Maria Samuela was born in Wellington, where she still lives, and is of Cook Islands descent. She’s had stories published in Turbine, Sport 46, Takahē, and adda, and read on National Radio. Her stories have appeared in anthologies Middle Distance: Long Stories of Aotearoa New Zealand and A Game of Two Halves: The Best of Sport 2005-2019. She also writes for children.

In 2019, her story ‘Bluey’ was shortlisted for the Commonwealth Writers Short Story Prize. In 2020, a second story was longlisted. She’s held residencies at the University Bookshop (in association with the Robert Lord Cottage) and the Michael King Writers Centre. She has an MA in Creative Writing from the International Institute of Modern Letters.

Beats of the Pa’u is her first collection of short fiction.

Verb and Writers Festival 2022 Appearance:
The Secret Ordinary (LitCrawl), Saturday 5 Nov, 7.15pm, Bedlam & Squalor, Lvl 1/18 Garrett St.