Airana Ngarewa (Ngāti Ruanui, Ngāruahine, Ngā Rauru) is the self-proclaimed pound-for-pound strongest writer in Aotearoa–New Zealand. Once nearly expelled from every school he attended, he is now a Deputy Principal.

Born and bred in Pātea, Taranaki, and raised on combat sports and cage-fighting, he has funnelled that intensity into the page. In just three years he has published three books – The Bone Tree, Pātea Boys and The Last Living Cannibal – and is chasing a goal of five books in five years.

Annette Lees is a writer, conservationist and strategist.  Her two most recent books, Swim: A year of swimming outdoors in New Zealand and After Dark: Walking into the nights of Aotearoa were both longlisted for the Ockham NZ Book Awards.  Annette has been an outdoor and natural world enthusiast from childhood. With a Masters of Science in ecology and landscape conservation, she has had a career in conservation in New Zealand and the tropical Pacific.   Annette's book, After Dark, explores the mysteries of the world at night, walking us into that strange enchantment and guiding us from dusk to dawn through tales of fireworks, ghosts and navigation by stars, in the company of bats, night birds and night-singing insects.  Annette has led night-walking and storytelling events in many places across Aotearoa.

Soprano Barbara Paterson is delighted to appear at Featherston Booktown this year. She returned to Aotearoa-NZ from New York City in 2016, having worked steadily as an opera and concert singer across the USA for several years. Since returning to NZ, Barbara has sung for Stroma, Java Dance, the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra, the Royal New Zealand Air Force Band, Wanderlust Theatre, NZ Opera, the Audio Foundation, the Auckland Chamber Orchestra, Orchestra Wellington, CubaDupa, Wellington Opera, and as a soloist for choral societies around NZ. Her performances of Francis Poulenc’s “The Human Voice” for the 2020 NZ Festival of the Arts were critically acclaimed as “magnificent” and “exemplary”. Barbara was a 2020 Freemasons Resident Artist for NZ Opera, and she can be heard as a featured soloist in Stephen Gallagher’s critically acclaimed score for The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim. She conducts Wellington’s Capital Choir and maintains a full teaching studio. Find Barbara online @barbarapatersonmusic and on Instagram @sopranoonabicycle.

Barry Judd is Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Indigenous) and Professor of Indigenous Studies in the School of Culture and Communication at the University of Melbourne.In his role as Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Professor Judd has responsibility for institutional policy, strategy and advice in relation to all aspects of Indigenous higher education.

As Professor of Indigenous Studies, he provides academic leadership to the program through undergraduate teaching, Higher Degree Research supervision and research activity in support of this emerging field of studies.

Professor Judd is a member of Australian Institute for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS). He was a foundation Chief Investigator of National Indigenous Research and Knowledges Network (NIRAKN). He is currently a Board member of Museums and Galleries of the Northern Territory (MAGNT) and the Life Again Foundation. He is a member of the Hawthorn Football Club’s First Nations Advisory Committee and the Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) committee of the Richmond Football Club

Professor Judd holds an MA in Public Policy and a PhD in Australian Indigenous Studies and holds postgraduate qualifications in higher education teaching and learning. His area of research expertise relates to Australian race relations in Australian sports and interdisciplinary research methods in Indigenous Studies and Australian history.

He has worked in the support of Indigenous activity in Australian higher education for over 30 years in both professional staff and academic roles. Professor Judd is widely published and holds several current Australian Research Council research grants.

Bob Francis is the former Mayor of Masterton District Council for 21 years. He has had significant roles in Health, was the former chair Wairarapa DHB, and Chair of Masterton Medical. He’s had previous roles in Conservation, Chair Pukaha Mount Bruce, Arts, Aviation and numerous community organizations.  Bob was awarded the Ryman Healthcare Senior NZ of the year in 2024.

Bryan Walpert is the author of ten books of fiction, poetry and criticism, most recently the novels Empathy (Mākaro Press) and Entanglement (Mākaro Press), short-listed for the Jann Medlicott Acorn Prize for Fiction at the 2022 Ockham New Zealand national book awards; the novella Late Sonata (Brio Books), winner of the 2020 Seizure Viva La Novella prize; and Brass Band to Follow (Otago UP), included among the top 10 poetry collections of 2021 in the New Zealand Listener. He is a professor of creative writing at Massey University in Auckland. More about Bryan is available at https://bryanwalpert.com/

Buddy  lives in Tauranga and Coromandel. He has an honours degree in Maori and History from Canterbury University and is a former Director of the Waitangi Tribunal. He works as a consultant specializing in environmental and cultural issues. He is also interested in race relations and military history - particularly with the New Zealand Wars. He is a published author and takes a keen interest in local history.

Catherine Chidgey is ‘one of New Zealand’s greatest living writers’ (Radio NZ). She is the author of nine award-winning, bestselling novels, including Remote Sympathy, Pet and The Axeman’s Carnival.  Her books are published globally and translated into several languages. She has been longlisted for the Women’s Prize in the UK twice and shortlisted for the Dublin Literary Award. Chidgey is the only person to have won the Jann Medlicott Acorn Prize for Fiction twice. Her latest novel, The Book of Guilt, sparked international bidding wars. Kirkus (US) calls it ‘an emotional and intellectual tour de force’.

Catherine Field-Dodgson (Rongowhakaata, Ngāi Tāmanuhiri, Te Aitanga a Mahaki) is the author of a 2003 Master’s thesis that included the first detailed study of Emily Harris’s exhibiting practices. She is active in community and environmental organisations and a beginner learner of te reo Māori. She is currently researching her great-great-grandmother Keita Halbert/Wyllie/Gannon and her connections to Tūranga.

Cheryl Gallaway is a multidisciplinary artist and designer. Founder of letterpress studio Bower & Book. Cheryl has given lectures on Typography in Wellington, London and Rotterdam, and enjoys multimedia publishing, typographic, papermaking and printmaking collaborations. Instagram: @bower.and.book

Chris Hay is the founder and creative director of Locales, a Wellington-based studio specialising in place-based storytelling. He leads the development of immersive heritage experiences that combine historical research, digital design and on-site interpretation. Chris was the creative director of the highly awarded Ngā Tapuwae: New Zealand First World War Trails featuring Gallipoli and Western Front self-guided tour apps. He also produced the extensive Waikato War battle-site guide: TeAraWai.nz. His work explores how visitor experience design can deepen public understanding of history in meaningful and accessible ways.

The Hon. Chris Finlayson KC is a barrister in Bankside Chambers. After 25 years in practice, Chris entered Parliament in 2005 as a National List MP. From 2008 to 2017 he was Attorney-General and Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations. Over that period he also served as Associate Minsiter of Māori Affairs, Minister for Culture and Heritage and Minister in Charge of the GCSB and SIS. Chris retired from Parliament in January 2019 to resume practice as a barrister.

Lt Col (Retd) Christopher Pugsley, ONZM, DPhil (Waikato), FRHistS

Christopher Pugsley is regarded as one of New Zealand’s foremost authorities on New Zealanders at war.  He has written and edited over 20 books. He was Creative Director for the Auckland War Memorial Museum’s Scars on the Heart exhibition, Historical Director of Te Papa Tongarewa’s Gallipoli: The Scale of Our War Exhibition and historian and principal narrator for the Ngā Tapuwae series of New Zealand heritage walks for Gallipoli and the Western Front

Claire Mabey is writer, founder of Verb Wellington, LitCrawl Wellington and books editor at The Spinoff. She has worked at many arts and book festivals over the past 15 years and still feels passionate about the role of festivity in our lives. Claire is a book reviewer on RNZ and writes a sporadic Substack newsletter called Domestic Animals. Her first novel, The Raven's Eye Runaways, published by Allen & Unwin, won best first book at the NZ Book Awards for Children & Young Adults. The sequel, The Raven's Eye Rebellion is out in April 2026.

Dr Clare Gleeson is a Wellington based garden historian.  Clare has written for several garden and history journals and is a regular contributor to 'New Zealand Gardener.'  Her book, The Fairer Side of Buxton: Alfred Buxton’s gardens and the women who loved them, exploring the gardens of New Zealand’s foremost garden designer, was published by The Cuba Press in 2023.  In 2025 she received the Royal New Zealand Institute of Horticulture’s award for garden history.  Clare is particularly interested in the role of women in garden history and is currently completing a book on New Zealand’s horticultural heroines.

Dominic Hoey is a poet, author, youth worker, and small dog owner from Tāmaki Makaurau, Aotearoa. He’s released three best selling novels and written a million love poems. Through his Learn To Write Good program, Dominic has taught thousands of students how to think dyslexic. His third  novel, 1985 was released by Penguin in May and has received rave reviews. He dreams of one day starting an animal rescue farm

Duncan Greive is a journalist and editor, and founder of The Spinoff and the creative and digital agency Daylight. He hosts The Fold, a podcast about media within and with of Aotearoa which was nominated for best international podcast at the 2024 global iHeartMedia podcast awards.

Duncan has served as the MP for Christchurch Central since being elected in 2017, and has held the role of Chief Government Whip in the 2020 Labour Government. Serving in Parliament has allowed Duncan to play a part in making New Zealand a better place through his pivotal roles in climate change legislation, resource management reform and COVID-19 response laws. Prior to entering Parliament, Duncan was a professor, lawyer, and social activist.Duncan Webb is a senior Labour Party member of Parliament and was a minister in the Ardern/Hipkins government. Prior to politics he was a litigation lawyer and professor of law. He made a name for himself taking on insurers and government for the people of Christchurch after the Canterbury earthquakes. He lives in Christchurch and loves books, and the outdoors.

Emma Barnes (Pākehā, they/them) lives in Aro Valley, Te Whanganui a Tara | Wellington. Their poetry has been published in journals including Landfall, Cordite and Best New Zealand Poems (2008, 2010, 2021). They performed in Show Ponies in 2022 and 2023. They are the author of the poetry collections I Am in Bed with You (2021) and IF WE KNEW HOW TO WE WOULD (2025) as well as co-editor with Chris Tse of Out Here: An Anthology of Takatāpui and LGBTQIA+ Writers from Aotearoa (2021). They work in tech and spend a lot of time picking up heavy things and putting them back down again.

Emma Hinton is a writer, artist, celebrant and creative facilitator. In 2022, she founded The Light Library—a living studio for storytelling, workshops and books. With a background in filmmaking and a commitment to relational resilience, she creates collaborative projects that centre around creativity and wellbeing. Emma is the author of poetic picture books co-created with children through art and story. She is of Ngāti Maniapoto, English/Welsh ancestry and lives in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland with her daughter.

Award-winning composer Dr Eve de Castro-Robinson retired as Associate Professor in Composition at University of Auckland in 2019 and is a freelance composer, writer, and speaker. Her work is performed internationally, and she has held residencies with the Auckland Philharmonia, Orchestra Wellington, AWE Festival, Atlantic Centre for the Arts Florida, Banff Centre Canada, and Brisons Veor in Cornwall UK. In 2026 Eve is Lilburn Composer in Residence in Wellington. As an artist her inspiration is drawn from a wide range of sources, monks to Meredith Monk, birdsong to The Byrds, hymns, 70s art rock, sonic art, poetry, auteur cinema, abstract painting, contemporary jazz and dance, camera art, and many more influences are given a whirl in the creative blender. Her output ranges from collaborative performance works to instrumental, vocal and chamber music and large-scale orchestral canvases as well as a 90-minute chamber opera on Len Lye. She has six solo CDs, and works with Rattle Records, with whose The Gristle of Knuckles she won 2018 Best Classical Artist at the Aotearoa Music Awards.

After drawing the curtain on her stellar hockey career, three-time Olympian Gemma McCaw is dedicated to sharing her skills and knowledge in the field of health and wellness. With a degree in Sport and Exercise Science and a Diploma in Positive Psychology and Wellbeing, the Sunday Series founder works with women to help them reach their full potential. Her innate understanding and experience gained from her decade-long Black Sticks journey where she amassed 254 international test caps has given her a unique insight into resilience-building, teamwork and fostering good habits. It's also given her the skills to cope with the highs and lows of high-performance sport, all learnings which can be transferred to everyday life. As a busy mum to three daughters Charlotte, Grace, and Ella she knows all too well the challenges many of us face on a daily basis when it comes to juggling the demands of home, work, happiness and health.

Gilbert Enoka is a legendary mental performance coach who has worked with New Zealand’s sporting elite. He is internationally-renowned for his two-decade history with the All Blacks. He has been with the All Blacks for over 250 tests and during that time the team has won back-to-back Rugby World Cups, one Laureus Award (for the best team in the world), 17 Bledisloe Cups, three Grand Slams, seven Tri Nations and five Rugby Championships. Gilbert’s reputation has also seen him work with the Black Caps, Silver Ferns, Crusaders and many other high-performing international athletes. A sought-after speaker, Gilbert talks about the psychology behind individual and team

Giselle Clarkson is an award-winning author, illustrator and cartoonist living in Wairarapa. In 2023 she was made an Arts Foundation Te Tumu Toi Laureate, receiving the Mallinson Rendel Illustrators Award for an outstanding contribution to New Zealand children’s books. Giselle blends humour with detailed observation to achieve her signature style. She is a regular contributor to the NZ School Journal and NZ Geographic magazine, and once experienced viral success with an illustrated poster of NZ baked goods. Her bestselling non-fiction book The Observologist: A Handbook for Mounting Very Small Scientific Expeditions has been translated into ten languages. Her latest book, Omnibird: An Avian Investigator’s Handbook was published in 2025.

Glenn Colquhoun is a GP and poet who lives in Horowhenua. His latest collection of poetry, The Ballad of Joe Taihape, was released in 2026.

H.G. Parry is a critically acclaimed historical fantasy author whose books include The Unlikely Escape of Uriah Heep, The Shadow Histories duology, The Magician’s Daughter, The Scholar and the Last Faerie Door, A Far Better Thing, and The Witch Below the Dreaming Wood. She holds a PhD in English Literature from Victoria University of Wellington, and lives in Wellington with a house full of books and a growing menagerie of small creatures.

Hannah Kent is an award-winning author and screenwriter. She is the author of the bestselling novels Burial Rites, The Good People and Devotion, and her original feature film, Run Rabbit Run, premiered at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival. Hannah is the co-founder of Kill Your Darlings and her writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Guardian, The Sydney Morning Herald and Vogue Australia, among others. Her most recent book is Always Home, Always Homesick: A Memoir of Iceland. She lives on Peramangk Country, South Australia.

Henry Cooke is deputy political editor of The Post. He is the author of 41,000 tweets, but no books. He lives in Wellington.

Ingrid grew up in the Wairarapa and, after a period overseas, now lives in Te Whanganui-a-Tara, Wellington. She often returns to the Wairarapa in her writing, most recently her fiction debut, All Her Lives: Nine Stories (2025), a finalist in the 2026 Ockham Book Awards. Her other books include two collections of poetry, a history of women wanderers, and the memoir Where We Swim (2021). She has been a Creative NZ Writer in Residence at the IIML at Te Herenga Waka – Victoria University of Wellington, a Michael King international exchange fellow to Australia, and currently teaches for the Faber Writing Academy at A&U and the IIML.

Photo Credit: Ebony Lamb

Jacquie Kidd, Ngāpuhi, has spent decades examining inequities and racism in the health system, using story and poetry to bring whānau voices to the forefront of cancer care and research. Now 63 and living with a terminal cancer diagnosis, her memoir gathers what she has learned from years of standing with people diagnosed too late – that a health and social system designed around whānau Māori would allow everyone to flourish. In her role as Professor of Māori Health, Jacquie continues to teach and mentor at AUT and serves as a Trustee of Hei Āhuru Mōwai, the Māori Cancer Leadership organisation. She lives in Ahuriri (Napier) with her husband and two dogs, and just a short drive from her five granddaughters.

Jordan Hamel is a writer, performer, and Fulbright Scholar. He holds an MFA from the University of Michigan. His debut poetry collection Everyone is Everyone Except You, was published in New Zealand by Dead Bird Books in 2022 and by Broken Sleep in the UK in 2024. He is a former national slam champion and co-edited the Aotearoa climate change writing anthology No Other Place to Stand (AUP). He is the winner of the 2023 Sonora Review Poetry Prize, and the 2023 New Writers UK Poetry Prize. Recent work can be found or is forthcoming in POETRY Magazine, Poetry Daily, Ploughshares, Electric Literature, Kenyon Review, North American Review, and elsewhere. He is the Director of Featherston Booktown

Joseph Trinidad is a Filipino writer who lives in Te-Whanganui-a-Tara Wellington. His work has been featured in Landfall, North & South, Te Papa, The Spinoff, Turbine | Kapohau and with Migrant Zine Collective. He was the winner of the 2023 Adam Foundation Prize from the International Institute of Modern Letters and the 2023 Asian Ink from Playmarket. His debut essay collection, Lucky Creatures, was awarded the inaugural Sarabande Prize in the Essay.

Photo Credit: Ebony Lamb

Josiah Morgan (Kāi Tahu, Ngāti Maniapoto) is an interdisciplinary artist based in Ōtautahi. His latest book i'm still growing was released by Dead Bird Books in 2024. In 2026, his chapbook Black Window is the featured chapbook in Poetry Aotearoa Yearbook. His other books were all released in the United States, including his hybrid text The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, which was performed as a six-hour-long performance artwork in Auckland Pride 2024. He believes in magic and the power of words to transform.

Photo Credit: Federico Corradi

Josie Shapiro is the author of two bestselling novels. Her debut, the bestselling Everything is Beautiful and Everything Hurts, won the Allen & Unwin Fiction Prize, and her new novel, Good Things Come and Go, was published in 2025 and was one of the NZ Listener's Best Books of the year. Based in Tamaki Makaurau with her husband and two daughters, Josie was a Sargeson Fellow in 2024 and was named as one of the 2025 New Voices of Aotearoa.

Juliette MacIver is the author of over 28 picture books and 3 junior fiction titles. She has twice won the Picture Book category at the NZ Book Awards for Children and Young Adults, and received the Storylines Notable Book Award seven times. She gained international recognition in 2023 with The Grizzled Grist Does Not Exist, which was awarded a White Raven. Her books are available in seven languages across ten countries. In 2023 she completed a Master of Arts degree in Linguistics, during which she won two academic prizes. She also holds two teaching qualifications and is a mother of four.

Kate Camp is an award-winning poet, with eight acclaimed collections including The Mirror of Simple Annihilated Souls (winner of the 2011 NZ Post Book Award for Poetry), How to Be Happy Though Human: New and Selected Poems (2020), and Makeshift Seasons (2025). Her “scorchingly good" memoir, You Probably Think This Song Is About You was published in 2022. Her latest book is the genre-busting Leather & Chains: My 1986 Diary, a hilarious and heartbreaking journey through the rollercoaster entries of her teenage diary.

Photo Credit: Ebony Lamb

Kristy McGregor is the founder of Shepherdess, a social impact initiative focused on building community through storytelling and events. She leads this work across print, screen, live events, audio and a strong digital presence as publisher and editor-in-chief of Shepherdess magazine, executive producer of the Shepherdess documentary television series, festival director of The Shepherdess Muster, and producer of the podcast Far From Town in collaboration with RNZ.

Kristy will be appearing as a part of our Young Readers Programme

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 O’Hagan is a rata hauora/GP, writer and performer. Her 2025 book Everything but the Medicine. A doctor’s tale published by Massey Press, was described as ‘stunning’ by Glenn Colqhoun. It explores the human stories heard by GPs and asks how doctors need to be, and to think, to become story doctors. Lucy reflects on crises from her own life including burnout. Lucy has worked in a huge variety of places and practices. She teaches consultation skills to GP trainees. She has studied the social science of medicine, narrative practice and kaitiakitanga, and writes a column for New Zealand Doctor.

Mahara was born in Waitara, Taranaki, and has strong tribal links to Te Ātiawa and Ngāti Maniapoto in the North, Taranaki in the West, Ngāti Ruanui and Nga Rauru in the South. His formative years were spent at Parihaka where the teachings of Te Whiti and Tohu had a direct influence on his attitudinal development. Mahara has had numerous roles mostly held in education and from 1999-2008 was a Member of Parliament for Te Tai Tonga and held roles as Associate Minister of Social Development and Employment, Associate Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage and Associate Minister for Conservation.  Mahara’s core knowledge and skills area is in executive governance, machinery of government, public policy and service, project and contract management, strategic planning, whānau, hapū, iwi, Māori development.  Mahara has previously been a Chairman of the Port Nicholson Block Settlement Trust, and Pipitea Marae Charitable Trust. Mahara was a negotiator for the Taranaki Claim and currently a Consultant between Crown agencies and the Treaty partner.

Mandy Myles is the founder of Bookety Book Books, an independent online bookstore built around curated book subscriptions, championing literacy, and nurturing a vibrant online reading community. After more than a decade in the fashion industry, the passionate reader launched Bookety Book Books during the Covid lockdowns with a simple aim: to create a thoughtfully curated space where readers could discover their next great book from the comfort of their own homes. What began as a small lockdown idea has since grown organically into a thriving community united by a shared love of reading.

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.

Matariki Bennett is a 23 year old award-winning Slam Poet and Filmmaker. She released her first pukapuka,  e kō, nō hea koe in May 2025. She is a founding member of Ngā Hinepūkōrero, a bilingual Wāhine Māori Slam Poetry Collective, who in 2021, were honoured with the Creative New Zealand Ngā Manu Pirere Award, recognising outstanding emerging Māori artists. In 2023, Matariki was the Wellington Poetry Slam Champion. Matariki co-wrote and co-directed, 'Te Kohu' (2022)' and directed the short documentary, 'Wind, Song and Rain (2022)'. Whakapapa, Te Reo Māori and Hītori are the tūāpapa of Matariki’s storytelling.

Michael (Ngāti Pikiao, Ngāti Whakaue) is an award-winning author and filmmaker. Michael’s debut novel, Better the Blood was published in New Zealand, USA, UK, and Australia, with ten translations. It was shortlisted or won numerous awards, including finalist for the 2023 Jann Medlicott fiction prize, and finalist for the Barry Awards (USA). Better The Blood won Best First Novel at the Ngaio Marsh Awards, making Michael the first author to win for both fiction and non-fiction. Michael devoted many years to the fight for justice for Teina Pora, a young Māori man wrongly imprisoned for 21 years. His first book, In Dark Places, about Teina’s case, won Best Non-Fiction at the Ngaio Marsh Awards. Michael made a documentary which unearthed evidence pivotal to Teina’s exoneration and directed and co-wrote a dramatic feature film about Teina. Michael is co-curator (with daughter Matariki) of the Auckland Writers’ Festival. Michael’s latest, Carved In Blood was published May 2025, the third novel in his Hana Westerman series.

Michele Leggott was the New Zealand Poet Laureate 2007-09 and received the Prime Minister’s Award for Literary Achievement in Poetry in 2013. Recent publications include Groundwork: The Art and Writing of Emily Cumming Harris with co-author Catherine Field-Dodgson (2025), Face to the Sky (2023) and Mezzaluna: Selected Poems (2020). Michele coordinated the New Zealand Electronic Poetry Centre (nzepc) with colleagues at the University of Auckland 2001-2021 and in 2017 she was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of New Zealand.

Michelle Duff is a journalist and writer from Te Whanganui-a-Tara. She was the winner of the 2023 Fiction Prize from the International Institute of Modern Letters for her short fiction collection, Surplus Women. Her journalism has appeared in Aotearoa and internationally, including in the Guardian, Stuff, New Zealand Geographic, the Melbourne Age and the Sunday Times.

Photo Credit: Ebony Lamb

Mike McRoberts is an award-winning New Zealand journalist, author and public speaker of Ngāti Kahungunu ki te Wairoa descent. For decades he has been a trusted presence in Aotearoa’s news media and is now Te Ao Māori Editor at the National Business Review, where he writes about the Māori economy, culture and leadership. His book Kōrero i tōku reo traces his personal journey into learning te reo Māori later in life, exploring identity, whakamā and reconnection. Mike is a passionate advocate for language revitalisation and thoughtful kōrero, and regularly speaks around the country on storytelling, tikanga and belonging.

Naomi Arnold is an award-winning journalist and natural history writer. She has contributed to most national publications including RNZ, North & South, Wilderness, and New Zealand Geographic, as well as international outlets including The Washington Post and The Guardian. As well as the Ockham-longlisted Northbound, her trail memoir of walking the length of Aotearoa on Te Araroa, she wrote Southern Nights, an acclaimed story of New Zealand astronomy, and co-authored the Ockham-longlisted Force of Nature, a history of Forest & Bird, with renowned conservation writer David Young. She lives in Nelson.

Nick Ascroft has published six collections of poetry, his latest It's What He Would've Wanted (THWUP 2025) featured in the best-of-the-year lists of the Listener, the Post and (with himself the judge) Newsroom. He is a jersey-wearing gen-Xer born in Oamaru. Nick writes about the embarrassment of the human condition, from the intersection of comedy and poetry. Not the kind of comedian to laugh at the absurdity of life, he jokes instead to throw a blanket over the terror. The terror's shape remains visible, but it will not harsh our mellow.

Noelle is from Cork, Ireland. She started her radio career in Auckland in 2003. Since then she's interviewed everyone from James Cameron to Margaret Atwood and the Dalai Llama. Her memoir Grand won Best First Book at the New Zealand book awards in 2023. She was Writer in Residence at Victoria University's International Institute of Modern Letters in the same year.

Paora Ammunson (Ngāti Moe, Ngāti Kahungunu ki Wairarapa, Rangitāne, Te Arawa, Ngāti Rarua) has served his family marae for the past forty years. He is the current chair of Ngāti Kahungunu ki Wairarapa Tāmaki Nui ā Rua Trust and has previously served on the South Wairarapa District Council and as Chair of the Wairarapa Rugby Union. He has held senior roles in education and government and is the interim Deputy Vice-Chancellor Māori at Massey University.

Paul Swain has had a distinguished career in national and local politics. He was the Labour Member of Parliament for the Remutaka electorate from 1996 to 2008. He has held a number of Ministerial portfolios, including Associate Minister of Finance, Minister of Commerce, Minister of Communications, Minister of Corrections, Minister of Immigration, Minister for Information Technology, Minister of Labour, Minister of Statistics, Minister for State Owned Enterprises, Minister of Transport, and Associate Minister for Economic Development. After his Parliamentary career, Paul was appointed by the Crown as a Treaty Settlements negotiator. He has been employed by the Crown as a Chief Negotiator for Treaty Settlements, concluding a settlement of historical grievances with Ngāti Porou. Paul was also a Greater Wellington Regional Councillor from 2010 to 2019. 

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.

Phil Goff was first elected to Parliament in 1981 and became NZ’s youngest ever cabinet minister aged 31 in 1984. He served 32 years in parliament, 15 of them as a minister. He was leader of the Labour Party from 2008 to 2011. In 2016 he was elected Mayor of Auckland and served two terms. In 2023 he was appointed High commissioner to the UK with his term cut short by the current government when he questioned Trump’s understanding of history.

Piers Fuller has been a reporter covering Wairarapa for the last 22 years. He took up the position of editor of the Wairarapa Times-Age in June 2024 when the masthead was acquired by Stuff Group. He particularly enjoys working with the development of junior reporters and journalism students as part of the role. Piers lives with his family in a cottage in Gladstone and enjoys getting out into Wairarapa's environment biking, tramping and generally exploring.

Richard Langston is a writer, poet and television director who has written about Dunedin music since the 1980s. His book The Clean: In the dreamlife you need a rubber soul is his second book. His first, Pull Down the Shades, was published by Hozac Books of Chicago in 2023.  He has written six books of poetry; his most recent Five O'Clock Shadows was published by The Cuba Press.

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.

Robert Scott has been been writing and performing original music since 1978. Robert took piano and trumpet lessons for a short time and then trained himselfin guitar and bass. He went to Artschool in 1979 but didn't finish the course. He has been a serious painter since 1990 and has exhibited around the country. He has recorded multiple albums with The Clean and The Bats and completed many world tours.

Photo Credit: Richard Langston

Robert Sullivan is Aotearoa New Zealand’s 14th Poet Laureate. He belongs to Ngāpuhi (Ngāti Manu, Ngāti Hau / Ngāti Kaharau) and Kāi Tahu (Kāti Huirapa ki Puketeraki) iwi and is also of Irish descent. Hopurangi / Songcatcher (AUP) was shortlisted for the Mary and Peter Biggs Award at the 2025 Ockham NZ Book Awards. His poetry speaks to an idealised, empowered society for all in the near future. Robert is Associate Professor in Creative Writing at Massey University, and is current President of the NZ Poetry Society. He lives in Ōamaru.

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.

Roger Robinson is Emeritus Professor of English at Te Herenga Waka Victoria University of Wellington. After a career as an outstanding University teacher and scholar (Oxford Companion to New Zealand Literature, Robert Louis Stevenson: His Best Pacific Writings, edition of Butler’s The Way of All Flesh), Roger in retirement has become a world-leading author, historian and journalist on the sport of running, honoured with the New York Road Runners George Hirsch Award in 2025. He convened a panel discussion on Sports Writing as Literature at Featherston Booktown 2021, the first such session at any New Zealand book festival.

Ruth Paul is an award-winning writer and illustrator of more than 25 children’s picture books and a New Zealand Arts Laureate (2019). Recent books include Anahera, You Can’t Pat a Fish, and The Farmer’s Pyjamas. In 2025 Scholastic published her first mid-grade novel, Ghost Kiwi. Ruth is a champion of her local community Mākara, Te Whanganui-a-Tara, where she lives and nurtures a 30Ha native afforestation project which is home to newly reintroduced Kiwi.

Photo Credit: Stephen A'Court

Partners in both creative projects and life, Cotter & Morgan create playful and imaginative picture books to delight, inspire and connect with children and their whānau. They are known for their heart, humour and lively performances. Their award-winning children’s picture books are created with HUIA, an innovative Māori-owned publisher, based in Wellington. Their picture book THE BOMB won the prestigious Margaret Mahy Book of the Year in 2019. Their much loved book DAZZLEHANDS was adapted into a children’s ballet by the Royal New Zealand Ballet. Their latest picture book together is A GUIDE TO ROCKS | HE TAONGA TE TOKA. www.cottermorgan.com

Sam Collins has spent more than 20 years helping brands harness the power of audio storytelling, creating compelling content for audiences across New Zealand, the UK and beyond. His career spans political and entertainment in the United Kingdom, through to shaping the sound of home as part of the team behind 100% Kiwi music station Kiwi FM. Blending creativity with strategy, Sam also holds a Master’s in Public Policy, bringing a sharp understanding of institutions, influence and impact to every story he helps tell.

Steve Braunias is the author of 14 books, including How To Watch A Bird, The Man Who Ate Lincoln Road, Civilisation: 20 Towns on the Edge of the World, and Polkinghorne: Inside the Trial of the Century. He serves as literary editor at Newsroom, and is a columnist with the Listener. He lives on his estate in Herne Bay.

Susie Ferguson is an award-winning journalist and broadcaster at RNZ, currently co-host of Saturday Morning. For 8 years she co-presented Morning Report, and before moving to Aotearoa was a war correspondent. Susie's reported from around the world - most notably the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan - and covered the aftermath of the Asian tsunami from Sri Lanka. She's produced and presented for RNZ since 2010, including rolling coverage of the Christchurch and Kaikoura earthquakes and from Gallipoli. An experienced radio documentary maker, she won gold at the New York Radio Festivals in 2021 for her podcast The Unthinkable.

Te Aniwa Hurihanganui is the Māori Affairs Correspondent for 1News at TVNZ, based in Tāmaki Makaurau. She reports on a wide range of issues including iwi affairs, inequity, politics and justice, exploring how decisions made by those in power shape the lives of whānau and communities. Te Aniwa has covered major political movements and national debates,  often challenging misconceptions and bringing Māori perspectives into the mainstream. In 2025 she was awarded the Te Tohu Kairangi Award, for best Māori Affairs reporting.

Toby is editor at large at The Spinoff and host of the Gone By Lunchtime and Juggernaut podcasts.

Toi Kai Rākau Iti (Ngāi Tūhoe) is a creative producer, writer, and community organiser. With a background in television and events, he has hosted Māori Television's Media Take and written for The Spinoff and Newsroom. A former Bay of Plenty Regional Councillor, he is a founding trustee of Te Ahi Tahutahu Charitable Trust and leads the development of Ātea, a new Indigenous creative hub in Whakatāne.

Named among the BBC’s 100 Most Influential Women, Traci Houpapa is an internationally recognised New Zealand business leader, trusted advisor and governance expert, widely respected for her strategic leadership in social equity, inclusive economic development and Indigenous enterprise. Traci is known for her pragmatic strategic insight, her ability to bring people together, and her deep commitment to intergenerational wellbeing. Her leadership is grounded in integrity, collaboration, and a steadfast dedication to building wealth and prosperity. A Chartered Fellow of the Institute of Directors, a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit, and a Justice of the Peace, Traci has earned a global reputation for empowering others and leading positive, enduring change across Indigenous, industry, and government sectors.

Tracy Farr is a writer who used to be a scientist. Her third novel, WONDERLAND, won the 2024 NZSA Laura Solomon Cuba Press Prize, and was published in 2025 by The Cuba Press. Tracy is co-curator of live literary series Bad Diaries Salon and its sister project, Bad Diaries Podcast. She’s lived on Te Motu Kairangi Miramar Peninsula in Wellington, where WONDERLAND is set, for 30 years.

Photo Credit: Ebony Lamb

Trevor Mallard was a whip in the Lange government, a minister in the Clark government and Speaker from 2017 - 2022 and subsequently a diplomat. He now gardens, walks his dog cycles and enjoys being a grandparent. Trevor is a bit of a rugby obsessive but never learned to sidestep.

Tusiata Avia (Member of NZ Order of Merit for services to poetry and the arts) is fresh from The Savage Coloniser Show, the stage adaptation of her Ockham best book of poetry award winning book. She’s hoping it will follow in the footsteps of Wild Dogs Under My Skirt, which played all over the country and globe, including Off-Broadway.

Tāme Iti (Ngāi Tūhoe) is an activist, artist, and icon from Te Urewera. For over fifty years he has been at the forefront of Tūhoe sovereignty and Indigenous rights in Aotearoa, confronting colonial power through protest, performance, and visual art. His work has been exhibited and performed internationally, and his moko kanohi is one of the most recognisable faces in the country. He has lived an unapologetic life on his own terms, recounted in his autobiography Mana, released in 2025. It is a memoir that traces a remarkable journey through landmark movements, personal sacrifice, and an enduring commitment to his people.

Yoshiko Tsuruta is one of the very few dedicated “marimbists” in New Zealand. She performs and tours with various artists throughout the country. Her repertoire includes new music from various composers and her own arrangements, with which she explores the expressive possibilities of the marimba beyond the stereotype as a percussion instrument. As a soloist, Yoshiko has performed a number of marimba concertos. She world-premiered Gareth Farr’s concerto and recorded John Psathas’ concerto Djinn. She also appears in orchestras, such as OW, NZSO and APO. Yoshiko is a graduate of the NZSM and the Anton Bruckner Privatuniversität in Austria, where she completed her Master’s Degree.