Patricia Grace is a key figure in the emergence of Māori fiction in English since the 1970s and has made a significant contribution to contemporary New Zealand literature. Exploring themes such as loss, isolation and family, she portrays a variety of Māori people and ways of life, and is notable for her versatile narrative and descriptive techniques. Her best-known novel, Potiki (1986), won the New Zealand Book Award for Fiction and has been translated into several languages.