Neville Peat is a Dunedin writer, the author of some 40 books covering themes of geography, biography, history, nature and the environment. In 2007, he was awarded New Zealand's largest literary prize, the Creative New Zealand Michael King Writers' Fellowship, for a book about the Tasman Sea. Besides the books, Peat has written a number of nature conservation publications for the Department of Conservation. They include the nomination of the New Zealand Subantarctic Islands as a UNESCO World Natural Heritage Area in 1998, and the public discussion document for the creation of Rakiura National Park, Stewart Island, in 2002. For 20 years he has worked as a guest speaker on ship-based tours around mainland New Zealand and outer islands. In the 2018 New Year Honours, he was made a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit (MNZM) for services to conservation. He lives with his wife at Broad Bay on the Otago Peninsula.