Airini Beautrais

Beautrais, Dr Airini (1982 - ) studied ecological and biodiversity studies and Creative Writing at Te Herenga Waka Victoria University of Wellington. In 2005 she completed the MA in Creative Writing at the International Institute of Modern Letters, and was awarded a PhD in Creative Writing in 2016.

While completing her MA, Airini produced the manuscript for her first book, Secret Heart, which was published by Victoria University Press in 2006. Secret Heart won the NZSA Jessie McKay Award for the Best First Book of Poetry at the New Zealand Book Awards the following year. This collection of prose poems has been described as ‘unexpectedly satisfying’ and demonstrating a ‘breadth of style and substance.’

Airini’s second book, Western Line, was published by Victoria University Press in 2011. Paula Green in a review for the New Zealand Herald wrote that the collection filled her with joy ‘through what words can do and through the avenues poetry makes available.’ The collection was described by VUP as an ‘arrestingly original mix of observation, performance and jokes.’ Patricia Prime, writing for Takahē, said the collection was ‘substantial, well-conceived and nimbly-crafted’ and ‘resonant and delicate.'

In 2014, Airini's third collection of poetry, Dear Neil Roberts was published by Victoria University Press. Dear Neil Roberts explores the presence of Neil Roberts, a twenty-two year old anarchist who blew himself up outside the Whanganui Police station in 1982, in both the poet’s life and the Whanganui region. Paula Green described it as ‘narrative poetry at its very best.’ Dear Neil Roberts was longlisted for the 2016 Ockham New Zealand Book Awards. 

Airini's poetry has been published in the Best New Zealand Poems series (2016) and across literary journals including Overland, Sport, and Penduline.

Airini was also the winner of the 2016 Landfall Essay Competition for her essay Umlaut. Editor and judge David Eggleton described the essay as ‘dexterous, exuberant and comical’ and Airini as ‘unwilling to be boring, willing to take risks, and enough of a seasoned practitioner to carry it off with sustained verve.’ Airini was also shortlisted for the Sarah Broom Prize that year.

Airini’s fourth book, Flow: Whanganui River Poems, was published by Victoria University Press in 2017. The project began as the creative component of her PhD. James Brown describes these poems as ‘remarkable. They ‘wind and eddy like the Whanganui river, filtering the region’s many histories into something exhilarating and readable.’ Airini says despite having a few things in mind that she was interested to write about, ‘the river ended up taking over... like a flood.’ Flow: Whanganui River Poems was longlisted for the 2018 Ockham Book awards.

In 2021, Airini Beautrais won the Ockham New Zealand Book Awards Jann Medlicott Acorn Prize for Fiction and $57,000 for her collection of short stories, Bug Week (Victoria University Press). Bug Week was described by review Louise Ward as "a bunch of finely honed, diverse, strange, disturbing and lovely tales."

The Beautiful Afternoon (THWUP, 2024) is Airini's first collection of essays. It plumbs history, literature, Star Wars, sea hags, beauty products, tarot, swimwear, environmentalism and pole dancing to deliver a virtuoso inquiry into how we become, and change, who we are. The Beautiful Afternoon was longlisted for the General Non-Fiction award in the Ockham New Zealand Book Awards 2025.