Iona Winter

Iona Winter is a poet, essayist, storyteller and editor.
 
Her non-fiction memoir A Counter of Moons (2025) was awarded the 2022 CLNZ/NZSA Writers' Award. With several published collections of poetry and hybrid fiction, her work has been published in numerous journals locally and internationally.
 
Iona is the founder of Elixir & Star Press; a non-profit indie press dedicated to the expression of grief in New Zealand, and she also hosts the podcast rocks in my pockets - creativity and suicide bereavement - New Zealand artists speak. Iona lives in Te Waipounamu and when she's not writing you'll probably find her in the garden.

Genre:

  • Adult Fiction
  • Adult Non-Fiction
  • Fiction
  • FlashFiction
  • Health
  • Mind body spirit
  • Non-fiction
  • Poetry
  • Short stories

Skills:

  • Academic writing
  • CompetitionJudging
  • Editing
  • Poetry readings
  • Proofreading
  • Public speaking
  • Readings (adults)
  • Short story writing
  • Workshops (adults)

Branch:

Otago/Southland

Location:

?tepoti Dunedin, Aotearoa New Zealand

Publications:


then the wind came

then the wind came, Steele Roberts 2018 

A hybrid collection of flash fiction, poetry and short stories.

https://steeleroberts.co.nz/product/then-the-wind-came/

Gaps in the Light

Gaps in the Light, Ad Hoc Fiction (UK) 2021

A hybrid collection of flash fiction, poetry and short stories.

https://adhocfiction.com/2021/02/gaps-in-the-light-iona-winter/

Te Hau Kāika

Te Hau Kāika - limited edition poetry collection, from the multimedia exhibition Te Hau Kāika, 2019

a liminal gathering

a liminal gathering, Elixir & Star Press Aotearoa NZ, November 2023

A New Zealand based grief almanac, featuring multimedia creative work from over 100 NZ artists. 

https://elixirandstarpress.wordpress.com/upcoming-publications

In the shape of his hand lay a river

In the shape of his hand lay a river.  Elixir & Star Press 2024 

Poetry collection. In the shape of his hand lay a river is part of a body of work written after Iona's son Reuben Winter took his life in 2020. Here, through a poetic lens, she asks unanswerable questions, embodying a multiplicity of emotions, and we are called to look at the ineffable absence of a beloved child.

https://elixirandstarpress.wordpress.com

A Counter of Moons

A Counter of Moons, Steele Roberts Aotearoa 2025 

In 2020, Iona's son Reuben Winter died by suicide. A Counter of Moons candidly shares Iona's experiences, and her reflections challenge widespread ideas about how to deal with grief. At times raw and confronting, at others introspective and tender, this book ultimately speaks about the coexistence of love and pain. It aims to start conversations about suicide bereavement, to give words to an often wordless experience.

https://steeleroberts.co.nz/product/a-counter-of-moons/