Paula Morris MNZM (Ngāti Wai, Ngāti Whātua, Ngāti Manuhiri) is an award-winning novelist, short story writer and essayist. An Associate Professor at the University of Auckland, where she directs the Master of Creative Writing programme, she also teaches writing in schools and community courses. Paula is the founder of the Academy of New Zealand Literature (www.anzliterature.com) and of Wharerangi, the new online Māori literature hub (launching late February 2022). She also writes the TV/film site KoreaSeen (www.koreaseen.com). She sits on the boards of the Coalition for Books, the NZ Book Awards Trust, the Crystal Arts Trust and the Mātātuhi Foundation.

During her Ockham residency, Paula will work on her own fiction, on a theatrical adaptation of her novel Rangatira, and on a multimedia project called My Grandfather Looks for Work. She hopes, Covid permitting, to host some small salons themed around Auckland histories and futures.