Virginia Were is a writer and artist who lives at Muriwai. She balances her passion for horse riding with less adrenaline-charged, but still exciting, activities such as writing poetry and taking photographs. Until recently she was editor of the magazine 'Art News New Zealand' and is now undertaking a Master of Fine Arts at Elam. Her writing has appeared in many literary anthologies, and she is the author of two poetry books, 'Juliet Bravo Juliet' and 'Jump Start', published by Victoria University Press. In 2015 she was Second Runner Up in the Wallace Art Awards.