Toby Buck is a New Zealand writer living in Amsterdam. He’s won the Katherine Mansfield Short Story Award, the Landfall Essay Prize, and Judge’s prizes in the Sargeson and Jancis Robinson Writing Competitions.

Illustration of people standing around a large yellow rectangular shape with signs labeled 'Refining Systems' and 'Applying Data' above them.

Happiness by Numbers

journalism - The UN World Happiness Report is out. But can Wellbeing be measured? A feature economics piece for North&South with interviews and policy from NZ, UK, Finland and Iceland.

In a still From Netflix the Serpent - a man and woman wearing sunglasses walking through an alleyway. The character is based on a famous serial killer. This article is about the man who stopped him.

Herman & The Serpent

interview - An interview with a friend who caught a serial killer.
New York Times and LongReads.com top essays of 2025.

A woman and a child in traditional attire standing on a grassy field, with a thatched-roof hut, palm trees, and three indigenous men dressed in traditional clothing with floral accessories praying in the background.

Oceania in Venice

profile - The wonderful Yuki Kihara talks ‘Paradise Camp’, floods and performance, and how her latest work came to be on show at the Venice Biennale.

Big Red

wine - Do New Zealand winemakers want their own ‘big red’ style wine? Or would they rather change the landscape on how we think about wine entirely …

Fresh Claret

wine - An ode to Cabernet Sauvignon. For the JR2025 Writing Competition.

A smiling woman wearing a orange safety vest, black face mask, wide-brimmed colorful hat, and black gloves, standing with arms outstretched among green vineyard rows under a partly cloudy sky.

Harvesters

wine - Richard Brimer’s exhibition Harvest is a little bit Humans of New York. Except it’s in Hastings NZ, and captures the amazing seasonal labourers picking fruit across the local vineyards and farms.

Group of people sitting around a table with food in a community room, some holding cups or plates, engaging in conversation.

Out of the Box

culture - This DIY Coffin Club gets people used to the idea of both death and happiness, sharing their stories as they also go ‘above and beyond’ to serve their community.

A group of ten older adults, along with one middle-aged woman, posing outdoors against a pink wall with a small tree on the left. Several are holding wooden sticks or staffs, and they are smiling.

Portable Miracles

culture - An insight into how and why the New Zealand Poet Laureate programme got started.

Two people harvesting grapes in a vineyard, with one person using pruning shears to cut a bunch of black grapes from the vine.

Gardens & Walls

memoir - As published on Jancis Robinson.com at Christmas last year.

A close-up of bunches of ripe, dark purple grapes hanging from a vine amidst green leaves.

Regeneration

wine - ‘A World Upside Down’. Judge’s Prize JR2022 Writing Competition.

Jurassic Wines

interview - Sam Neill, winemaker and actor, chats about the quiet life, family, and various fruit jams.

Gabrielle

feature - A cover story on Cyclone Gabrielle in 2023 and its effects.

If you want to help NZ's East Coast and Hawke's Bay then please do:
Hawke’s Bay Disaster Relief Fund: 02 0700 0010824 002
Tairāwhiti Civil Defence: 03 0638 0502288 00

A man browsing books in a bookstore, wearing a tan cap and dark hoodie, with shelves of books in front and behind him.

Fresh Editions

design - I got to help redesign one of the world’s most southern bookstores. Get to know the wonderful Unity Books!

‘Profound writing - full of persuasive visual detail, with an incredible ear for everyday speech.’

Emma Kneale, Landfall Journal Editor

‘Brash, unapologetic and completely confident writing. It takes a series of risks, almost sinks itself, and somehow gets away with it. I kept returning to it and had to put it at the top of the pile.’

Charlotte Grimshaw, Mansfield Award Judge

My essays and creative-nonfiction are here.

I’ve also made work for Magnum Photography, MTV, Lexus, National Geographic, National GalleriesUK, the Tate Modern, Rockstar Games, VICE, Jaguar, TIME and others.

¿Qué onda?