Learn More About Our Teaching Writers

Learn more about our teaching writers through 5 Quick Questions Series which explores the serious and the whimsical. Gain insight into who our teachers are, why they do what they do and more!


5 Quick Questions with Helen Lehndorf

Helen Lehndorf’s book, The Comforter, made the New Zealand Listener’s ‘Best 100 Books of 2012′ list. Her second book, Write to the Centre, is a nonfiction book about the practice of keeping a journal. She writes poetry and non-fiction, and has been published in Sport, Landfall, JAAM, and many…

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5 Quick Questions with Rebecca Priestley

Rebecca Priestley’s nonfiction writing – books, essays and articles – deals with gnarly global issues such as climate change, sea-level rise, and the Covid-19 pandemic. She was science columnist for The Listener for six years, launched (with Ashleigh Young) a creative…

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5 Quick Questions with Gem Wilder

Gem Wilder is a Wellington based writer, reader, arts lover, mother, DJ and dancer. They have published and performed their work in Sport, Turbine Kapohau, Is it Bedtime Yet?, Out Here, The Spinoff, The Sapling, LitCrawl, Enjoy Gallery, Chop Suey…

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5 Quick Questions with Sinead Overbye

Sinead Overbye (Te Aitanga-a-Māhaki, Ngāti Porou) is a researcher and writer living in Te Whanganui-a-Tara. Her work has been published in Starling, RNZ, Turbine | Kapohau and Sport, among other places. She completed her BA in Art History in 2017, and her…

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5 Quick Questions with Rose Lu

Rose Lu is a writer based in Wellington. She’ll be teaching a workshop at the upcoming Kāpiti Writers’ Retreat which explores varying structure and point of view in the personal essay. She gained her Masters of Creative Writing at the…

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5 Quick Questions with Helen Lehndorf

Helen Lehndorf will be teaching the Friday night session at the upcoming Kāpiti Writers’ Retreat. Helen Lehndorf’s book, The Comforter, made the New Zealand Listener’s ‘Best 100 Books of 2012′ list. Her second book, Write to the Centre, is a nonfiction book about the…

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5 Quick Questions with Rob Hack

Rob Hack is a poet based on the Kāpiti Coast. He’ll be teaching a generative poetry workshop at the upcoming Kāpiti Writers’ Retreat. His collection Everything is Here (2016) is the culmination of sixteen years unearthing his long-neglected Cook Island heritage,…

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5 Quick Questions with M. Darusha Wehm

M. Darusha Wehm is a busy working author who has published novels, games, short stories, poetry and tie-in fiction in commercial and literary genres and is an editor too. They will be facilitating a workshop on finding your creative path…

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5 Quick Questions with Cassie Hart

Cassie Hart (aka J.C. Hart and Nova Blake) is an award-winning speculative fiction writer with ten novel and novellas under her belt who is teaching place as character at the upcoming Kāpiti Writers’ Retreat. Her next book Butcherbird, a supernatural…

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