Diane Brown is a novelist and poet. Born in Auckland, she currently lives in Dunedin where she writes books and reviews, assesses manuscripts and teaches creative writing. Her first book BEFORE THE DIVORCE WE GO TO DISNEYLAND, a combination of prose and poetry, was published in 1997 and won the Best First Book of Poetry at the Montana Book Awards. She won the Buddle Findlay Sargeson Fellowship in 1997 and published her first prose novel IF THE TONGUE FITS in 1999, followed by 8 STAGES OF GRACE a verse novel in 2002. Her short stories and poems have appeared in a variety of magazines, and she has won poetry competitions in New Zealand and England. She has appeared in many literary festivals and was Chair of the Auckland branch of the Society of Authors for four years and is now Chair of the Otago-Southland branch.