Alan Duff (b. 1950) is a Maori writer with Ngati Rangitihi and Tuwharetoa ancestry. He is best known for his novel Once Were Warriors (1990) which was adapted for film by Lee Tamahori in 1994.

Alan Duf grew up in a state housing area in Rotorua. After his parents separated when he was 10, Alan lived with a Maori aunt & uncle at Whakarewarewa. He was expelled from school and became a state ward at Hamilton Boys Home, subsequently living in kinship care again with an uncle.

When he was 15, Alan Duff was sentenced to Waikeria borstal for assault & breaking & entering. After a while and with lots of convictions for petty offences, Duff went to London which signalled a turning point.

Back in New Zealand, Duff began to write full time in 1985.

Once Were Warriors made Duff famous and he began writing a column for the Evening Post. He currently writes for the New Zealand Herald.

In 1995 Duff launched his Books in Homes Scheme, a program to foster literacy amongst children from low-SES backgrounds. That same year he was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire for services to literature.