Owen Marshall Explained

Owen Marshall Jones (born 17 August 1941), who writes under the pen name Owen Marshall, is a New Zealand short story writer and novelist.

Early life and family

Marshall was born in Te Kūiti on 17 August 1941.^[1] He was the third of nine children; his father was a Methodist minister, and his mother (whose maiden name was Marshall) died when he was two. His father remarried about three years later and went on to have a further six children. The family lived in Blenheim and Timaru, and Marshall was educated at Timaru Boys' High School. He graduated from the University of Canterbury with a Master of Arts degree in English in 1964, and taught at Waitaki Boys' High School for 25 years before becoming a full-time author.^[2] Marshall is the older half-brother of Rhys Jones.^[3]

Awards and honours

In 1985 and 1988, Marshall received the Lilian Ida Smith Award (Fiction).^[4] In the 2000 New Year Honours, he was appointed an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services to literature,^[5] and in the 2012 Queen's Birthday and Diamond Jubilee Honours, he was promoted to Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit, also for services to literature.^[6] In 2013, he was the winner of the fiction section of the Prime Minister's Awards for Literary Achievement^[7]

Works

• Supper Waltz Wilson, and Other New Zealand Stories. Christchurch : Pegasus, 1979.
• The Master of Big Jingles & Other Stories. Dunedin : McIndoe, 1982.
• The Day Hemingway Died, and Other Stories. Dunedin : McIndoe, 1984.
• The Lynx Hunter, and Other Stories. Dunedin : McIndoe, 1987.
• An indirect geography [radio narrative] by Owen Marshall. 1990.
• The Divided World : Selected Stories. Dunedin : John McIndoe, 1989.
• Tomorrow We Save the Orphans : Fiction. Dunedin : John McIndoe, 1992.
• The Ace of Diamonds Gang and Other Stories: McIndoe Press, 1993.
• Timeless Land. Painter, Grahame Sydney; poet, Brian Turner; writer, Owen Marshall; with an introduction by Sam Neill. Dunedin : Longacre Press, 1995.
• The Best of Owen Marshall's Short Stories. Auckland : Random House, 1997.
• Harlequin Rex. Auckland: Vintage, 1999. (Novel)
• When Gravity Snaps. Auckland: Vintage, 2002. (Short stories)
• The Larnachs. Auckland: Vintage, 2011. (Novel, based on events in the life of William Larnach)
• Living as a Moon. Auckland: Vintage, 2011. (Short stories)
• Love as a Stranger. Auckland: Vintage, 2016. (Novel)
• Pearly Gates. Auckland: Vintage, 2019. (Novel)
• Return to Harissa Bay. Auckland: Vintage, 2022. (Short stories)

See also

• New Zealand literature

External links

• Owen Marshall website
• NZ Book Council Writer's File for Owen Marshall

Notes and References

1. Book: Lambert, Max . Who's Who in New Zealand . 12 . 1908 . 1991 . Reed . Wellington . 0790001306 . 330 .
2. Web site: Marshall, Owen. New Zealand Book Council. January 2017. 19 February 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20090626204504/https://www.bookcouncil.org.nz/Writers/Profiles/Marshall,%20Owen . 26 June 2009.
3. News: From toy soldiers to the real deal . Catherine . Masters . 11 December 2010 . . 14 June 2024.
4. Web site: Lilian Ida Smith Award Recipients. 26 November 2017.
5. Web site: New Year honours list 2000 . 31 December 1999. Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet . 18 August 2019.
6. Web site: Queen's Birthday and Diamond Jubilee honours list 2012 . 4 June 2012 . Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet . 6 June 2019.
7. Web site: Previous winners . . 24 October 2013.