Affie Blake was born in Cork and lives in Dublin but has lived in, amongst other places, Oxford, Paris, and Hastings. Having worked as an educator for twenty-five years, Affie has also written three novels and a volume of poetry – Learn by Mosaic (2024) is the first to be published.
Stevan Eldred-Grigg is an award-winning writer, author of some of the best-selling works of New Zealand history and of leading New Zealand novels. His works of fiction and non-fiction explore the West Coast, Canterbury, the wider South Island and the whole of New Zealand. He also writes about Samoa, Shanghai, Mexico and Australia. As a gay writer, a democratic writer, a comic writer, a satirical writer and a writer of tragedy, he takes on many topics. He is an observer and critic of inequality. Often he probes inequality by using the lens of social class. Or he does the probing by asking questions about gender and race relations. He has looked at race, gender and class in many contexts. He has published 24 books in total, and his books with Piwaiwaka Press include Not Swinging, Swooning (2024); Oracles & Miracles & Zombies (with Helen Mae Innes; 2022); Green Grey Rain (2021); and Pru Goes Troppo (2020).
Anneke Gerbrands studied Journalism and Communication and has done editorial work as well as graphic design. After working in newspapers she packed everything up and went overseas and has lived in the Netherlands, Italy, the United Kingdom, and South Africa. Inspired by her somewhat unconventional children and two Beagle hounds, she now writes children's books with a passion. She published My Dad (2021) with Piwaiwaka Press and has since published many books in the Netherlands.
Madden has worked rubbish jobs for rubbish wages in rubbish places but when someone says,
—Why don't you just get a better job?
Madden always laughs and says,
—It's the rubbish jobs that provide the best stories!
And collecting stories is what Madden loves best. Along with meeting hardcase characters, seeing wild corners of the earth, communicating (or miscommunicating) in other languages, avoiding fellow expats, and having the odd drink and yarn or two or ten, Madden has been known to go bush, carrying an ancient typewriter, and reappearing some time later with a water-stained manuscript which is then transformed, by the wonders of modern technology and a very patient editor, into a series of articles, stories, or a book.
Madden has written a quirky rhyming book for young kids entitled Wheels (2025) and a novel Tatami Burns (2025).
—Why don't you just get a better job?
Madden always laughs and says,
—It's the rubbish jobs that provide the best stories!
And collecting stories is what Madden loves best. Along with meeting hardcase characters, seeing wild corners of the earth, communicating (or miscommunicating) in other languages, avoiding fellow expats, and having the odd drink and yarn or two or ten, Madden has been known to go bush, carrying an ancient typewriter, and reappearing some time later with a water-stained manuscript which is then transformed, by the wonders of modern technology and a very patient editor, into a series of articles, stories, or a book.
Madden has written a quirky rhyming book for young kids entitled Wheels (2025) and a novel Tatami Burns (2025).
Hugh Hunter works in the European fintech industry - history, politics and literature are his hobbies. He has lived in Asia, Spain and the UK, and now resides in Northern Europe. He has previously co-written a book on the history of New Zealand in World War II and a roleplaying game supplement for Vampire: the Masquerade. Harpoon (2024) is his first novel.
Helen is a writer of fiction and non-fiction who studied linguistics and psychology at Victoria University, then taught English as a second language for 20 years in Ireland, England, Japan, China, and New Zealand. She has travelled through 30 countries, mostly by train, and is good at studying a new language in the carriage before crossing the border, and forgetting it completely on the journey out. She currently works as a copyeditor of psychology journal articles, editor of fiction, academic writing teacher, and writer.
Her books are: Warblish, Chirpish, Ticktocklish, and Animalopoeia (2025); And the Birds Fled to the Bush (2024); Into the Woods: the healing power of birds (2022); and Oracles & Miracles & Zombies (with Stevan Eldred-Grigg; 2022).
Her books are: Warblish, Chirpish, Ticktocklish, and Animalopoeia (2025); And the Birds Fled to the Bush (2024); Into the Woods: the healing power of birds (2022); and Oracles & Miracles & Zombies (with Stevan Eldred-Grigg; 2022).
Luis Luna was born in 1978 in a provincial city in Mexico. He grew up there and subsequently lived in Xalapa, Puebla, Veracruz, Mérida, Cancún, Brighton, Birmingham, Maidstone, and Whangārei. A journalist with degrees in literature and architecture, he lives today by a cenote in Quintana Roo. He wrote The Unused Life of Tito López (2023) in idoma español mexicano; now he has translated it into South-English English.
Philip worked for a long time as a primary school teacher in Kapiti, New Zealand. He currently tends gardens and lawns and enjoys being outside in nature and works as a reliever. He both wrote and illustrated his first book The Henhouse. His second book Learning is Like Riding a Bicycle will be out later in 2025.
Jerry Mushin held academic posts for forty-five years until he retired in 2015. He also taught in a prison, a police training college, government departments, and for professional bodies.
His academic writing, which is principally in the areas of monetary policy and exchange rates, has been published in Australia, Greece, India, Japan, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nigeria, Qatar, Singapore, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States. He is the author of undergraduate textbooks, a novel, and children’s stories. A Chinese translation of one of his textbooks has been published in Beijing. He has contributed articles to newspapers in several countries and to the Encyclopedia of Economic and Business History.
His academic writing, which is principally in the areas of monetary policy and exchange rates, has been published in Australia, Greece, India, Japan, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nigeria, Qatar, Singapore, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States. He is the author of undergraduate textbooks, a novel, and children’s stories. A Chinese translation of one of his textbooks has been published in Beijing. He has contributed articles to newspapers in several countries and to the Encyclopedia of Economic and Business History.
Maggie loves maths, but found maths' lessons and systems in her school very frustrating. There were many times where she discovered she could learn more in 20 minutes of her own research than in half a term in maths class. Discovering that she was a natural teacher she first taught friends at school, then kids at a local tutoring centre. She loved it so much she ran her own volunteer sessions at the public/school library during the school holidays, which then expanded into running her own small side hustle all the way through her time at university. Her series, Making Maths Add Up (2023), are the books she wished existed when she was at school. Book two will be available soon.
Isabella has been drawing dragons and animals since primary school and upgraded to digital drawing in 2021. She has won multiple online drawing contests and in her spare time enjoys polymer clay sculpting and hanging out with her boxer dog Fudge. She is currently homeschooled, which gives her the flexibility to pursue art at her own pace. Isabella has illustrated Philip Martin's book Learning is Like Riding a Bicycle (2025).
Alan lives in Petone, Lower Hutt and studied initially at Wellington Polytechnic School of Design, and also Victoria University of Wellington. He is an artist/illustrator/cartoonist. He has been actively drawing cartoons for many years, both in New Zealand and Australia. His work has appeared in newspapers, activity puzzles for kids, children's books, biographies, calendars, and short books. In Queensland, he has created murals in small country towns as well as contributing to art shows. He enjoys tramping, cycling, and photography. For Piwaiwaka Press Alan has illustrated the cover of Jerry Mushin's book An Unlikely Academic and his pictures were used in Madden Hay's Wheels (2025).
Mairéad Hannon is a Galway based abstract artist. She mainly uses ink as a medium to illustrate and has recently branched out to painting. She has completed studies in UX design and enjoys the world of design and its many intersecting spheres. Mairéad Designed the cover of Affie Blake's book Learn by Mosaic (2024).
Alisa Ivanova is a self-taught artist and an aspiring book illustrator based in Estonia. She likes turning ideas into images and enjoys making art using traditional as well as digital mediums. She illustrated the cover of Hugh Hunter's book Harpoon (2024).
Ingrid loves making books and music, while having brutally deep conversations with wine and her dearest friend Anneke Gerbrands. "Anneke has tons of stories in her witty and quirky mind and I am so happy to make those visible." Ingrid illustrated Anneke's book My Dad (2021).
Alexander Kirzhbaum is an illustrator and award-winning designer currently based in Canada. His cover design of Stevan Eldred-Grigg's book Not Swinging, Swooning (2024) pays homage to the cover of Janet Frame's book The Edge of the Alphabet (1962).
based in Newtown, Wellington where he paints in watercolour and oil, and draws in ink, charcoal, and pencil in his studio. He is a graduate of Ilam School of Fine Arts in Canterbury. Tama illustrated Helen's little book Into the Woods: the healing power of birds (2022), with a watercolour of a ruru on the front, and an ink drawing of a woman and tūī on the back. To see more of Tama's beautiful artwork have a look at his blog with artwork stretching back to 2010.
Sosa been a logo designer and illustrator since 2009. He's from Yogyakarta in Indonesia. He currently works as a freelance T-shirt designer, logo designer, and illustrator. He drew the cover artwork for Luis Luna's book The Unused Life of Tito López (2023), F. E. Beyer's book Smoko (2024), and Madden Hay's book Tatami Burns (2024).
Chloe is an up and coming artist in Wellington, New Zealand who has experience in the creative arts as an author, illustrator, tattoo designer, and crafter. She designed the cover for Helen's book And the Birds Fled to the Bush (2024) and has worked as a cover editor on Hugh's book Harpoon (2024).
Sandra is an award-winning artist and printmaker who drew covers for Stevan Eldred-Grigg's books Oracles & Miracles & Zombies (2022; with Helen Mae Innes), and Pru Goes Troppo (2020). She graduated from the School of Fine Arts at Canterbury University and has exhibited wildly in New Zealand and overseas.
Sarah graduated from The University of Applied Science in Münster, Germany with a Diplom (bachelor's degree) in Media Design. Sarah's passion to travel the world brought her to New Zealand, where she continued exploring the landscape of the digital world in design, working with different design studios around Wellington. Since becoming a mother, her illustration style has became more handmade, rather than computer based. Sarah created the artwork for the cover of Helen Mae Innes' book Warblish, Chirpish, Ticktocklish, & Animalopoeia.
