Jude Thomas

Jude Thomas lives in Mangawhai, a beautiful coastal area in north-eastern New Zealand.

Born and raised 'way down south' in Dunedin, Jude was expressly forbidden by her parents to go near Maclaggan Street. This always intrigued her but it wasn't until 2014 that she decided to research and write about its murky past. This became her first historical novel, Southern Gold.

Jude also spent many summers 'up Central', as featured in Southern Gold, and she can still smell the wild thyme and feel the shimmering heat. But her other lasting childhood memories are the piercing southern winters and her intensely itchy chilblains.

Jude is a member of International Writers' Workshop and NZ Society of Authors. In 2015 she was awarded a grant from NZSA which helped her to publish her first full-length novel, Southern Gold. She is an award-winning short story writer. When not writing, Jude's passion is for her family, community projects, film and theatre, fashion and textile design, social history and genealogy.