Michael Gifkins (1945 – 29 July 2014) was a New Zealand literary agent, short story writer, critic, publisher and editor. Having written three collections of short stories himself in the 1980s, Gifkins later represented a number of leading New Zealand writers, including
Lloyd Jones. After his death, the
New Zealand Society of Authors
The New Zealand Society of Authors (PEN New Zealand Inc.) promotes and protects the interests of New Zealand writers. It was founded as the New Zealand PEN Centre (Poets, Essays and Novelists) in 1934. It broadened its scope and became the New Ze ...
established the Michael Gifkins Prize for an Unpublished Novel which is awarded annually.
Life and career
Gifkins was born in
Wellington
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 ...
, New Zealand in 1945. He attended the
University of Auckland
, mottoeng = By natural ability and hard work
, established = 1883; years ago
, endowment = NZD $293 million (31 December 2021)
, budget = NZD $1.281 billion (31 December 2021)
, chancellor = Cecilia Tarrant
, vice_chancellor = Dawn F ...
where he later taught English literature.
As literary agent, Gifkins represented a number of leading New Zealand writers, including
Lloyd Jones and
Greg McGee
Greg McGee is a New Zealand writer and playwright, who also writes crime fiction under the pseudonym Alix Bosco.
Biography
McGee was born in 1950 in the South Island town of Oamaru. In his early 20s McGee played rugby as a Junior All Black and ...
.
As Jones' literary agent, Gifkins played a major role in the international success of both the novel and film of Jones' novel ''
Mister Pip''.
Gifkins wrote three short-story collections: ''After the Revolution'' (1982), ''Summer Is the Côte d'Azur'' (1987) and ''The Amphibians'' (1989).
His stories appeared in a number of New Zealand literary journals including ''
Landfall
Landfall is the event of a storm moving over land after being over water. More broadly, and in relation to human travel, it refers to 'the first land that is reached or seen at the end of a journey across the sea or through the air, or the fact ...
'' and ''Islands'',
and in 1984 one of his stories featured in ''Some Other Country: New Zealand's best stories'', an anthology edited by
Bill Manhire
William Manhire (born 27 December 1946) is a New Zealand poet, short story writer, emeritus professor, and New Zealand's inaugural Poet Laureate (1997–1998). He founded New Zealand's first creative writing course at Victoria University of Well ...
and Marion McLeod. He also edited and published a number of anthologies, beginning with ''The Gramophone Room'' (with
C. K. Stead in 1983) and ''Listener Short Stories 3'' (1984),
and including ''Through The Looking Glass'' (1988), in which he collected the childhood recollections of 20 well-known New Zealanders.
In 1982,
Owen Marshall reviewed Gifkins' first collection for ''
The Press
''The Press'' is a daily newspaper published in Christchurch, New Zealand owned by media business Stuff Ltd. First published in 1861, the newspaper is the largest circulating daily in the South Island and publishes Monday to Saturday. One comm ...
''. He described Gifkins' writing as having a contemporary, modern focus, with several of the stories dealing with "the questing, mobile lifestyle of young adults". he also noted that the stories had an authentic New Zealand character and setting.
In a review of Gifkins' second collection, Marshall described Gifkins as "that rare creature among contemporary writers — the short story specialist" and noted that his short stories often featured "wit and urbanity", but also "a sense of individual distance which is almost sadness".
In 1985 Gifkins was the
Katherine Mansfield Memorial Fellow in
Menton, France
Menton (; , written ''Menton'' in classical norm or ''Mentan'' in Mistralian norm; it, Mentone ) is a commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region on the French Riviera, close to the Italian border.
Mento ...
. He described it as his "first taste" of an
OE (overseas experience), and used the time to work on his third short story collection.
Gifkins was the Writer-in-Residence at the University of Auckland in 1983, and won the
Lilian Ida Smith Award for fiction in 1989. He was a member of the
New Zealand Society of Authors
The New Zealand Society of Authors (PEN New Zealand Inc.) promotes and protects the interests of New Zealand writers. It was founded as the New Zealand PEN Centre (Poets, Essays and Novelists) in 1934. It broadened its scope and became the New Ze ...
(PEN NZ Inc) from 1982 until his death.
He died on 29 July 2014.
Legacy
The Michael Gifkins Prize for an Unpublished Novel has been awarded annually by the New Zealand Society of Authors since 2018. The recipient receives a publishing contract from
Text Publishing
Text Publishing is an independent Australian publisher of fiction and non-fiction, based in Melbourne, Victoria.
Company background
Text Media was founded in Melbourne in 1990 by Diana Gribble and Eric Beecher, along with designer Chong Weng ...
and an advance in the value of 10,000.
Michael Heywood of Text Publishing said of Gifkins: "
ewas kind, wise and generous. A gifted writer himself, he was a fine agent, and completely committed to the cause of New Zealand literature. He loved his writers. He challenged them, spurred them on, and caught them when they fell".
References
External links
Michael Gifkinsat the
New Zealand Electronic Text Collection
The New Zealand Electronic Text Collection (NZETC; mi, Te Pūhikotuhi o Aotearoa) is a freely accessible online archive of New Zealand and Pacific Islands texts and heritage materials that are held by the Victoria University of Wellington Library ...
archive
Michael Gifkins profile at the
Arts Foundation of New Zealand
'The Arts Foundation of New Zealand Te Tumu Toi is a New Zealand arts organisation that supports artistic excellence and facilitates private philanthropy through raising funds for the arts and allocating it to New Zealand artists.
The concept ...
website
Michael Gifkins Prizeat the Text Publishing website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gifkins, Michael
1945 births
2014 deaths
Literary agents
New Zealand male short story writers
20th-century New Zealand short story writers
New Zealand editors
University of Auckland alumni