[1] Slaughter was born in Papatoetoe, South Auckland, and lived there until she was 10 years old, when her family moved to the Coromandel Peninsula.

The title of her PhD thesis was Her face looking back at me: reflections on New Zealand women's autobiography.

[3] Slaughter's writing includes short stories, poems and novels, and focus on relationships and life in New Zealand.

Also in 2015, she won the Landfall Essay Competition for her non-fiction work ‘Ashdown Place’.

[3] In 2023 Slaughter was awarded the Manchester Fiction Prize for an unpublished portfolio of poems titled opioid sonatas.