour and heart.

Tāme Iti, a national treasure and revered cultural icon of Aotearoa, blurs the lines between protest and performance art, embodying the spirit of both with his dynamic activism and compelling artistic expressions. His work, a spirited blend of tradition and provocation, challenges viewers to confront and appreciate the complexities of Māori rights and cultural identity. More than an artist or an activist, Iti's bold approach and unwavering commitment have established him as a symbol of resilience and a beacon of inspiration in the heart of New Zealand's societal discourse.

Tayi Tibble (Te Whānau ā Apanui and Ngāti Porou) is a writer from Te Whanganui a Tara now living in Tamaki-Makarau. She is the author of two poetry collections Poukahangatus and Rangikura, both published by Te Herenga Waka University Press. She is now published internationally by Penguin UK and Knopf.

Te Maire Tau (Ngāi Tahu) is Ūpoko of Ngāi Tūāhuriri, a hapu of Ngāi Tahu and a historian on oral traditions, tribal genealogies and indigenous knowledge systems — his historical knowledge proved invaluable during the settlement of Ngāi Tahu’s Treaty of Waitangi claims. He is an Associate Professor of history at Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha (University of Canterbury) and director of the Ngāi Tahu Research Centre there. In 2022 he was appointed Pou Whakarae of the university’s Office of Treaty Partnership. His writings and research focus on oral traditions and the relationship between Indigenous knowledge systems, and how they intersect with western science and economics.

Terri Te Tau (Ngāti Kahungunu, Rangitāne ki Wairarapa) is an artist and writer based in the Manawatū. She recently won the Emerging Māori Writer category for the Sunday Star Times Short Story competition. Terri completed a PhD in Creative Arts from Massey University in 2015 and is a member of the art collective Mataaho, which won the 2021 Walters Art Prize and became Arts Foundation Laureates in 2022. Mataaho was selected to represent New Zealand at the 2024 Venice Biennale and their work Takapau was awarded the prestigious Golden Lion for best international participation.

Tim Pankhurst is a Wellington-resident journalist, editor and writer who loves diving and catching big fish off the Wairarapa coast. He is most proud of walking the length of Aotearoa NZ with two wonderful women – his wife Sue and dear friend Kerry Prendergast. He is equally proud of (mostly) being a good father to beautiful daughter and son, and grandfather to their 5 delightful kids.

Tony is a Dunedin writer with a special interest in creative non-fiction. He has written for magazines and has had numerous opinion pieces and feature articles published in the Otago Daily Times. He is a strong advocate of Dunedin as a UNESCO City of Literature, the Dunedin Writers' Walk and is currently Chair of the Dunedin Athenaeum Library. Tony is particularly proud of his first book, The Book Collector, which has been well received by the reading public.

Historian Vincent O'Malley is the author of several acclaimed and best-selling works on the New Zealand Wars. In 2022 Voices from the New Zealand Wars won the 2022 general non-fiction prize at the Ockham New Zealand Book Awards. In the same year Vincent received the Prime Minister’s Award for Literary Achievement in Non-Fiction. In 2023 he received the Royal Society of New Zealand Te Apārangi Humanities Aronui Medal for research or innovative work of outstanding merit in the Humanities. With Professor Joanna Kidman he is co-principal investigator on a significant Marsden Fund study of how the 19th century New Zealand Wars have helped shape memory, identity and history.

Warren Maxwell (Ngāi Tūhoe, Ngāti Kahungunu, Ngai Te Rangi) has been a professional working musician and composer for the better part of 2 decades in bands including Southside of Bombay, Trinity Roots, Little Bushman and Fat Freddys Drop. Warren has composed for film and television, and performed at numerous festivals internationally. He is very much looking forward to sharing stories, te reo and perspectives with Kuranui students as part of the Featherston Booktown Young Readers Programme in Schools. He has lived in Featherston for over 17 years, and he and his whānau think of Featherston as home.

Yotam and his partner Niva established Pākaraka Permaculture, where they have an organic market garden growing more than 10,000kg of produce a year on a quarter acre, teach workshops and write books. Yotam loves growing things and has been sharing his passion for it since 2005. He is co-author of the best-selling books The Abundant Garden and The Abundant Kitchen. In 2021 Niva and Yotam were awarded Farmer of the Year at the Organic NZ Awards.

Zach Cotogni has been on a personal healing journey which means he is now free of addictions and has not drunk alcohol for 7 years. He is very happy that his book Blue Honey — a collection of stories from across Aotearoa about personal experiences of using psilocybin or magic mushrooms for mental health — has had an impact on other people’s lives. He is also very proud of his 2 beautiful children.