Powles also held the Robert Burns Fellowship, at the University of Otago in 2010, due to the success of her first novel, Weathered Bones.
[8] New Zealand author Fiona Kidman describes Powles's first novel, Weathered Bones (2009), as "a book full of real women from an exciting new writer.
"[9] Australia's Women's Weekly describes Weathered Bones as a "very contemporary" work that discusses "issues surrounding mental illness and the pain of love.
"[10] Landfall gave Weathered Bones a positive review, labeling the novel's protagonist lighthouse keeper Mary Jane Bennett "one of New Zealand's earliest feminists.
[15] Powles and Liang describe their work as "lay[ing] bare the raw joy, beauty, discomfort and humour of modern motherhood.