Diana Wichtel

Diana Wichtel (born 1950 in Vancouver) is a New Zealand writer and critic. Her mother, Patricia, was a New Zealander; her father, Benjamin Wichtel, a Polish Jew who escaped from the Nazi train taking his family to the Treblinka extermination camp in World War II. Although he was expected to follow, she never saw her father again. The mystery of her father's life took years to unravel, and is recounted in Wichtel's award-winning book Driving to Treblinka. The book has been called "a masterpiece" by New Zealand writer Steve Braunias.

Wichtel was appointed staff writer at the New Zealand Listener in 1984. She has won many awards for her television criticism, profiles and feature writing. The New Zealand cultural critic and author Adam Dudding has written of Wichtel's "genius" for television reviewing: "Her reviews often strike a tone of tolerant bemusement; she's a visitor from Mars bearing witness to the latest bonkers manifestation of modern culture."

The New Zealand Herald'''s weekend magazine Canvas'' welcomed Wichtel as a fortnightly columnist in October 2020.

Personal life Wichtel has been married twice and has two children. She is currently married to journalist Chris Barton. Her previous husband was television presenter Philip Alpers.

Awards Wichtel has won numerous awards for her journalism:

2001 Qantas Media Awards: Best Magazine Columnist: The Arts - Creative New Zealand Award. 2011 Canon Media Awards Best Magazine Feature Writer Politics 2011 Canon Media Awards Best Magazine Feature Writer Arts 2013 Canon Media Awards: Reviewer of the Year 2019 Voyager Media Awards Reviewer of the Year 2016 Grimshaw Sargeson fellow 2018 Royal Society Te Apārangi Award for General non-fiction: Ockham New Zealand Book Awards.