Born in West Auckland, Douglas Lloyd Jenkins grew up on the North Shore before moving to the central city; in time to observe the first wave of demolition. It was here that he grew to love local architecture and design which fuelled a career as an award-winning writer of non-fiction on the subjects of art, design and architecture. He has had columns in the New Zealand Herald, New Zealand Listener and HOME magazine. His book At Home: A Century of New Zealand Design was the Montana Book Awards Non-Fiction Winner in 2004 and The Dress Circle: New Zealand Fashion Design since 1940, which he co-authored, was shortlisted for the same prize in 2011. His most recent book Beach Life won the PANZ Best Illustrated Book Award in 2017. Douglas now lives in South Auckland with his dog. He has written widely on contemporary masculinity and LGBTQI+ subjects. Shelter is his first novel.