Evelyn Patuawa-Nathan is a Māori writer. She was born in Northland, New Zealand, and lived in Europe and Asia before permanently settling in Sydney, Australia. Her first published work Opening Doors, a collection of poetry, was published in 1979 by Mana Publications (Suva, Fiji). She is believed to be the third female writer of Māori origin to be published, following Patricia Grace, whose collection of short stories Waiariki published in 1975 by Penguin Books, and who has published several works of poetry since 1976.