Hi, I’m Toby

My writing explores how people construct value, authority and meaning through work, taste, place and identity.

Wine, food, culture, art - these all float my boat, but they appear in my work not as lifestyle subjects but as social practices shaped by labour, risk, power and tradition.

I was born in New Zealand and am now based in Amsterdam, having lived and worked in Australia, the UK, Brazil, and the USA, along the way.

I write for international publications and my work has been recognised with major awards including the Katherine Mansfield Prize, The Landfall Essay Prize, the Sargeson Prize, and the JR Judges’ Prize for writing.

Alongside journalism, I have a background in publishing, bookselling, art galleries, social work and editorial work.

These experiences all continue to inform what I enjoy now - writing attentive to voice, embodiment, vivid detail, and the textures of lived experience.

I’m particularly interested in:

  • longform narrative and essayistic writing

  • cultural institutions and questions of legitimacy

  • work, labour and material culture

  • the intersection of personal history and wider social structures

I’m available for commissioned writing, editorial collaborations, cultural projects, and any conversation that requires depth, clarity and intellectual seriousness.

Say hi