Deb Jowitt
Writer Researcher HistorianMy writing reflects my life — people-focused, water-oriented, earthbound.
Deb Jowitt
I am tangata Tiriti, born in Whangārei. I grew up in Tamaki Mākarau, lived in Bali and Java in my early twenties, and raised three children with my partner in locations close to the Hauraki Gulf. A nurse and midwife, I completed a Masters in Midwifery and PhD in History during the 2000s. I now live in Parua Bay, Whangārei Heads, and write short form fiction and creative non-fiction.
Code of Honour. March 2025: WINDOWS | NGĀ MATAPIHI | Flash Frontier
The central room in the museum smelt of mothballs. It had no windows, and the lights came on gradually, like an artificial dawn. The elderly guide led me to the main exhibit, a slim mannequin wearing a cream suit with an exquisite, embroidered jacket.
Captivating Narratives
Historical Insights
Fictional Journeys
Truthful Reflections
Close observation of people and the environment shapes what my writing. Intergenerational relationships are central. Historical context frames the stories I tell.
Musing: Reflections and Insights
Showcasing Deb’s Written Works
Flash Fiction
Code of Honour. March 2025: WINDOWS | NGĀ MATAPIHI | Flash Frontier
Peripheral Vision. December 2024: CIRCLE | POROWHITA | Flash Frontier
The Long Way Home. July 2024: ROCK | TOKA | Flash Frontier
The Photograph. March 2024: QUIET | MĀRIRE | Flash Frontier
Swallows, December 2023: MANU | BIRD | Flash Frontier
Regenesis, October 2023: MARA | GARDEN | Flash Frontier
Burr, October 2023: RĀKAU | TREE | Flash Frontier
The One That Got Away, July 2023: MOANA | OCEAN | Flash Frontier
The Tournament, shortlisted for Sparkling Prose, At The Bay, 2023.
The Sea Has Lost its Memory, October 2022: INSECTS | Flash Frontier
Changing Landscapes: Flash and micro fiction from Northland, eds, S Clark, DM Jowitt, JOP, Whangarei 2023.
Flux, July 2022: AWA | Flash Frontier
Komodo Dawn, From the Island, The Facts of Life, in You Might Want to Read This, eds. S Barker, DM Jowitt, K Jackson, JOP, Whangarei, 2021.
Chicken Lickin, February 2019: COMEDY | Flash Frontier
Creative Non-Fiction
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‘Pot-luck Pavlovas’, Pav Deconstructed: Pavlova through the eyes of everyday kiwis, eds, K Derrick, J Jenkins, C Gordon. Pavlova Press, Kerikeri, 2023. ‘Taken’, Longlisted Micro Madness, 2023. ‘All Hung Out: Washing lines of my life’, longlisted National Flash Fiction Day competition 2023. ‘Swimming lessons from a Whale-man’, December 2021: MICRO | Flash Frontier Jowitt DM, Alpert SG. ‘The Bronze Standard’, Art of the Ancestors. 28 December 2020, www.artoftheancestors.com These Hills are Tapu, Shoal Bay Press, Whitianga, 1991. |
Medical/Scientific
Grae N, Singh A, Jowitt D, et al. Prevalence of healthcare-associated infections in public hospitals in New Zealand, 2021. JHI, 131 (2023) 164e172.
Jowitt DM. The ‘H-Bug’ epidemic: lessons from antibiotic resistant staphylococcal outbreaks in New Zealand hospitals from 1955–1963. NZMJ 20 Sept 2019, Vol 132 No 1502.
Morris AJ, Roberts SA, Grae N, Jowitt DM. Getting surgical antibiotic prophylaxis right, lessons from the National Orthopaedic Surgical Site Infection Improvement Programme: a call for action! NZMJ Feb 22 2019, Vol 132 No 1490:55-58.
Freeman JT, Dawson L, Jowitt DM, White M, Callard H, Sieczkowski C, Kuriyan R, Roberts SA. The impact of the Hand Hygiene New Zealand programme on hand hygiene practices in New Zealand’s public hospitals. NZMJ 14 Oct 2016, Vol 129 No 1443.
Roberts SA, Jowitt DM. New Zealand Health Quality & Safety Commission infection prevention and control programmes: evidence for sustained improvement in infection prevention interventions. Antimicrobial Resistance Infection Control (2015) 4(Suppl 1): P58. https://doi.org/10.1186/2047-2994-4-S1-P58.
Jowitt DM. ‘Government policy relating to hepatitis B in New Zealand 1970-2005’. PhD Thesis (History), University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau, 2010.
Ritchie S, Jowitt DM, Roberts SA. The Auckland City Hospital Device Point Prevalence Survey 2005: utilisation and infectious complications of intravascular and urinary devices. NZ Med J, 24 Aug 2007; Vol 120 No 1260:U2683.
Jowitt DM. The ‘H-Bug’ epidemic: the impact of antibiotic-resistant staphylococcal infection on New Zealand society and health 1955-1963. MHSc (Midwifery) thesis, Auckland University of Technology, 2005.
Get in Touch with Deb
I’m always keen to connect with readers and other writers.
Whether you have a question, feedback, or want to say hello, get in touch!
Address
Parua Bay, Tai Tokerau/Northland, New Zealand