Gareth Ward

Gareth Ward (aka The Great Wardini) is a magician, hypnotist, storyteller and bookseller. He has worked as a Royal Marine Commando, police officer, evil magician and zombie, and as a writer and compere of Napier City's inaugural steampunk murder mystery evening. Born near Oxford in the UK he currently lives in Hawke's Bay, New Zealand, where he runs two independent bookshops with his wife Louise. His first novel The Traitor and the Thief, a rip-roaring steampunk adventure, won the 2016 Storylines Tessa Duder Award, the 2018 Sir Julius Vogel Award for Best Youth Novel and Best New Talent, and was a 2018 Storylines Notable Book.