Kirsten Le Harivel is a writer, program
manager and founder of Writers Practice. She has curated creative writing programmes for professional and aspiring writers for the last ten years including the renowned Kāpiti Writers’ Retreat. Alongside Writers Practice she works at Toi MAHARA and looks after her young children. She has an MA in Creative Writing from Te Herenga
Waka | Victoria University of Wellington. Her poetry book Shelter came out in 2021 with
The Cuba Press. She has short fiction and poetry published in a variety of local and international journals.

Keryn Mells is a journalist, primary teacher,presenter and former adult educator who runs creative writing workshops for children. She has unfinished drafts in a range of genres including children’s fiction, memoir, creative non-fiction and short
stories - mostly started while doing papers at the IIML, Massey University and the Creative Hub. She lives in Te Horo Beach with a view of Tararua to the east and Rauoterangi Channel to the west. She bikes, grows vegetables, walks three dogs and rides her horse to make the most of the wonderful Kāpiti lifestyle. She has adult
children and hopes to finish writing
something when she grows up.