World Literary Awards

← Back to Home

Catherine Chidgey

キャサリン・チッジー

Kyasarin Chijī

Profile

Gender
Female
Born
1970-04-08 （Auckland）
Nationality
New Zealand
Languages
English, German
Religion
Unknown
Residence History
Auckland (birthplace) → Hutt Valley (childhood) → Hamilton (current)

Career

Occupations
Novelist, University lecturer
Active Years
1998-2025
Affiliations
University of Waikato, Manukau Institute of Technology
Influenced By
Bill Manhire
Nominations
Ockham New Zealand Book Awards shortlist (Remote Sympathy), International Dublin Literary Award longlists multiple

Education

Victoria University of Wellington
Faculty of Science / Psychology
Degree: BSc
Period: 1990年代初頭
Country: New Zealand
Victoria University of Wellington
Faculty of Humanities / German Language and Literature
Degree: BA
Period: 1990年代
Country: New Zealand
Freie Universität Berlin
German Studies
Period: 1993
Country: Germany
German Academic Exchange Service scholarship
Victoria University of Wellington
Faculty of Creative Arts / Creative Writing
Degree: MA
Period: 1997
Year of Graduation: 1997
Country: New Zealand
Under Bill Manhire

Awards

Hubert Church Award
1998
Work: In a Fishbone Church
Category: 最優秀新人小説賞
Organization: New Zealand Book Awards
Result: 受賞
Commonwealth Writers' Prize
1999
Work: In a Fishbone Church
Category: 最優秀新人賞 (南東アジア・太平洋地域)
Organization: Commonwealth Writers' Prize
Result: 受賞
Acorn Foundation Fiction Prize
2017
Work: The Wish Child
Organization: Ockham New Zealand Book Awards
Result: 受賞
Janet Frame Fiction Prize
2017
Work: The Wish Child
Result: 受賞
Jann Medlicott Acorn Prize for Fiction
2023
Work: The Axeman's Carnival
Organization: Ockham New Zealand Book Awards
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

In a Fishbone Church

1998 Fiction

Debut novel set in a remote island community in New Zealand.

IsolationCommunityHuman relationships

Golden Deeds

2000 Fiction

Novel exploring complex human relationships.

Human strengthFriendship

The Transformation

2003 Fiction

Story of a Parisian wig-maker fleeing to Florida in the 1890s.

TransformationHorror

The Wish Child

2016 Historical Fiction

Moving story set in Nazi Germany.

WarHopeLoss

The Beat of the Pendulum

2017 Found Poetry Novel

Experimental novel compiled from a year's worth of news articles and more.

Everyday lifeMedia

Remote Sympathy

2020 Historical Fiction

Intersecting stories of former Nazis and Holocaust survivors in Nazi Germany.

MoralityHumanity

The Axeman's Carnival

2022 Fiction

Story of a farming couple narrated by a magpie in Central Otago.

NatureRelationships

Pet

2023 Thriller

Psychological thriller about a 12-year-old girl and her teacher.

TrustBetrayal

The Book of Guilt

2025 Dystopian Fiction

Dystopian tale of triplets in an alternate 1970s England.

HumanityDehumanisation

Bibliography

  • In a Fishbone Church
  • Golden Deeds
  • The Transformation
  • The Wish Child
  • The Beat of the Pendulum
  • Remote Sympathy
  • The Axeman's Carnival
  • Pet
  • The Book of Guilt
  • Jiffy, Cat Detective
  • Jiffy's Greatest Hits

Translations by Author

  • Translated over a dozen German children's picture books for Gecko Press

Style & Themes

Literary Style
LyricalRefined proseExperimental
Recurring Motifs
Nazi GermanyHuman relationshipsTransformation

Health

  • Infertility
    2003-2015頃
    Paused writing career

Legacy

Leading contemporary New Zealand novelist, winner of multiple major literary awards and internationally acclaimed.

Trivia

  • Senior lecturer in creative writing at University of Waikato.
  • Founded the Sargeson Prize.
  • Completed MA in Creative Writing under Bill Manhire.