Matthew Wright is one of New Zealand’s most published historians and writers.
He has qualifications in music, history and anthropology, among other fields, holds post-graduate degrees in history, and is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society at University College, London. He published his first short story in 1976 and since the early 1980s has worked extensively as a writer, professional historian, reviewer and journalist. His work includes more than 500 articles, academic papers, reviews and over 50 books on topics ranging from travel guides to biography, engineering, military and social history, principally published by Penguin and Random House.
Wright is perhaps best known for his historical work, which has received academic and popular recognition. His book Hawke’s Bay – The History of a Province (Dunmore 1994) won a J M Sherrard Award in local and regional history in 1996.
