Emily Perkins' first story collection Not Her Real Name (1996) was published when she was 26. She has since written four books, including Novel About My Wife (2008), winner of the Fiction Medal at the Montana NZ Book Awards and the Believer Book Award (US).

Her new novel is The Forrests (2012). Perkins is the host of TVNZ7's books’ programme The Good Word and a lecturer at The University of Auckland where she convenes the Masters of Creative Writing.

See also: Emily Perkins' New Zealand Book Council profile

Photo credit: Karl Maughan