Hailed as one of NZ's first internationally successful playwrights, Robert Lord divided his life between provincial New Zealand and the hedonism of life as a gay man in New York in the 1970s and 80s. He wrote numerous stage and radio plays, including Well-Hung, Bert and Maisy, and Joyful and Triumphant. In 1973, he co-founded Playmarket, New Zealand's playwrights' agency and publisher. Lord candidly chronicled his life in eight diaries, which have been edited into a new book. One of the editors of Robert Lord Diaries is Nonnita Rees, a long time friend and colleague of Lord's. Rees is also a cultural policy analyst and chair of the Robert Lord Writers Cottage Trust.