Fergus Barrowman (born 1961) is a New Zealand publisher and literary commentator. He has been the publisher at
Victoria University Press
Te Herenga Waka University Press or THWUP (formerly Victoria University Press) is the book publishing arm of Victoria University of Wellington, located in Wellington, New Zealand. As of 2022, the press had published around 800 books.
History
Vi ...
since 1985.
Career
In addition to running Victoria University Press, Barrowman also edited and published the New Zealand literary magazine ''
Sport
Sport pertains to any form of competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to spectators. Sports can, ...
'' from 1988 until its final issue in 2019.
He co-founded the magazine with
Elizabeth Knox,
Damien Wilkins
Damien Lamont Wilkins (born January 11, 1980) is an American former professional basketball player and basketball executive who played in the National Basketball Association for ten seasons. He is the General Manager and Head of Basketball at Ov ...
and
Nigel Cox.
The name was Barrowman's idea and he intended it to be a playful reference to the divide between the worlds of sport and literature. He noted in 2005 that the name can cause problems: "I still get people saying I've never looked at ''Sport'' because I don't like sport".
''Sport'' published the first works of
Emily Perkins
Emily Jean Perkins (born May 4, 1977) is a Canadian former actress, best known for her roles as Crystal Braywood in the TV series '' Hiccups'', young Beverly Marsh in '' Stephen King's It'', and Brigitte Fitzgerald in '' Ginger Snaps''. Since th ...
and
Catherine Chidgey
Catherine Chidgey (born 8 April 1970) is a New Zealand novelist, short-story writer and university lecturer. Her honours include the inaugural Prize in Modern Letters; the Katherine Mansfield Fellowship to Menton, France; Best First Book at bot ...
, as well as being an early publisher of Kate Flannery,
Annamarie Jagose
Annamarie Jagose (born 1965) is an LGBT academic and writer of fictional works.
Life and career
Jagose was born in Ashburton, New Zealand in 1965. She gained her PhD (Victoria University of Wellington) in 1992, and worked in the Department of E ...
, Chris Orsman and
Peter Wells.
In 2008,
Eleanor Catton's work first appeared in ''Sport'', before the publication of her first novel ''The Rehearsal''.
In 1996 Barrowman edited ''The Picador Book of Contemporary New Zealand Fiction''.
David Eggleton
David Eggleton (born 1952) is a New Zealand poet, critic and writer. Eggleton has been awarded the Ockham New Zealand Book Award for poetry and in 2019 was appointed New Zealand Poet Laureate, a title he held until 2022. Eggleton's work has ap ...
, in a review for ''
The Dominion Post'', commented: "Barrowman displays genuine talent as a connoisseur, showing us why we should sit up and take notice of the best of New Zealand writing."
Michael Morrissey in the ''
Sunday Star-Times
The ''Sunday Star-Times'' is a New Zealand newspaper published each weekend in Auckland. It covers both national and international news, and is a member of the New Zealand Press Association and Newspaper Publishers Association of New Zealand. ...
'' was critical, however, saying that the anthology was dominated by Wellington writers and that important contemporary short story writers such as
Michael Gifkins and
Sherridan Keith had been omitted. He concluded: "This is a great collection marred by some regrettable omissions and by aggressive Wellington agendas."
In June 2014, Barrowman was made a member of the
New Zealand Order of Merit
The New Zealand Order of Merit is an order of merit in the New Zealand royal honours system. It was established by royal warrant (document), royal warrant on 30 May 1996 by Elizabeth II, Monarchy of New Zealand, Queen of New Zealand, "for those ...
for services to publishing.
Personal life
As of 2020 Barrowman lives in
Wellington
Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by m ...
with his wife, the author
Elizabeth Knox, and their son, Jack.
Barrowman and Knox met when he was involved in publishing her first book, ''After Z-Hour'' (1987),
and married in 1989.
See also
*
New Zealand literature
New Zealand literature is literature, both oral and written, produced by the people of New Zealand. It often deals with New Zealand themes, people or places, is written predominantly in New Zealand English, and features Māori culture and the u ...
*
Victoria University of Wellington
Victoria University of Wellington ( mi, Te Herenga Waka) is a university in Wellington, Wellington, New Zealand. It was established in 1897 by Act of New Zealand Parliament, Parliament, and was a constituent college of the University of New Z ...
References
External links
*
Interview with Fergus Barrowmanon the
Unity Books website
Interview with Fergus Barrowman (among others)in ''
The Dominion Post''
Interview with Fergus Barrowman on Elsewhere.co.nz
People from Wellington City
New Zealand publishers (people)
1961 births
Living people
{{NewZealand-bio-stub