Shelley Burne-Field

Burne‑Field, Shelley (Sāmoa, Ngāti Mutunga, Ngāti Rārua, Pākehā) developed her craft through the sought after Master’s in Creative Writing at the University of Auckland, while earlier being awarded a Te Papa Tupu mentorship. In 2022, she received a Surrey Hotel residency and was New Zealand’s sole finalist in the prestigious Commonwealth Short Story Prize with her story ‘Speaking in Tongues’. Her short story ‘Pinching out Dahlias’ is the most read story ever published on Reading Room. Another of Shelley’s stories holds the second most read story on that platform.

During her residency at the International Institute of Modern Letters at Victoria University in early 2024, she worked on a speculative fiction novel set in a future Aotearoa featuring climate change themes, colonisation, and AI. Currently, she tutors Creative Writing classes for rangatahi and adults in her community, and is a proud member of the New Zealand Society of Authors.

Shelley has spent most of her life working in community settings, with the aim of helping people. In NZ and Australia she held roles in Councils, prisons, social services, health and education, community and youth development organisations. Now, Shelley uses her voice to write stories across genres. She explores injustice, wonder, truth, and human experience—whether through a child’s adventure, a single poetic line, a short story, or the honesty of personal essay.

Burne‑Field has hosted Māori and Pasifika panels at national festivals, including Hawke’s Bay Readers & Writers and CHB’s Reading Between the Lines. She has also been visiting local kura and primary schools, often holding creative writing workshops with older students. She has written articles for various publications, including e‑Tangata, The Spinoff, Newsroom, and Radio New Zealand. Her short fiction has appeared in publications here and around the world including Granta, Takahē, Landfall, Te Awa Kupu, Hiwa, Huia Short Stories, Dark Deeds, Epic Tales and more.

Brave Kāhu and the Pōrangi Magpie was published in 2024 to significant acclaim. Sonya Wilson described it as “a debut novel that offers 'a fresh, hawk-like dive into the fictional lives of our native manu.” It was shortlisted for the 2025 NZSA Best First Book award at the New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults, and was named a Storylines Notable Book in 2024. In 2025 Shelley followed it with Kimi the Kekeno's Big Adventure.