Mark Sweet (Ngā Māhanga, Tītahi, Taranaki) was born in Napier, and has lived in Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Scotland. After careers in the property sector and restaurants, Mark is now devoting his time to writing.

His first novel, Zhu Mao, was published in 2011 after participating in Te Papa Tupu, a six-month mentoring programme for Māori writers. In 2015 he wrote Wine: Stories from Hawke’s Bay. His latest novel The History Speech was shortlisted for the 2020 NZ Book Awards. He has also had short stories published in collections from the Pikihuia Awards and in Stories on the Four Winds: Ngā Hau e Whā.

Verb Festival 2020 appearances:
6pm, Nov 6: Verb Showcase: The Best Letter I Never Received
11am, Nov 7: Snow, History & Story