Renée (Ngāti Kahungunu) is a writer, reader and teacher.  Renée has published a collection of short stories, eight novels, eighteen plays and a collection of essays Yin and Tonic. She  writes poetry and a weekly blog WednesdayBusk. Her memoir, These Two Hands, was published in 2017, and her first crime novel, Ngaio Marsh finalist The Wild Card, was released when she turned 90. The second, Blood Matters, November 2022. Renée is an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit and has been awarded Ngā Tohu ā Tā Kingi Ihaka for a lifetime contribution to toi Māori, the Playmarket Award for a significant artistic contribution to theatre, and the Prime Minister’s Award for Literary Achievement in Fiction. In 2021 she delivered the Pānui for Te Pou Muramura ReadNZ.

Photo Credit: Claudia Latisnere