Marina Alefosio is a proud Samoan woman born and raised in Aotearoa New Zealand. She is a passionate artist who has performed for the last 11 years in spoken word poetry and music, continuously learning new methods and modes of storytelling with the aim of supporting youth and communities to develop their sense of voice and purpose. She was part of the critically acclaimed South Auckland Poets Collective from 2010-2015 and continuously supports emerging artists and theatre groups through mentoring, workshops and more recently was part of the winning team Godmothers for the 2021 JAFA Slam Poetry teams competition.
Dominic Hoey is a poet, author and playwright based in Auckland, New Zealand. His debut novel Iceland was a New Zealand bestseller and was long-listed for the 2018 Ockham Book Award. He’s released four poetry books and a bunch of rap albums he’d rather forget. His new novel, Poor People With Money is out now on Penguin. In a former life, Dominic was an MC battle and slam-poetry champion.
Through his Learn To Write Good creative writing course, Dominic has taught hundreds of students around the world how to think dyslexic. He also works with young people through the Atawhai program, teaching art, yoga and meditation to help them with their mental health and self-esteem. Currently he lives with a small, vicious dog and dreams of one day owning an animal rescue farm.