Waikato University Writer in Residence Diana Clarke talks with Nicky Webber about establishing her career as an author in the crowded global market.

Diana will talk with Nicky Webber about establishing her career as an author in the crowded global market. She’ll describe how she developed her unique style of writing across controversial topics, and her process of developing her well-honed characters and plot structures. Diana will share about discovering her writer’s voice, and her use of wit and humour to deliver some confronting issues to readers.

Diana Clarke is a writer and teacher from Tauranga, New Zealand. She has an MFA in Creative Writing from Purdue University and is a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Utah. Her first novel, Thin Girls, was a Kirkus Book of the Year, a Bustle Book of the Year, and a Book Riot Book of the Year, as well as a Barnes and Noble 2020 Must Read. Her second novel, The Hop, was published in June this year by Harper Collins. Diana has been a Noepe Fellow, a Martha’s Vineyard Writer in Residence, a Teaching Fellow, and she holds a Noted Professor award. Her work has appeared in LitHub, Hobart, The Masters Review, Autostraddle, and Vogue, among other venues. She is Waikato University’s 2022 Writer in Residence.

Nicky Webber writes contemporary and biographical fiction. She is a controversial character creator, lively and racy plot developer and crafty suspense maker. Originally a journalist, Nicky loves true stories and picks over the bones of real-life tales, before recreating a narrative rich with emotional turmoil. Born in New Zealand, she lived in South Africa for 20 years before returning home in 1994 where she worked as a business manager. In recent years, she has stepped away from the corporate world and resumed her passion for writing. Her books focus on biographical fiction based on the real-life stories of ordinary people engaged in secretive and extraordinary lives. She enjoys writing both contemporary and historical novels.