My primary career was as a consulting engineer, but I now write full-time.

About 20 years ago I began writing travel articles as a sideline/hobby. Typically with a strong historical backdrop, the pieces were well received by editors, and published in magazines such as Avenues, Latitude, NZ Today, AA Directions, and Australian Traveller, as well as the Otago Daily Times and Evening Post newspapers.

In 2013 I was engaged to write the corporate history Strength to Strength: A 75-year History of Powell Fenwick Consultants. Researching this story fed my interest in writing about history, leading to my writing Murder on the Maungatapu: A narrative history of the Burgess Gang and their greatest crime. The book was published in 2016 by Canterbury University Press and shortlisted for the NZ Heritage Book Awards. Reviews of the book were universally positive, and I gave several radio interviews and public talks on the subject.   

A career of preparing engineering specifications, plain-English reports and technical guides also taught me how to write clearly, concisely, and accurately. They are the same skills needed in all forms of writing and need not come at the expense of creative flair.

I can turn my hand to any kind of writing but am interested in family and corporate histories, biography, true crime and general history. Also, any writing that requires distilling complex technical information into plain English. Please see my website for further information: www.waynemartin.co.nz

Kia Kaha,

Wayne Martin 

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