Damien Wilkins (born 1963

Lower Hutt, New Zealand Lower Hutt ( mi, Te Awa Kairangi ki Tai) is a city in the Wellington Region of New Zealand. Administered by the Hutt City Council, it is one of the four cities that constitute the Wellington metropolitan area. It is New Zealand's sixth most p ...

) is a New Zealand novelist, short story writer, and poet. He is the director of the

International Institute of Modern Letters The International Institute of Modern Letters (IIML) ( mi, Te Pūtahi Tuhi Auaha o te Ao) is a centre of creative writing based within Victoria University of Wellington. Founded in 2001, the IIML offers undergraduate and postgraduate courses (i ...

at Victoria University of Wellington.

Life

He was graduated from

Victoria University of Wellington Victoria University of Wellington ( mi, Te Herenga Waka) is a university in Wellington, New Zealand. It was established in 1897 by Act of Parliament, and was a constituent college of the University of New Zealand. The university is well know ...

in 1984. He was assistant editor at Victoria University Press in 1988. He graduated from

Washington University in St. Louis Washington University in St. Louis (WashU or WUSTL) is a private research university with its main campus in St. Louis County, and Clayton, Missouri. Founded in 1853, the university is named after George Washington. Washington University is r ...

with an MFA. Since 1992 he has been a writing tutor in

Wellington, New Zealand Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by metr ...

. His notable doctoral students have included

Pip Adam Pip Adam is a novelist, short story writer, and reviewer from New Zealand. Background Adam was born in Christchurch, New Zealand. She attended the New Zealand Film and Television School in Christchurch before moving to Dunedin. Adam has an MA ...

, Michalia Arathimos, and Gigi Fenster. Since 2014 he has been the director of the

. His work has appeared in ''

Sport Sport pertains to any form of Competition, competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and Skill, skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to specta ...

''. He is also a singer and songwriter who has released songs through his project the Close Readers. Previously, he had played in the band the Jonahs in the 1980s.

Awards

* 1989 Heinemann Reed Fiction Award * 1992

Whiting Award The Whiting Award is an American award presented annually to ten emerging writers in fiction, nonfiction, poetry and plays. The award is sponsored by the Mrs. Giles Whiting Foundation Mrs. (American English) or Mrs (British English; standard E ...

* 1994 New Zealand Book Award for Fiction * 2013 Arts Foundation of New Zealand Laureate Award * 2020 Young Adult Fiction Award,

New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults The New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults are a series of literary awards presented annually to recognise excellence in children and young adult's literature in New Zealand. The awards began in 1982 as the New Zealand Governm ...

Works

Novels

* ** *''Little Masters'' Wellington, New Zealand: Victoria University Press, 1996 ** *''Nineteen Windows under Ash''. Wellington, New Zealand: Victoria University Press, 2000. . * *''The Fainter''. Wellington, New Zealand: Victoria University Press, 2006. . *''Somebody Loves Us All''. Wellington, New Zealand: Victoria University Press, 2009. . *''Max Gate''. Wellington, New Zealand: Victoria University Press, 2013. . * ''Dad Art''. Wellington, New Zealand: Victoria University Press, 2016. . * ''Lifting''. Wellington, New Zealand: Victoria University Press, 2017. . * ''Aspiring.'' Auckland, New Zealand: Massey University Press, 2020.

Short stories

* *

Poetry

Anthologies

Plays and scripts

* ''Duggan.'' Television series. * ''Insiders Guide to Happiness.'' Television series. * ''Drinking Games.'' Stage play.

Editor

* ''Great Sporting Moments: The best of Sport magazine 1988-2004'', Victoria University Press, 2005.

Albums

*''Group Hug'' (Austin, 2011) *''The Lines Are Open'' (Austin, 2014)

References

External links

Profile at The Whiting Foundation
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wilkins, Damien 1963 births New Zealand male novelists Victoria University of Wellington alumni Living people Academic staff of Victoria University of Wellington People from Lower Hutt 20th-century New Zealand novelists 21st-century New Zealand novelists Washington University in St. Louis alumni