Elizabeth Knox
Encyclopedia
Elizabeth Fiona Knox, ONZM
, (born 15 February 1959, in Wellington
, New Zealand) is an award-winning New Zealand
writer
. She has authored eight novels, an autobiographical trilogy of novellas, a fantasy duet for young adults, and a collection of essays. Her best known work is The Vintner's Luck, which won several awards, has been published in seven languages, and has been made into a film of the same name
by Niki Caro
.
, Wadestown, Waikanae
and Paremata
. She later published a trilogy of novels that were influenced by her childhood experiences of living near Wellington
.
Elizabeth had difficulties with writing when she was young because she was slightly dyslexic.
Elizabeth had always enjoyed inventing stories as a child. When she was eleven she created an oral narrative history
with her younger sister Sara and its characters and plot evolved based on their input along with the input of their older sister Mary and their friend Carol. When she was sixteen Elizabeth's father overheard a discussion between her, her sisters and Carol regarding the consequences of a secret treaty set in their imaginary world and he remarked that he hoped they were writing this down. Following this they all tried "writing stories about, letters between, and poems by their characters" and Elizabeth enjoyed it so much that she decided she would like to be a writer.
Currently Elizabeth Knox lives in Kelburn
, Wellington
and is married to Fergus Barrowman, a publisher at Victoria University Press
. They have a son Jack Barrowman.
. A year later, she started work on After Z-Hour in Bill Manhire
’s Original Composition course at Victoria. The novel was inspired by a memory she had of when was eleven and fell from a walnut tree on ANZAC Day
. In hospital she overheard a conversation between an old man and her father about Passchendaele and life on the Salient in 1917. Bill Manhire
encouraged her to write her novel, and told her he would be more interested in seeing her complete it, than her degree. After Z-Hour was published in 1987 by Victoria University Press
and Elizabeth graduated from Victoria University of Wellington
the same year. She was also awarded the ICI Young Writers Bursary award that year.
In 1988 Fergus Barrowman, Nigel Cox, Elizabeth Knox, and Damien Wilkins
, with the help of Bill Manhire
, Alan Preston
and Andrew Mason
, co-founded the literary journal Sport. Elizabeth was one of its editors and has also been a frequent contributor to the magazine.
Since 1997 Elizabeth has become a full-time writer. She won the Victoria University of Wellington
Writing Scholarship the same year. Her novel The Vintner's Luck was published in 1998. It chronicles the life of a peasant winemaker, Sobran Jodeau, and his relationship with the fallen angel Xas, which begins in 1808 in Burgundy, France
, and spans 55 years. The novel was inspired by what she saw in a feverish dream when she had pneumonia. The Vintner's Luck won Elizabeth widespread critical acclaim and numerous awards and it also raised her profile both within New Zealand and beyond.
After The Vintner's Luck Elizabeth published three more novels. Between 2005-2007 Elizabeth's first young adult series, The Dreamhunter Duet
, was published. It was described as a "Mansfield
-meets-Mahy
fantasy" and once again Elizabeth was praised for her audacious imagination and ingeniously constructed tales.
Elizabeth's sister, Sara Knox, had her first novel, The Orphan Gunner, a queer
romance set in wartime England, published by Giramondo, Australia in 2007.
In 2009 the movie adaptation
of Knox's The Vintner's Luck directed and co-written by Niki Caro
was released. The film was almost universally panned at the 34th Annual Toronto International Film Festival. Elizabeth was disappointed at the direction the movie took as she felt Niki Caro
"took out what the book was actually about", referring to the romantic relationship between Sobran and Xas which was a core aspect of the novel. Her sister, Sara Knox, who is gay, was also upset about the film version. Elizabeth's bad experience with the film made her pull out of a potential film contract with NZ filmmaker Jonathan King for her young adult fantasy series, the Dreamhunter Duet
.
Elizabeth's most recent work to be published is The Angel's Cut, sequel to The Vintner's Luck, which follows the tale of Xas after the events of the first book and is set in 1930s Hollywood.
The Love School Personal Essays winner of the biography section of the NZ Book Awards 2009
New Zealand Order of Merit
The New Zealand Order of Merit is an order established in 1996 "for those persons who in any field of endeavour, have rendered meritorious service to the Crown and nation or who have become distinguished by their eminence, talents, contributions or other merits."The order includes five...
, (born 15 February 1959, in Wellington
Wellington
Wellington is the capital city and third most populous urban area of New Zealand, although it is likely to have surpassed Christchurch due to the exodus following the Canterbury Earthquake. It is at the southwestern tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Rimutaka Range...
, New Zealand) is an award-winning New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
writer
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
. She has authored eight novels, an autobiographical trilogy of novellas, a fantasy duet for young adults, and a collection of essays. Her best known work is The Vintner's Luck, which won several awards, has been published in seven languages, and has been made into a film of the same name
The Vintner's Luck (film)
The Vintner's Luck is a film directed and co-written by New Zealand filmmaker Niki Caro. It is loosely based on the novel The Vintner's Luck by New Zealander Elizabeth Knox and had its international première at the Toronto International Film Festival in September 2009...
by Niki Caro
Niki Caro
Niki Caro is film director, producer and screenwriter who was born in Wellington, New Zealand. Her 2002 film Whale Rider was critically praised and won a number of awards at international film festivals....
.
Background
Elizabeth and her two sisters were born and raised by atheist parents in a household where they spent most of their days where religion was often debated. They spent their childhood living in various small towns in New Zealand, including PomarePomare
Pomare is one of the northernmost suburbs of Lower Hutt City in New Zealand. The suburb has the Hutt River on its northern and north-western sides....
, Wadestown, Waikanae
Waikanae
Waikanae is a small town on New Zealand's Kapiti Coast. The name is a Māori word meaning "The waters of the yellow eyed mullet". Another settlement called Waikanae Beach exists near Gisborne on the east coast of the North Island of New Zealand....
and Paremata
Paremata
Paremata is a suburb of Porirua, on the Tasman Sea coast to the north of Wellington, New Zealand.-Early history:The modern suburb, just south of Plimmerton, derives its name from the "Parramatta Barracks", erected on the north shore of Porirua Harbour in about 1846 when the infant government was...
. She later published a trilogy of novels that were influenced by her childhood experiences of living near Wellington
Wellington
Wellington is the capital city and third most populous urban area of New Zealand, although it is likely to have surpassed Christchurch due to the exodus following the Canterbury Earthquake. It is at the southwestern tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Rimutaka Range...
.
Elizabeth had difficulties with writing when she was young because she was slightly dyslexic.
Elizabeth had always enjoyed inventing stories as a child. When she was eleven she created an oral narrative history
Narrative history
Narrative history is the practice of writing history in a story-based form. It can be divided into two subgenres: the traditional narrative and the modern narrative....
with her younger sister Sara and its characters and plot evolved based on their input along with the input of their older sister Mary and their friend Carol. When she was sixteen Elizabeth's father overheard a discussion between her, her sisters and Carol regarding the consequences of a secret treaty set in their imaginary world and he remarked that he hoped they were writing this down. Following this they all tried "writing stories about, letters between, and poems by their characters" and Elizabeth enjoyed it so much that she decided she would like to be a writer.
Currently Elizabeth Knox lives in Kelburn
Kelburn, New Zealand
thumb|300px|Panorama of Wellington including the Kelburn cable car.Kelburn is an inner suburb of Wellington, New Zealand. It is located on the hills to the west of the Central Business District.-Features of Kelburn:...
, Wellington
Wellington
Wellington is the capital city and third most populous urban area of New Zealand, although it is likely to have surpassed Christchurch due to the exodus following the Canterbury Earthquake. It is at the southwestern tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Rimutaka Range...
and is married to Fergus Barrowman, a publisher at Victoria University Press
Victoria University Press
Victoria University Press founded in the 1970s, is the book publishing arm of Victoria University of Wellington, Wellington, New Zealand.It publishes new fiction and poetry and specialises in New Zealand history, biography and essays.-Sources:...
. They have a son Jack Barrowman.
Writing career
In 1983, when Elizabeth was 24, she started a degree in English Literature at Victoria University of WellingtonVictoria University of Wellington
Victoria University of Wellington was established in 1897 by Act of Parliament, and was a former constituent college of the University of New Zealand. It is particularly well known for its programmes in law, the humanities, and some scientific disciplines, but offers a broad range of other courses...
. A year later, she started work on After Z-Hour in Bill Manhire
Bill Manhire
William "Bill" Manhire, CNZM is an award-winning New Zealand poet, short story writer, and professor, New Zealand's inaugural Poet Laureate.-Biography:...
’s Original Composition course at Victoria. The novel was inspired by a memory she had of when was eleven and fell from a walnut tree on ANZAC Day
ANZAC Day
Anzac Day is a national day of remembrance in Australia and New Zealand, commemorated by both countries on 25 April every year to honour the members of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps who fought at Gallipoli in the Ottoman Empire during World War I. It now more broadly commemorates all...
. In hospital she overheard a conversation between an old man and her father about Passchendaele and life on the Salient in 1917. Bill Manhire
Bill Manhire
William "Bill" Manhire, CNZM is an award-winning New Zealand poet, short story writer, and professor, New Zealand's inaugural Poet Laureate.-Biography:...
encouraged her to write her novel, and told her he would be more interested in seeing her complete it, than her degree. After Z-Hour was published in 1987 by Victoria University Press
Victoria University Press
Victoria University Press founded in the 1970s, is the book publishing arm of Victoria University of Wellington, Wellington, New Zealand.It publishes new fiction and poetry and specialises in New Zealand history, biography and essays.-Sources:...
and Elizabeth graduated from Victoria University of Wellington
Victoria University of Wellington
Victoria University of Wellington was established in 1897 by Act of Parliament, and was a former constituent college of the University of New Zealand. It is particularly well known for its programmes in law, the humanities, and some scientific disciplines, but offers a broad range of other courses...
the same year. She was also awarded the ICI Young Writers Bursary award that year.
In 1988 Fergus Barrowman, Nigel Cox, Elizabeth Knox, and Damien Wilkins
Damien Wilkins
Damien Lamont Wilkins is an American professional basketball player who last played for the Atlanta Hawks. He attended Dr. Phillips High School in Orlando, Florida and then enrolled at North Carolina State University. After two years at NCSU he transferred to the University of Georgia...
, with the help of Bill Manhire
Bill Manhire
William "Bill" Manhire, CNZM is an award-winning New Zealand poet, short story writer, and professor, New Zealand's inaugural Poet Laureate.-Biography:...
, Alan Preston
Alan Preston
Alan Herbert Preston was a New Zealand football player and cricketer who represented the New Zealand national football team and played 38 first-class matches for Wellington and two for the North Island.-Football:Preston made his full All Whites debut in a 2-1 win over Australia on 14 August 1954...
and Andrew Mason
Andrew Mason
Andrew Mason was an English cricketer. He was a right-handed batsman and a right-arm off-break bowler who played for Herefordshire. He was born in Worcester....
, co-founded the literary journal Sport. Elizabeth was one of its editors and has also been a frequent contributor to the magazine.
Since 1997 Elizabeth has become a full-time writer. She won the Victoria University of Wellington
Victoria University of Wellington
Victoria University of Wellington was established in 1897 by Act of Parliament, and was a former constituent college of the University of New Zealand. It is particularly well known for its programmes in law, the humanities, and some scientific disciplines, but offers a broad range of other courses...
Writing Scholarship the same year. Her novel The Vintner's Luck was published in 1998. It chronicles the life of a peasant winemaker, Sobran Jodeau, and his relationship with the fallen angel Xas, which begins in 1808 in Burgundy, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, and spans 55 years. The novel was inspired by what she saw in a feverish dream when she had pneumonia. The Vintner's Luck won Elizabeth widespread critical acclaim and numerous awards and it also raised her profile both within New Zealand and beyond.
After The Vintner's Luck Elizabeth published three more novels. Between 2005-2007 Elizabeth's first young adult series, The Dreamhunter Duet
Dreamhunter Duet
Dreamhunter and Dreamquake are two New Zealand fantasy novels, written by New Zealand author Elizabeth Knox. The former title was nominated for Montana New Zealand Book Awards in 2006, and was an American Library Association best book of 2007. Dreamquake received recognition as an Honor Book for...
, was published. It was described as a "Mansfield
Katherine Mansfield
Kathleen Mansfield Beauchamp Murry was a prominent modernist writer of short fiction who was born and brought up in colonial New Zealand and wrote under the pen name of Katherine Mansfield. Mansfield left for Great Britain in 1908 where she encountered Modernist writers such as D.H. Lawrence and...
-meets-Mahy
Margaret Mahy
Margaret Mahy ONZ is a well-known New Zealand author of children's and young adult books. While the plots of many of her books have strong supernatural elements, her writing concentrates on the themes of human relationships and growing up.Her books The Haunting and The Changeover: A Supernatural...
fantasy" and once again Elizabeth was praised for her audacious imagination and ingeniously constructed tales.
Elizabeth's sister, Sara Knox, had her first novel, The Orphan Gunner, a queer
Queer
Queer is an umbrella term for sexual minorities that are not heterosexual, heteronormative, or gender-binary. In the context of Western identity politics the term also acts as a label setting queer-identifying people apart from discourse, ideologies, and lifestyles that typify mainstream LGBT ...
romance set in wartime England, published by Giramondo, Australia in 2007.
In 2009 the movie adaptation
The Vintner's Luck (film)
The Vintner's Luck is a film directed and co-written by New Zealand filmmaker Niki Caro. It is loosely based on the novel The Vintner's Luck by New Zealander Elizabeth Knox and had its international première at the Toronto International Film Festival in September 2009...
of Knox's The Vintner's Luck directed and co-written by Niki Caro
Niki Caro
Niki Caro is film director, producer and screenwriter who was born in Wellington, New Zealand. Her 2002 film Whale Rider was critically praised and won a number of awards at international film festivals....
was released. The film was almost universally panned at the 34th Annual Toronto International Film Festival. Elizabeth was disappointed at the direction the movie took as she felt Niki Caro
Niki Caro
Niki Caro is film director, producer and screenwriter who was born in Wellington, New Zealand. Her 2002 film Whale Rider was critically praised and won a number of awards at international film festivals....
"took out what the book was actually about", referring to the romantic relationship between Sobran and Xas which was a core aspect of the novel. Her sister, Sara Knox, who is gay, was also upset about the film version. Elizabeth's bad experience with the film made her pull out of a potential film contract with NZ filmmaker Jonathan King for her young adult fantasy series, the Dreamhunter Duet
Dreamhunter Duet
Dreamhunter and Dreamquake are two New Zealand fantasy novels, written by New Zealand author Elizabeth Knox. The former title was nominated for Montana New Zealand Book Awards in 2006, and was an American Library Association best book of 2007. Dreamquake received recognition as an Honor Book for...
.
Elizabeth's most recent work to be published is The Angel's Cut, sequel to The Vintner's Luck, which follows the tale of Xas after the events of the first book and is set in 1930s Hollywood.
Awards
- Treasure short-listed for New Zealand Book Award for Fiction, 1993
- Writer in Residence at Victoria University of WellingtonVictoria University of WellingtonVictoria University of Wellington was established in 1897 by Act of Parliament, and was a former constituent college of the University of New Zealand. It is particularly well known for its programmes in law, the humanities, and some scientific disciplines, but offers a broad range of other courses...
, WellingtonWellingtonWellington is the capital city and third most populous urban area of New Zealand, although it is likely to have surpassed Christchurch due to the exodus following the Canterbury Earthquake. It is at the southwestern tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Rimutaka Range...
in 1997 - Meridian Energy Katherine Mansfield Memorial FellowshipNew Zealand Post Katherine Mansfield PrizeThe New Zealand Post Katherine Mansfield Prize, formerly known as the Katherine Mansfield Menton Fellowship and then the Meridian Energy Katherine Mansfield Memorial Fellowship, is one of New Zealands foremost literary awards...
, 1999, to enable an NZ author to work in MentonMentonMenton is a commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France.Situated on the French Riviera, along the Franco-Italian border, it is nicknamed la perle de la France ....
, FranceFranceThe French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France... - The Vintner′s Luck winner of 1999 Deutz Medal for Fiction
- The Vintner′s Luck winner of 1999 Reader's Choice Award
- The Vintner′s Luck winner of 1999 Booksellers' Choice Award
- The Vintner′s Luck long-listed for 1999 Orange Prize for FictionOrange Prize for FictionThe Orange Prize for Fiction is one of the United Kingdom's most prestigious literary prizes, annually awarded to a female author of any nationality for the best original full-length novel written in English, and published in the United Kingdom in the preceding year...
- Elizabeth Knox recipient of Arts Foundation of New Zealand Laureate AwardArts Foundation of New ZealandA facilitator of private philanthropy, the Arts Foundation of New Zealand supports artistic excellence through its permanent Endowment Fund. Legacies and donations help grow the Fund, with income generated enabling the Foundation to support the arts....
in 2000 - The Vintner′s Luck winner of 2001 Tasmania Pacific Region Prize
- ONZM awarded to Elizabeth Knox in 2002 New ZealandNew ZealandNew Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
Queen's Birthday Honours list for her services to literature - Billie's Kiss runner-up of 2002 Deutz Medal for Fiction
- Daylight short-listed for Best Book in the South Pacific & South East Asian Region, for 2004 Commonwealth Writers Prize
- Dreamhunter short-listed for the 2006 Montana New Zealand Book AwardsMontana New Zealand Book AwardsThe New Zealand Post Book Awards are a series of literary awards to works of New Zealand citizens. They were created in 1996, as a merge of the two previously most relevant awards in New Zealand: the Montana Book Awards and the New Zealand Book Awards...
- Dreamhunter winner of 2006 Esther Glen Award
- Dreamhunter chosen as a White Raven by the International Youth Library in 2006
- Dreamhunter winner of 2007 ALA Best Books For Young Adults award
- Dreamquake Honor Book of 2008 Michael L. Printz AwardMichael L. Printz AwardThe Michael L. Printz Award is an annual award in the United States for a book that exemplifies literary excellence in young adult literature. It is named for a school librarian from Topeka, Kansas, who was a long-time active member of the Young Adult Library Services Association...
- Dreamquake winner of 2008 ALA Best Books For Young Adults award
- The Invisible Road winner of 2009 Best Collected Work, Sir Julius Vogel AwardSir Julius Vogel AwardThe Sir Julius Vogel Awards are awarded each year at the New Zealand National Science Fiction Convention to recognise achievement in New Zealand science fiction, fantasy, horror, and science fiction fandom...
The Love School Personal Essays winner of the biography section of the NZ Book Awards 2009
Publications
- After Z-Hour (1987)
- Paremata (1989)
- Treasure (1992)
- Pomare (1994)
- Glamour and the Sea (1996)
- Tawa (1998)
- The Vintner's Luck (1998)
- The High Jump (2000)
- Black Oxen (2001)
- Billie’s Kiss (2002)
- Daylight (2003)
- Dreamhunter (Book 1 of the Dreamhunter DuetDreamhunter DuetDreamhunter and Dreamquake are two New Zealand fantasy novels, written by New Zealand author Elizabeth Knox. The former title was nominated for Montana New Zealand Book Awards in 2006, and was an American Library Association best book of 2007. Dreamquake received recognition as an Honor Book for...
) (2005) - Dreamquake (Book 2 of the Dreamhunter DuetDreamhunter DuetDreamhunter and Dreamquake are two New Zealand fantasy novels, written by New Zealand author Elizabeth Knox. The former title was nominated for Montana New Zealand Book Awards in 2006, and was an American Library Association best book of 2007. Dreamquake received recognition as an Honor Book for...
) (2007) - The Love School (essays) (2008)
- The Angel's Cut (Sequel to The Vintner's Luck)(2009)
External links
- Elizabeth Knox's Website
- Biography on the New Zealand Book Council website
- Biography on Macmillan Books website
- Profile on The Arts Foundation website
- Biography on HarperCollins website
- Bibliography in the Auckland University Library's New Zealand Literature File website
- All works published at the NZETC website