Steph Matuku, born in Kaitaia and living in Taranaki, 'writes stories for the page, stage and screen. Her junior fiction book Whetū Toa and the Magician and picture book The Eight Gifts of Te Wheke (Huia Publishers, 2018, 2021) were both finalists at the 2019 NZ Book Awards for Children and Young Adults'. She has been awarded the Māori writers' residency at the Michael King Centre. 'Steph likes coffee and zombie movies, and has two children who inspire her every day.'
Biographical sources
- https://huia.co.nz/blogs/author/steph-matuku;
https://www.read-nz.org/writers-files/writers/matuku-steph
Te Awa o Kupu. Eds. Vaughan Rapatahana & Kiri Piahana-Wong. New Zealand: Penguin Random House New Zealand, 2023. 402.
Fiction
- Flight of the Fantail. Wellington, N.Z.: Huia Publishers, 2018.
- Whetū Toa and the Magician. Wellington, N.Z.: Huia Publishers, 2018.
- Awarded finalist at the 2019 New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults.
- The Eight Gifts of Te Wheke. Wellington, N.Z.: Huia Publishers, 2021.
- This picture book was shortlisted for the 2022 NZ Booklovers Children's Book Award.
- Falling into Rarohenga. Wellington, N.Z.: Huia Publishers, 2021.
- Homework. Vā: Stories from Women of the Moana. Eds.Sisilia Eteuati & Lani Young. Tatou Publishibng, 2021. Rpt. in Ter Awa o Kupu. Eds. Vaughan Rapatahana& Kiri Piahana-Wong. New Zealand: Penguin Random House New Zealand, 2023. 50-56.
- The Dream Factory. Wellington, N.Z.: Huia Publishers, 2024.
- Picture Book. Illustrator Zak Ātea.
- Migration. Wellington, N.Z.: Huia Publishers, 2024.
Non-fiction
- "What the heck is Māori Literature?" The Sapling. Rpt. in E-Tangata.co.nz/arts/steph-matuku-what-the-heck-is-Māori-literature/ Sept. 16, 2017.