World Literary Awards

← Back to Home

Eleanor Catton

エレノア・キャットン

Erenoa Catton

Aliases: Eleanor Frances Catton

Profile

Gender
Female
Born
1985 （London, Ontario, Canada）
Nationality
New Zealand
Languages
English
Residence History
London, Ontario, Canada (birth) → Christchurch, New Zealand (childhood) → Leeds, United Kingdom (age 13, 1 year) → Christchurch, New Zealand (student years) → Iowa, USA (graduate school) → Mount Eden, Auckland, New Zealand → Cambridge, United Kingdom (current)

Career

Occupations
novelist, screenwriter
Active Years
2007-
Nominations
Guardian First Book Award shortlist (2009, The Rehearsal), Women's Prize for Fiction longlist (2010, The Rehearsal), Walter Scott Prize shortlist (2014, The Luminaries), Giller Prize shortlist (2023, Birnam Wood), Jann Medlicott Acorn Prize for Fiction shortlist (2024, Birnam Wood)

Education

University of Canterbury
English
Degree: BA
Country: New Zealand
Victoria University of Wellington
International Institute of Modern Letters / Creative Writing
Degree: MA
Year of Graduation: 2008
Country: New Zealand
Master's thesis was The Rehearsal
Victoria University of Wellington
English
Degree: BA Hons
Year of Graduation: 2009
Country: New Zealand
University of Iowa
Iowa Writers' Workshop
Degree: MFA
Country: United States
Attended 2009-2011, taught creative writing

Awards

Adam Foundation Prize in Creative Writing
2007
Organization: Adam Foundation
Result: winner
Betty Trask Award
2009
Work: The Rehearsal
Organization: Society of Authors
Result: winner
Man Booker Prize
2013
Work: The Luminaries
Organization: Booker Prize Foundation
Result: winner
Governor General's Literary Award
2013
Work: The Luminaries
Category: 英語フィクション部門
Organization: Government General of Canada
Result: winner
New Zealand Post Book Awards
2014
Work: The Luminaries
Category: フィクション賞
Organization: New Zealand Book Awards Trust
Result: winner
Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit (MNZM)
2014
Category: 文学への貢献
Organization: New Zealand Government
Result: awarded

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

The Rehearsal

2008 Literary fiction

Explores reactions to a sex scandal at a girls' high school, paralleled with a theater rehearsal.

sexualitytheateridentity
Adaptations
  • [Film] The Rehearsal / Alison Maclean (2016)

The Luminaries

2013 Historical novel 832 pages

A mystery set during the New Zealand gold rush of 1866, structured around astrological signs and 12-year cycles.

gold rushfateastrologycolonialism
Adaptations
  • [TV miniseries] The Luminaries / Claire McCarthy (2020)

Birnam Wood

2023 Thriller

A thriller about climate activist group Birnam Wood clashing with a billionaire, inspired by Macbeth.

environmental activismcapitalismmorality

Bibliography

  • The Rehearsal
  • The Luminaries
  • Birnam Wood
  • Necropolis (short story)

Adaptations

  • The Luminaries adapted into 2020 BBC/TVNZ miniseries (screenplay by Eleanor Catton)
  • Wrote screenplay for Emma. (2020 film)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
complex narrative structuresastrological and astronomical frameworkstheatrical and script-like elementsdetailed period depictions
Recurring Motifs
fate and chancesecrets and revelationsnature and societygender and power dynamics

Legacy

Internationally acclaimed as the youngest Booker Prize winner at 28, a leading New Zealand author known for intricate novel structures. Named in Granta's Best of Young British Novelists 2023.

In Popular Culture

  • Sparked the 'Cattongate' controversy with political comments in 2015.

Trivia

  • Born in Canada but moved to New Zealand at age 6.
  • Youngest Booker Prize winner at 28.
  • No TV at home as child, avid reader from early age.
  • Related to historian Bruce Catton.
  • Established Lancewood/Horoeka Grant in 2014 to support emerging writers.