Riley Chance

Riley Chance, whose novel Weeping Angels was shortlisted for NZ Booklovers Best Fiction Book of 2025, writes fast-paced, page-turning fiction that also shines a light on the issues shaping our lives – surveillance technology, the fragility of democracy, family violence and, with the release of his latest novel The Target, the role of trade unions.

Since being made redundant in 2001, he has balanced family life with the realities of precarious work. A seasoned, if unenthusiastic, member of that workforce, he has worked as a computer programmer, IT manager, consultant, project manager, mentor, university lecturer, facilitator and government panel member.

He does not see writing as a job. In the spirit of Karl Marx, he believes writers should ea

Riley Chance, whose novel Weeping Angels was shortlisted for NZ Booklovers Best Fiction Book of 2025, writes fast-paced, page-turning fiction that also shines a light on the issues shaping our lives – surveillance technology, the fragility of democracy, family violence and, with the release of his latest novel The Target, the role of trade unions.

Since being made redundant in 2001, he has balanced family life with the realities of precarious work. A seasoned, if unenthusiastic, member of that workforce, he has worked as a computer programmer, IT manager, consultant, project manager, mentor, university lecturer, facilitator and government panel member.

He does not see writing as a job. In the spirit of Karl Marx, he believes writers should earn a living from their writing, but not write solely to make money.

When time allows, he reads widely, follows the exploits of his adult children with keen interest, attempts DIY, hits a small white ball too often and monitors politics closely. You might find him in Parliament's Speakers' Gallery, quietly astonished by the people we have entrusted to run the country. Yet it is within politics that society can be shaped – for better or worse – and history has shown us that fiction can be a catalyst for change.