Sam Brooks is an award-winning playwright and journalist. He has been longlisted for the Adam Awards 11 times, and four of his plays have been highly commended. He has made a significant contribution to representing queer male voices on New Zealand stages. He was awarded the Bruce Mason Playwrighting Award in 2016. Up until 2024, he worked at The Spinoff across a variety of roles, covering the arts and culture beat, and now he is a freelancer. Most recently, his plays Lads on the Island and The Perfect Image were performed at Circa Theatre and as part of Auckland Pride, respectively.