Book award winners for Victoria University Press

Book award winners for Victoria University Press

Two Victoria University Press authors are the recipients of this year’s New Zealand Society of Authors (NZSA) Best First Book Awards at the New Zealand Post Book Awards announced today.

Poet Helen Heath has won the NZSA Jessie Mackay Best First Book for Poetry Award with her collection Graft, and fiction writer Lawrence Patchett has won the NZSA Hubert Church Best First Book for Fiction Award for his short story collection I Got His Blood On Me.

Victoria University Press Publisher Fergus Barrowman says: “We’re delighted that two of our first books have done so well, and congratulate both our writers on winning these prestigious awards”.

Ms Heath, whose collection features a number of poems about scientists and was also the first book of poetry to ever be shortlisted for the 2013 Royal Society of New Zealand Science Book Prize, says: “Considering the strength of many first poetry books this year, I'm immensely humbled by the judge's decision to pick Graft for this award”.

Mr Patchett, whose collection tells stories of time-travel, frontier conflict and early Pakeha and Māori relationships, says: “It’s a great boost for me and encouragement to keep writing, I’m really thrilled about it”.

Both writers are graduates of the International Institute of Modern Letters at Victoria University, with Mr Patchett holding both a Master’s and Doctorate from the Institute. Ms Heath holds a Master’s and is currently enrolled in PhD study.

ENDS

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