He is a teacher, writer and editor and has published several collections of poetry and a number of novels for children and young adults. His work has been published widely in journals both in New Zealand (including Landfall, Islands and Sport) and overseas, and his short stories for children have been widely anthologised. He has been poetry and short story editor of takahē magazine and poetry editor of the Christchurch "Press," and has worked closely with the Christchurch School for Young Writers, including editing the annual Re-Draft anthologies. With Joanna Preston, he collected earthquake poems written in the weeks and months after the 2010 Canterbury Earthquake and subsequent earthquakes, and edited "Leaving the Red Zone," an anthology of 148 poems by 87 poets from across New Zealand. With Elizabeth Smither, he was judge of the 2016 Flash Fiction Day competition.