Kiriyama Prize
1 appearances
-
Edition 8 (2001) Winner
Patricia Grace
パトリシア・フランシス・グレース
Patricia Grace
Aliases:
Patricia Frances Gunson
Profile
- Gender
- Female
- Born
- 1937-08-17 （Wellington, New Zealand）
- Nationality
- New Zealand
- Languages
- English, Māori
- Residence History
- Melrose (Wellington suburb) → Hongoeka (ancestral land)
Career
- Occupations
- Writer, Teacher
- Active Years
- 1962-
- Affiliations
- Haeata (founding member of Māori women artists' collective), Te Hā (founding member of Māori writers' collective)
- Memberships
- Haeata, Te Hā
Education
| Institution | Faculty | Department | Degree | Period | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| St Anne's School (Wellington) | — | — | — | — | New Zealand |
| St Mary's College (Wellington) | — | — | — | — | New Zealand |
| Wellington Teachers' Training College | — | — | — | — | New Zealand |
St Anne's School (Wellington)
Country:
New Zealand
St Mary's College (Wellington)
Country:
New Zealand
Excelled at basketball in secondary school
Wellington Teachers' Training College
Country:
New Zealand
Training that underpinned her teaching career
Awards
| Year | Award | Work | Category | Organization | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1975 | Hubert Church Memorial Award (Best First Book of Fiction) | Waiariki | 最優秀処女作 | PEN NZ (New Zealand Society of Authors) | Winner |
| 1987 | New Zealand Book Award for Fiction | Potiki | フィクション | New Zealand Book Awards | Winner |
| 2001 | Kiriyama Prize (Fiction) | Dogside Story | フィクション | Kiriyama Prize | Winner |
| 2005 | Montana New Zealand Book Awards (Deutz Medal / Montana Award for Fiction) | Tu | フィクション | Montana New Zealand Book Awards | Winner |
| 2005 | Icon Award | — | — | Arts Foundation of New Zealand | Winner |
| 2006 | Prime Minister's Award for Literary Achievement | — | — | New Zealand Government | Recipient |
| 2007 | Distinguished Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit | — | — | New Zealand Order of Merit (government) | Appointed |
| 1988 | Companion of the Queen's Service Order | — | — | New Zealand Government | Appointed |
| 2008 | Neustadt International Prize for Literature | — | — | Neustadt Prize | Winner |
| 1989 | Honorary Doctorate of Literature (Victoria University of Wellington) | — | — | Victoria University of Wellington | Honorary degree |
| 2016 | Honorary Doctorate of Letters (World Indigenous Nations University) | — | — | World Indigenous Nations University | Honorary degree |
| 2016 | Te Kura Pounamu Award (Best Māori Language Work) | Haka / Whiti te Rā! | 子ども向け（マオリ語） | New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults | Winner |
Hubert Church Memorial Award (Best First Book of Fiction)
1975
Work:
Waiariki
Category:
最優秀処女作
Organization:
PEN NZ (New Zealand Society of Authors)
Result:
Winner
New Zealand Book Award for Fiction
1987
Work:
Potiki
Category:
フィクション
Organization:
New Zealand Book Awards
Result:
Winner
Kiriyama Prize (Fiction)
2001
Work:
Dogside Story
Category:
フィクション
Organization:
Kiriyama Prize
Result:
Winner
Montana New Zealand Book Awards (Deutz Medal / Montana Award for Fiction)
2005
Work:
Tu
Category:
フィクション
Organization:
Montana New Zealand Book Awards
Result:
Winner
Icon Award
2005
Organization:
Arts Foundation of New Zealand
Result:
Winner
Prime Minister's Award for Literary Achievement
2006
Organization:
New Zealand Government
Result:
Recipient
Distinguished Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit
2007
Organization:
New Zealand Order of Merit (government)
Result:
Appointed
Companion of the Queen's Service Order
1988
Organization:
New Zealand Government
Result:
Appointed
Neustadt International Prize for Literature
2008
Organization:
Neustadt Prize
Result:
Winner
Honorary Doctorate of Literature (Victoria University of Wellington)
1989
Organization:
Victoria University of Wellington
Result:
Honorary degree
Honorary Doctorate of Letters (World Indigenous Nations University)
2016
Organization:
World Indigenous Nations University
Result:
Honorary degree
Te Kura Pounamu Award (Best Māori Language Work)
2016
Work:
Haka / Whiti te Rā!
Category:
子ども向け（マオリ語）
Organization:
New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults
Result:
Winner
Awards & Nominations
Ockham New Zealand Book Awards
1 appearances
-
Edition 10 (2005) Winner
Prime Minister's Awards for Literary Achievement
1 appearances
-
Edition 4 (2006) Winner
Neustadt International Prize for Literature
1 appearances
-
Edition 20 (2008) Winner
Works
Major Works
Waiariki
1975 Short story collectionOne of the first short story collections published by a female Māori writer, exploring diverse aspects of Māori life.
FamilyCultureMāori society
Mutuwhenua: The Moon Sleeps
1978 NovelA novel about the relationship between a Māori woman and a Pākehā man, exploring cross-cultural experiences.
Cross-cultural relationshipsFamily
Potiki
1986 NovelCenters on a Māori community opposing private development of their ancestral land; notable for use of Māori language without glossing.
LandCultural heritageCommunity
Translations
- Potiki (translated into multiple languages)
Cousins
1992 NovelA family saga focusing on three cousins, dealing with whakapapa (family history) and the effects of New Zealand history on Māori families.
Family historyWhakapapaSocial issues
Adaptations
- [Film] Cousins (film) / Ainsley Gardiner、Briar Grace-Smith (2021)
Baby No-Eyes
1998 NovelNarrated in part by an unborn child, the novel interweaves family tragedy with contemporary Māori concerns.
FamilyLossSocial issues
Dogside Story
2001 NovelSet in a small seaside Māori community, exploring internal challenges and social change.
CommunityChange
Tu
2004 Novel (historical/war)Based on the experiences of the Māori Battalion in Italy during WWII, drawing on the author's family history.
WarMemoryFamily
Adaptations
- [Theatre] Tu (play) / Hone Kouka（舞台化） (2013)
Chappy
2015 NovelA cross-cultural family saga about a Japanese man and a Māori woman, told through multiple narrators and non-linear structure.
Cross-culturalFamilyLoss
The Kuia and the Spider / Te Kuia me te Pungawerewere
1981 Children's picture bookA picture book about a spinning contest between an elder kuia and a spider, published bilingually in English and Māori.
Children's literatureCultural transmission
Bibliography
- Waiariki (1975)
- Mutuwhenua: The Moon Sleeps (1978)
- The Dream Sleepers and Other Stories (1980)
- The Kuia and the Spider / Te Kuia me te Pungawerewere (1981)
- Potiki (1986)
- Electric City and Other Stories (1987)
- Cousins (1992)
- Baby No-Eyes (1998)
- Dogside Story (2001)
- Tu (2004)
- Small Holes in the Silence (2006)
- Ned and Katina: a true love story (2009)
- Chappy (2015)
- From the Centre: a writer's life (2021)
- Bird Child and Other Stories (2024)
Adaptations
- Cousins (feature film adaptation, 2021)
- Tu (stage adaptation, 2013)
- Watercress Tuna and the Children of Champion Street (stage adaptation, 2017)
Translations of Works
- Potiki (translated into multiple languages, including German)
- The Kuia and the Spider (published bilingually in English and Māori)
Style & Themes
- Literary Style
- Economical, restrained narrationInfluence of oral storytellingCareful depiction of cultural detail
- Recurring Motifs
- Family and whakapapaLand and inheritanceMāori customs and language
Legacy
Patricia Grace is a pioneering Māori writer in New Zealand literature whose work integrates Māori life and language into English literary forms. She has won numerous national and international awards and has been influential across generations of writers and scholars.
In Popular Culture
- Featured on the Porirua Writers' Walk with a quoted plaque
- Also featured on the Wellington Writers' Walk
Quotes
-
"I didn't kind of know that a writer was something one could aspire to be."
Source: Interview (excerpt)
Trivia
- Born Patricia Frances Gunson (maiden name Gunson).
- Began writing while working as a teacher and became a full-time writer after a 1985 fellowship.
- Married to children's author Kerehi Waiariki Grace (died 2013); they had seven children.
- Won a legal case protecting ancestral land at Hongoeka from compulsory acquisition.