Marilyn Duckworth (born 10 November 1935) is a New Zealand novelist, poet and short story writer. She has published 16 novels, one novella, a collection of short stories and a collection of poetry. She has also written for television and radio.

Early life

Duckworth was born in

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

, New Zealand, but spent the years between 1939 and 1947 in England. Her father was the psychologist and Esperantist

Cyril Adcock Cyril (also Cyrillus or Cyryl) is a masculine given name. It is derived from the Greek name Κύριλλος (''Kýrillos''), meaning 'lordly, masterful', which in turn derives from Greek κυριος (''kýrios'') 'lord'. There are various varian ...

, and her sister is the poet

Fleur Adcock Fleur Adcock (born 10 February 1934) is a New Zealand poet and editor, of English and Northern Irish ancestry, who has lived much of her life in England. She is well-represented in New Zealand poetry anthologies, was awarded an honorary doc ...

Career

Duckworth's first novel, ''A Gap in the Spectrum'', was published when she was 23. Her debut in 1959 puts her in the second generation of New Zealand novelists of the Provincial period.

Honours, awards and nominations

* 1963: New Zealand Literary Fund Award for Achievement for ''A Barbarous Tongue'' * 1985: New Zealand Book Award:Fiction for ''Disorderly Conduct'' * 1095:

Wattie Book of the Year Award The Ockham New Zealand Book Awards are literary awards presented annually in New Zealand. The awards began in 1996 as the merger of two literary awards events: the New Zealand Book Awards, which ran from 1976 to 1995, and the Goodman Fielder W ...

(shortlisted) for ''Disorderly Conduct'' * 1987: Appointed an

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

, for services to literature, in the 1987 Queen's Birthday Honours * 1996:

Commonwealth Writers' Prize Commonwealth Foundation presented a number of prizes between 1987 and 2011. The main award was called the Commonwealth Writers' Prize and was composed of two prizes: the Best Book Prize (overall and regional) was awarded from 1987 to 2011; the Best ...

(shortlisted) for ''Leather Wings'' * 2011–2012: President of Honour of the New Zealand Society of Authors NZSA/PEN NZ * 2016:

Prime Minister's Award for Literary Achievement Prime Minister's Awards for Literary Achievement is a New Zealand literary award established in 2003 by the Arts Council of New Zealand Toi Aotearoa (Creative New Zealand), the national arts development agency of the New Zealand government. Each ...

- Fiction

Fellowships and grants

* Literary Fund Scholarship in Letters (1961 and 1972) *

Katherine Mansfield Menton Fellowship The Katherine Mansfield Menton Fellowship, formerly known as the New Zealand Post Katherine Mansfield Prize and the Meridian Energy Katherine Mansfield Memorial Fellowship, is one of New Zealand's foremost literary awards. Named after Katherin ...

, Menton, France (1980) * Fulbright Visiting Writer's Fellowship, United States (1987) * Australia New Zealand Writers' Exchange Fellowship (1989) * Victoria University of Wellington Writer's Fellowship (1990) * Arts Council NZ Scholarship in Letters (1993) * Hawthornden Writing fellowship, Scotland (1994) * Sargeson Writing Fellowship, Auckland (1995) * Auckland University Literary Fellowship (1996) * Ucross Foundation Residency, Wyoming United States (1997) * Millay Arts Centre Residency, New York State United States (2001)

Selected works

* ''A Gap in the Spectrum'' (1959) * ''The Matchbox House'' (1960) * ''A Barbarous Tongue'' (1963) * ''Over the Fence Is Out'' (1969). * ''Other Lovers' Children: Poems 1958–74'' (1975) * ''Disorderly Conduct'' (1984) * ''Married Alive'' (1985) * ''Rest for the Wicked'' (1986) * ''Pulling Faces'' (1987) * ''A Message from Harpo'' (1989) * ''Explosions in the Sun'' (1989), a volume of short stories * ''Unlawful Entry'' (1992) * ''Seeing Red'' (1993) * ''Fooling'' (1994), a novella * ''Leather Wings'' (1995) * ''Cherries on a Plate: New Zealand Writers Talk About Their Sisters'' (1996 ) (editor) * ''Studmuffin'' (1997) * ''Camping on the Faultline'' (2000), a memoir * ''Swallowing Diamonds'' (2003) * ''Playing Friends'' (2007) * ''The Chiming Blue: New and Selected Poems'' (VUP, 2017)

Plays broadcast on radio

* ''Feet First'' (Radio New Zealand) (1981) * ''Home to Mother'' (Radio New Zealand) (1976) * ''A Gap in the Spectrum'' (Radio New Zealand) (1972) * ''A Barbarous Tongue'' (Radio New Zealand) (adaptation of own work for Radio New Zealand) (1973)

Television scripts

*'' Close to Home'' scripts; 5 for Television One in 1975–1976.

References

Bibliography

External links