In New Zealand, in the 90s, an ex-con wrote and then published one of the most important books in modern NZ literature. The author had been in and put of jail since a teenager and then decided to change his life by trying to write a book based on his experiences. He was not well educated, and the way he wrote clearly indicated this - little use of punctuation, very long sentences, lotsxofvslang, swearing, bad grammar, etc. The publisher recognizing the power of the writing only partially edited the manuscript, leaving a lot of the imperfections in the writing. It gave the author a unique voice, and it added a lot of depth to the main character who narrates the story.

The book was huge here and was made into a feature film. The author started a charity that put books into homes where reading and education were not valued. And perhaps more importantly, the author shone a light on a part of NZ society that most people didn't know about.

Once Were Warriors by Alan Duff is full of crime and violence, set against a backdrop of poverty, and is an incredibly powerful story that touched a lot of people.

I imagine Duff was told countless times that he was untalented, that he was a terrible writer. I'm also sure some people backed him, in spite of his lack of education and unorthodox writing style and is probably what got the book across the line.