Michael Bennett

Guest writer

Michael Bennett (Ngāti Pikiao, Ngāti Whakaue) is a New Zealand writer and director for film and television. He is the co-creator, writer, showrunner and executive producer of TVNZ's Vegas. He is also the author of In Dark Places, a study of the wrongful conviction of Teina Pora for the 1992 murder of Susan Burdett, which won the 2017 Ngaio Marsh crime writing award; and co-author of graphic novel Helen and the Go-Go Ninjas. His 2022 crime thriller Better the Blood is being adapted into a six-part drama series.

Image: Tina Tiller

The stunning new crime novel that’s a Trojan horse for exploring the hurt of colonisation

Introducing Better the Blood, a Māori thriller that shows how trauma can twist a person.

By Michael Bennett | 12th August, 2022

Te Arawa writer Michael Bennett (Image: supplied/Tina Tiller)

The writer of Vegas responds: ‘Vegas is a story of change. A story of hope’

The co-creator of TVNZ's Vegas defends the series and his authorship of it, and talks about 'the how and the why' behind the show.

By Michael Bennett | 21st April, 2021

The Monday Excerpt: The 2017 Ngaio Marsh best non-fiction crime book of the year

The Monday Excerpt: The 2017 Ngaio Marsh best non-fiction crime book of the year

Michael Bennett won the 2017 Ngaio Marsh crime writing award for best book of non-fiction on Saturday night for his book In Dark Places, a study of the wrongful, shameful conviction of Teina Pora for the 1992 murder of Susan Burdett. The excerpt is from the opening chapter.

By Michael Bennett | 30th October, 2017