Kerry Sunderland [she/her] was born and raised on Bunurong Country in Victoria, Australia, then spent 12 years living on Minjungbal Country on the far north coast of NSW before moving to Aotearoa in late 2012.
In 2016, she completed a Master of Arts (Creative Writing) at the International Institute for Modern Letters (IIML) at Victoria University of Wellington, during which she wrote the first draft of her memoir,
Beyond the Blue Door. Kerry was joint winner of the 2018 Hachette Mentorship, in Australia, for a subsequent draft of
Beyond the Blue Door.
Her personal essay, ‘Scared to Death’, was published in
Headlands: New Stories of Anxiety (Victoria University Press, 2018). ‘Scared to Death’ deals with similar themes to
Beyond the Blue Door. It is currently being adapted for the screen by Auckland-based producer David Jacobs and director Mia Maramara.
Kerry also works as a freelance journalist, writing features and people profiles for publications including
New Zealand Geographic,
NZ Listener,
North & South,
The Spinoff,
Stuff/Nelson Mail and the
Byron Echo.
Since 2018, Kerry has been the curator of the Nelson Arts Festival’s literary programme, Pukapuka Talks.
She also has broadcast experience as a film reviewer (ABC Northcoast, Australia) and radio presenter/producer (Fresh FM, Nelson, NZ). She has performed as a storyteller at events including 'Couch Stories' and 'True Stories, Told Live’.
In September 2021, Kerry launched a new radio show and podcast series about death and dying,
Deathwalker's Guide to Life.
Kerry moved to Whakatū Nelson at the beginning of 2013. After living and working in a house bus for four and a half years and then owning a historic property in North Nelson, she is now part of an experimental ‘co-housing’ project near Motueka.