Christian Karlson "Karl" Stead ONZ CBE (born 17 October 1932) is a New Zealand writer whose works include novels, poetry, short stories, and literary criticism.

[2] Stead began writing poetry at about age 14 when he read a copy of the collected works of Rupert Brooke, sent by his sister's penpal in England.

Frame later wrote about this time in her memoir An Angel at My Table, and Stead covered the same period in his autobiographical novel All Visitors Ashore (1984).

[7] In consequence his editorship of the Faber Book of Contemporary South Pacific Stories was boycotted by some writers, including Keri Hulme, although Stead denied accusations of racism or being anti-Māori.

[9] Stead retired from his position as the Professor of English at the University of Auckland in 1986 to write full time, after the success of his novel All Visitors Ashore (1984).

[10] In the following two decades he wrote a string of internationally successful novels, and twice won the fiction section of the New Zealand Book Awards with All Visitors Ashore and The Singing Whakapapa (1994).

[19] To celebrate the conclusion of Stead's term as Poet Laureate,[20] the Alexander Turnbull Library published a signed, limited edition book of his work called In the Mirror, and Dancing.