Elizabeth Knox Explained

Elizabeth Knox
Birth Date:1959 2, df=yes
Birth Place:Wellington, New Zealand
Occupation:Writer
Nationality:New Zealander
Period:1987–
Notableworks:The Vintner's Luck (1998)
Spouse:Fergus Barrowman
Children:1

Elizabeth Fiona Knox (born 15 February 1959) is a New Zealand writer. She has authored several novels for both adults and teenagers, autobiographical novellas, and a collection of essays. One of her best-known works is The Vintner's Luck (1998), which won several awards, has been published in ten languages,[1] and was made into a film of the same name by Niki Caro in 2009. Knox is also known for her young adult literary fantasy series, Dreamhunter Duet. Her most recent novels are Mortal Fire and Wake, both published in 2013, and The Absolute Book, published in 2019.

Early life

Knox was born in Wellington, New Zealand. She and her two sisters were raised by atheist parents in a household where religion was often debated.[2] They spent their childhood living in various small suburbs of Wellington, including Pomare, Wadestown, Waikanae and Paremata.[1] She went to high school at Tawa College, and later published a trilogy of novellas that were influenced by her childhood experiences of living in and around Wellington.[3] [4]

Knox enjoyed inventing stories as a child, and was an avid reader,[5] but had difficulties with writing because she was slightly dyslexic. 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.[6] It became an elaborate imaginary world with many characters, intricate plot lines, and involvements. When she was sixteen, Knox's father overheard a discussion between her, her sisters, and Carol regarding the consequences of a secret treaty set in their imaginary world and remarked that he hoped they were writing this down.[1] Following this, they all tried "writing stories about, letters between, and poems by their characters"[6] and Knox enjoyed it so much that she decided she would like to be a writer.[7]

Career

Early career: 1983–1997

In 1983, when Knox was 24, she started a degree in English Literature at Victoria University of Wellington. A year later, she started work on After Z-Hour in Bill Manhire's Original Composition course at Victoria.[1] The novel is about the ghost of a World War I soldier, and it was inspired by a childhood memory; at age eleven Knox fell from a walnut tree on Anzac Day, and while in the hospital she overheard a conversation between an older man and her father about Passchendaele and life on the Salient in 1917.[8] 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,[9] and Knox graduated from Victoria University of Wellington the same year. She was also awarded the ICI Young Writers Bursary award that year.[1]

In 1988 Knox, Fergus Barrowman, Nigel Cox, and Damien Wilkins, with the help of Bill Manhire, Alan Preston and Andrew Mason, co-founded the literary journal Sport.[10] Knox was one of its editors and has been a frequent contributor to the magazine.

Her second and third novels, Treasure (1992)[11] and Glamour and the Sea (1996),[12] were both set in Wellington; the former was about a religious community while the latter was a mystery novel set in the 1940s. Alongside these novels, Knox also wrote a trilogy of novellas based on her own experiences growing up in Wellington: Paremata (1989), Pomare (1994), and Tawa (1998), later published in the compilation The High Jump: A New Zealand Childhood (2000). She was the recipient of the Victoria University of Wellington Writing Fellowship in 1997.[13]

The Vintner's Luck and other work: 1998–2010

Knox's fourth full-length novel, The Vintner's Luck, was published in 1998,[14] and was her first book to be published outside New Zealand.[15] It chronicles the life of a peasant winemaker, Sobran Jodeau, and his relationship with the fallen angel Xas. The novel is set in 19th-century Burgundy, France, and spans 55 years. It was inspired by a feverish dream experienced by Knox when she had pneumonia. The Vintner's Luck won Knox widespread critical acclaim and numerous awards, and it raised her profile within New Zealand and overseas. It sold over 60,000 copies in New Zealand alone and in 2018, readers of The Spinoff voted it as the best New Zealand novel of the last 50 years.[16]

After the success of The Vintner's Luck, and spending part of 1999 in Menton, France as the recipient of the Meridian Energy Katherine Mansfield Memorial Fellowship,[17] three novels by Knox were published in quick succession: Black Oxen (2001),[18] [19] Billie's Kiss (2002),[20] [21] and Daylight (2003).[22] [23] Daylight, a novel about vampires created by a virus, received praise from reviewers and did well overseas.[24] Academic Erin Mercer notes that the novel reflects international Gothic and supernatural literary traditions as well as New Zealand fiction's more realistic approach.[24]

In 2002, Knox was appointed an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit in the 2002 Queen's Birthday and Golden Jubilee Honours, for services to literature.[25]

Knox's first young adult books, Dreamhunter and Dreamquake, were published in 2005 and 2007 respectively, as the Dreamhunter Duet series.[26] [27] Jolisa Gracewood, reviewing Dreamquake, described the book as a "Mansfield-meets-Mahy fantasy" and praised Knox for her audacious imagination and ingeniously constructed tales.[28] In 2008, she published a collection of non-fiction, The Love School: Personal Essays, which was shortlisted in the 2009 Montana New Zealand Book Awards.[29] Since 2013 a quotation from The Love School has been featured on a concrete plaque forming part of the Wellington Writers Walk, a series of quotations installed along the Wellington waterfront.[30]

In 2009 the film adaptation of 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.[31] Knox was disappointed at the direction the movie took as she felt 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.[32] Her sister Sara, who is gay, was also upset about the film version.[33] Knox's bad experience with the film made her pull out of a potential film contract with New Zealand filmmaker Jonathan King for her young adult fantasy series, The Dreamhunter Duet.[2] [34]

That same year, Knox published The Angel's Cut,[35] a sequel to The Vintner's Luck. The story follows the tale of Xas after the events of the first book and is set in 1930s Hollywood. At the time she said that she was intending to write a third book in the series, The Angel's Reserve, set in contemporary times, but as of 2020 it has not yet been published.[36]

Later career

In 2013, Mortal Fire was published,[37] a young adult novel described by Paula Green as "a modern fairy story without fairies, full of breathtaking magic and visual detail",[38] and Wake,[39] a horror novel for adults. The Guardian said in its review: "Knox keeps the monster off stage and examines the psychological consequences of its depredations on the survivors, subverting the norms of the horror genre and thus making the ambiguous finale all the more startling."[40] The publication of both books in the same year caused some confusion, with New Zealand bookstore Whitcoulls inadvertently shelving Wake in the children's section and listing it as a "great gift for kids".[41]

Since 2016, Knox has taught a world-building writing workshop at Victoria University.

In 2019, The Absolute Book was published,[42] a fantasy novel that won critical acclaim both in New Zealand and overseas.[43] The book attracted particular attention after a January 2020 book review by Slate writer Dan Kois headlined "This New Zealand Fantasy Masterpiece Needs to Be Published in America, Like, Now".[44] The book was subsequently acquired by overseas publishers. It was published in the US and Canada in February 2021,[45] [46] [47] and in the UK in March 2021.[48] Kirkus Reviews wrote: "This darkly luminous fantasy reads like a mystery, thoroughly and wonderfully transporting readers to another world."[49] The Times described the novel as "bursting with imagination" and "a bewitching, frustrating, strange and perverse novel".[50] Nina Allan, reviewing the novel for The Guardian, said it "has the feel of an instant classic" and "is everything fantasy should be: original, magical, well read". She praised the diverse characters and the book's "genuine feeling of jeopardy".[51] It was listed as one of the best science fiction and fantasy books of 2021 by The New York Times.[52]

In June 2020, Knox was promoted to Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services to literature, in the 2020 Queen's Birthday Honours.[53] She said that on receiving the award her first thought was that her parents would have been amused, given her lack of writing ability as a child.

Honours and awards

Fellowships and honours

Prizes for individual books

Personal life

As of 2020 Knox lives in Wellington and is married to Fergus Barrowman, a publisher at Victoria University Press. They have a son, Jack Barrowman.[73] Barrowman and Knox met when he was involved in publishing her first book, After Z-Hour (1987).[74]

Selected works

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Elizabeth Knox . 6 April 2010 . . https://web.archive.org/web/20100108171944/http://us.macmillan.com/author/elizabethknox . 8 January 2010 . live .
  2. News: Year of hell for writer Elizabeth Knox . 6 April 2010 . Noonan, Kathleen . 30 October 2009 . The Courier-Mail.
  3. Web site: Knox, Elizabeth . Read NZ Te Pou Muramura . https://web.archive.org/web/20201117184356/https://www.read-nz.org/writer/knox-elizabeth/ . 17 November 2020 . live.
  4. Book: Knox . Elizabeth . The high jump : a New Zealand childhood . 2000 . Victoria University Press . Wellington [N.Z.] . 978-0-8647-3337-5.
  5. News: Green . Kate . QB HONOURS - Wellington author Elizabeth Knox awarded Queen's Birthday honours . 17 November 2020 . Dominion Post . 1 June 2020.
  6. Web site: Origins, Authority and Imaginary Games . 6 April 2010 . Knox, Elizabeth . 1988 . Sport . https://web.archive.org/web/20110203132831/http://www.nzetc.org/tm/scholarly/tei-Ba01Spo-_div1-N11E84.html#n110 . 3 February 2011 . live .
  7. Web site: Starling . 6 April 2010 . Knox, Elizabeth . 2002 . Sport . https://web.archive.org/web/20100525041604/http://www.nzetc.org/tm/scholarly/tei-Ba28Spo-t1-body-d15.html . 25 May 2010 . live .
  8. Web site: On Being Picked Up . 6 April 2010 . Knox, Elizabeth . 2000 . Sport . https://web.archive.org/web/20100525052429/http://www.nzetc.org/tm/scholarly/tei-Ba24Spo-t1-body-d7.html . 25 May 2010 . live .
  9. Book: Knox . Elizabeth . After Z-hour . 1987 . Victoria University Press . Wellington [N.Z.] . 978-0-8647-3070-1.
  10. Web site: About Sport . 6 April 2010 . Sport . https://web.archive.org/web/20090216225358/http://sportmagazine.org/sport34/about.htm . 16 February 2009 . dead .
  11. Book: Knox . Elizabeth . Treasure . 1992 . Victoria University Press . Wellington [N.Z.] . 978-0-8647-3228-6.
  12. Book: Knox . Elizabeth . Glamour and the sea . 1996 . Victoria University Press . Wellington [N.Z.] . 978-0-8647-3305-4.
  13. Book: Knox . Elizabeth . Robinson . Roger . Writing Wellington: Twenty Years of Victoria University Writing Fellows . 1999 . Victoria University Press . Wellington, NZ . 18 November 2020 . 1997 Elizabeth Knox.
  14. Book: Knox . Elizabeth . The Vintner's luck . 1998 . Victoria University Press . Wellington . 978-0-8647-3677-2.
  15. Web site: Elizabeth Knox - Biography . Penguin Books (UK) . 21 March 2021.
  16. News: Winner of our great book prize announced as Elizabeth Knox is proved most popular author of all times . 10 February 2021 . The Spinoff . 24 April 2018.
  17. Web site: Mansfield Prize Fellows . 6 April 2010 . Mansfield Prize . https://web.archive.org/web/20100506121215/http://www.mansfieldprize.org/fellows.html . 6 May 2010 . live .
  18. Book: Knox . Elizabeth . Black oxen . 2001 . Farrar, Straus and Giroux . New York . 978-0-3741-1405-3 . 1st.
  19. News: May . Sarah . Leaps of faith . 17 November 2020 . The Guardian . 11 August 2001.
  20. Book: Knox . Elizabeth . Billie's kiss . 2002 . Ballantine . New York . 978-0-3454-5052-4 . 1st.
  21. News: Thomson . Margie . Elizabeth Knox: Billie's Kiss . 17 November 2020 . NZ Herald . 28 February 2001.
  22. Book: Knox . Elizabeth . Daylight . 2003 . Random House Ballantine . New York, N.Y. . 978-0-3454-5795-0 . 1st.
  23. News: Thomson . Margie . Elizabeth Knox: Daylight . 17 November 2020 . NZ Herald . 27 March 2003.
  24. Mercer . Erin . 'Slumming Among the Gravestones': Elizabeth Knox's "Daylight" and the New Zealand Canon . Journal of New Zealand Literature . 2013 . 31 . 130–149 . 41939307 . 19 August 2023.
  25. Web site: Queen's Birthday and Golden Jubilee honours list 2002 . 3 June 2002 . Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet . 25 June 2020.
  26. Book: Knox . Elizabeth . Dreamhunter . 2005 . Fourth Estate . Sydney . 9780732281939.
  27. Book: Knox . Elizabeth . Dreamquake . 2007 . Fourth Estate . Auckland [N.Z.] . 978-0-7322-8194-6.
  28. Web site: Book of Revelations . 6 April 2010 . Gracewood, Jolisa . 10 February 2007 . . https://web.archive.org/web/20091110220246/http://www.listener.co.nz/issue/3483/artsbooks/8103/book_of_revelations.html . 10 November 2009 . live .
  29. Book: Knox . Elizabeth . The love school : personal essays . 2008 . Victoria University Press . Wellington, New Zealand . 978-0-8647-3592-8 . 17 November 2020.
  30. Web site: Wellington Writers Walk Quotation Unveiling. Mateparae. Sir Jerry. 21 March 2013. Office of the Governor-General. 26 November 2020.
  31. Web site: Vintner's Luck movie gets critical panning . 16 September 2009 . . Davison, Isaac . 21 September 2009 . https://web.archive.org/web/20121022223608/http://www.nzherald.co.nz/entertainment/news/article.cfm?c_id=1501119&objectid=10597570 . 22 October 2012 . live .
  32. News: Author cried over Vintner's Luck film . 6 April 2010 . Fitzsimons, Tom . 19 October 2009 . . https://web.archive.org/web/20100526120004/http://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/3076674/Author-cried-over-Vintners-Luck-film . 26 May 2010 . live .
  33. News: Gay romance gloss-over upsets author's sister . 6 April 2010 . Broun, Britton . Chapman, Katie . 20 October 2009 . . https://web.archive.org/web/20091130223431/http://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/books/3080802/Gay-romance-gloss-over-upsets-authors-sister . 30 November 2009 . live .
  34. Web site: Elizabeth Knox interview . 6 April 2010 . Hunter, Kathy . 20 October 2005 . LeafSalon . https://web.archive.org/web/20110719182044/http://www.leafsalon.co.nz/archives/000795elizabeth_knox_interview.html . 19 July 2011 . dead .
  35. Book: Knox . Elizabeth . The angel's cut . 2009 . Victoria University Press . Wellington [N.Z.] . 978-0-8647-3600-0.
  36. News: Linnell . Christine . Elizabeth Knox on The Angel's Cut . 17 November 2020 . The Lumière Reader . 12 October 2009.
  37. Book: Knox . Elizabeth . Mortal fire . 2013 . Farrar, Straus and Giroux . New York . 9780374388317 . First.
  38. News: Green . Paula . Book Review: Mortal Fire . 17 November 2020 . NZ Herald . 7 June 2013.
  39. Book: Knox . Elizabeth . Wake . 2013 . Victoria University Press . Wellington, NZ . 978-0-8647-3770-0.
  40. News: Brown . Eric . The best science fiction novels in April – review roundup . 17 November 2020 . The Guardian . 10 April 2015.
  41. News: Downes . Siobhan . Horror novel in kids' section . 17 November 2020 . Stuff.co.nz . 23 December 2013.
  42. Book: Knox . Elizabeth . The absolute book . 2019 . Victoria University Press . Wellington, New Zealand . 978-1-7765-6230-5.
  43. News: Downes . Siobhan . Kiwi author Elizabeth Knox's The Absolute Book makes waves overseas . 17 November 2020 . Stuff.co.nz . 14 February 2020.
  44. News: Kois . Dan . This New Zealand Fantasy Masterpiece Needs to Be Published in America, Like, Now . 17 November 2020 . Slate . 29 January 2020.
  45. News: Cowdrey . Katherine . MJ bags Knox's The Absolute Book . 17 November 2020 . The Bookseller . 19 October 2020.
  46. Web site: The Absolute Book . Penguin Random House (US) . 19 February 2021.
  47. Web site: The Absolute Book . Penguin Random House (CA) . 19 February 2021.
  48. Web site: The Absolute Book . Penguin Random House (UK) . 19 February 2021.
  49. THE ABSOLUTE BOOK . Kirkus Reviews . 15 November 2020 . 19 February 2021.
  50. News: Ditum . Sarah . The Absolute Book by Elizabeth Knox review — this tale is away with the fairies . 21 March 2021 . The Times . 20 March 2021.
  51. News: Allan . Nina . The Absolute Book by Elizabeth Knox review – an instant classic . 25 March 2021 . The Guardian . 25 March 2021.
  52. News: El-Mohtar . Amal . The Best Science Fiction and Fantasy Books of 2021 . 8 December 2021 . The New York Times . 8 December 2021.
  53. Web site: Queen's Birthday honours list 2020 . 1 June 2020 . Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet . 1 June 2020.
  54. Web site: Writer in Residence . 6 April 2010 . . https://web.archive.org/web/20100420081701/http://www.victoria.ac.nz/modernletters/about/residence/#previous . 20 April 2010 . live .
  55. Web site: Laureate Awards . 6 April 2010 . . https://web.archive.org/web/20100415210137/http://www.thearts.co.nz/laureate_award.php . 15 April 2010 . live .
  56. News: Elizabeth Knox to receive Michael King Writer's Fellowship . 18 November 2020 . News . Manatū Taonga - the Ministry for Culture and Heritage . 15 May 2014.
  57. Web site: University alumnae win Prime Minister's Awards for Fiction and Poetry . Victoria University of Wellington . 17 November 2020 . 8 October 2019.
  58. Web site: Wellington.scoop.co.nz » 2800 students in VUW graduation ceremonies this week. 2021-07-26. en.
  59. Web site: Wellington. Victoria University of. 2020-08-11. Acclaimed New Zealand writer to receive honorary doctorate News Victoria University of Wellington. 2021-07-26. www.wgtn.ac.nz. en.
  60. Web site: New Zealand Book Awards – Winners 1999 . 6 April 2010 . Booksellers . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20100119073757/http://www.booksellers.co.nz/awards/new-zealand-post-book-awards-adults/new-zealand-book-awards-winners-1999 . 19 January 2010 .
  61. Web site: Orange 1999 Longlist . 6 April 2010 . Orange.
  62. Web site: New Zealand Book Awards – Winners 2002 . 6 April 2010 . Booksellers . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20100118131815/http://www.booksellers.co.nz/awards/new-zealand-post-book-awards-adults/new-zealand-book-awards-winners-2002 . 18 January 2010 .
  63. Web site: Montana New Zealand Book Awards . 6 April 2010 . . https://web.archive.org/web/20100522041751/http://www.christchurchcitylibraries.com/Literature/Prizes/MontanaNZ/ . 22 May 2010 . live .
  64. Web site: LIANZA Esther Glen Junior Fiction Award . Christchurch City Libraries . 17 November 2020.
  65. Web site: White Ravens: 2006 . 6 April 2010 . . https://web.archive.org/web/20110719102548/http://www.childrenslibrary.org/servlet/WhiteRavens?title=2006&where=year=2006 . 19 July 2011 . live .
  66. Web site: 2007 BBYA List with Annotations . 6 April 2010 . . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20110213181734/http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/yalsa/booklistsawards/bestbooksya/annotations/07bbya.cfm . 13 February 2011 .
  67. Web site: Michael L. Printz Winners and Honor Books . 6 April 2010 . . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20110208112010/http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/yalsa/booklistsawards/printzaward/previouswinners/winners.cfm . 8 February 2011 .
  68. Web site: 2008 BBYA List with Annotations . 6 April 2010 . . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20100210200354/http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/yalsa/booklistsawards/bestbooksya/annotations/08bbya.cfm . 10 February 2010 .
  69. Web site: Sir Julius Vogel Award Results – 2009 . 6 April 2010 . . https://web.archive.org/web/20100314165439/http://sffanz.sf.org.nz/sjv/sjvResults-2009.shtml . 14 March 2010 . live .
  70. News: Kellogg . Carolyn . Announcing the L.A. Times Book Prize finalists for 2013 . 18 November 2020 . Los Angeles Times . 19 February 2014.
  71. Web site: Past Winners: 2014 . New Zealand Book Awards . 18 November 2020.
  72. Book: English / New Zealand - Mortal fire . The White Ravens Database . 18 November 2020.
  73. News: Green . Kate . QB HONOURS - Wellington author Elizabeth Knox awarded Queen's Birthday honours . 17 November 2020 . Dominion Post . 1 June 2020.
  74. News: Catherall . Sarah . Us Two: writer Elizabeth Knox and her husband, publisher Fergus Barrowman . 19 November 2020 . Stuff.co.nz . 1 October 2017.

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