Eleanor Catton is a New Zealand novelist and short story writer. She is best known for her 2013 novel The Luminaries, which won the Man Booker Prize and the Governor General's Award for Fiction. Catton was born in Canada in 1985 and moved to New Zealand with her family at the age of six. She studied English literature at the University of Canterbury and creative writing at the Iowa Writers' Workshop. Catton's other works include The Rehearsal, The Rehearsal and The Luminaries, as well as the short story collection The Cat's Table. She has also written for television and radio, and is a frequent contributor to literary journals. Catton is an advocate for the rights of Indigenous peoples and has been a vocal critic of colonialism. She is an inspiring figure for aspiring writers and a powerful voice in the literary world.