Chris Else (born 1942) is the New Zealand author of novels, collections of short stories, and poems.

Biography

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...

in the United Kingdom, Chris Else emigrated to New Zealand in 1956. He was educated at

Auckland Grammar School Auckland Grammar School (often simplified to Auckland Grammar, or Grammar), established in 1869, is a State school, state, Day school, day and Boarding school, boarding secondary school for Single-sex education, boys in Auckland, New Zealand. ...

and the

University of Auckland The University of Auckland (; Māori: ''Waipapa Taumata Rau'') is a public research university based in Auckland, New Zealand. The institution was established in 1883 as a constituent college of the University of New Zealand. Initially loc ...

. Else has worked in teaching, bookselling and data-processing. Currently he is a literary agent, technical writing consultant and partner with his wife and fellow novelist, Barbara Else, in a Wellington editorial agency
TFS Literary Agency and Manuscript Assessment Service
which among other contributions is credited by

Alan Duff Alan Duff (born 26 October 1950) is a New Zealand novelist and newspaper columnist. He is best known as the author of the novel '' Once Were Warriors'' (1990), which was made into a film of the same name in 1994. Biography Alan Duff was bo ...

for ‘visionary advice’ in the acknowledgments to ''

Once Were Warriors ''Once Were Warriors'' is New Zealand author Alan Duff's bestselling first novel, published in 1990. It tells the story of an urban Māori family, the Hekes, and portrays the reality of domestic violence in New Zealand. It was the basis of a 1 ...

''. While he was at the Auckland Teachers' Training College, he was awarded the 64 Literature Cup in successive years, 1965 and 1966. In 2005, he was elected President o
The New Zealand Society of Authors (Pen NZ)
In 2007, he was appointed Chairman of Directors o
Copyright Licensing Limited
and in that year also was Writer in Residence at

King's College, Auckland King's College (Latin: ''Collegium Regis''; ), often informally referred to simply as Kings, is an independent secondary boarding and day school in New Zealand. It educates over 1000 pupils, aged 13 to 18 years. King's was originally a single s ...

. In 2011, Else was awarded the Autumn Residency at the

Michael King Writers Centre The Michael King Writers Centre is a writing centre on the slope of Takarunga / Mount Victoria in Devonport, Auckland, New Zealand, which offers residencies to early career and experienced writers. It was established in 2005 in honour of New ...

in Devonport, Auckland, to work on a major new novel which explores how New Zealand society began to change in the 1960s and 1970

Literary works

Novels

Dates given record the date of first publication: * 1992. ''Why Things Fall'', Tandem Press * 1998. ''Brainjoy'', Tandem Press * 2001. ''The Beetle in the Box'', Random House (Vintage) * 2004. ''On River Road'', Random House (Vintage) * 2007. ''Black Earth White Bones'', Random House (Vintage) * 2008. ''Gith'', Random House (Vintage) * 2019. ''Waterline,'' Quentin Wilson Publishing

Stories

* 1981. ''Dreams of Pythagoras'', Voice Press * 1997. ''Endangered Species'', Hazard Press

References

'Chris Else' in ''The Oxford Companion to New Zealand Literature'', ed. Roger Robinson and Nelson Wattie (1998)

External links

New Zealand Literature File
with complete list of Works By and Works About

Elseware

Ventiak.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Else, Chris 1942 births People educated at Auckland Grammar School Living people New Zealand male novelists New Zealand male poets New Zealand male short story writers People from Cottingham, East Riding of Yorkshire Writers from the East Riding of Yorkshire 20th-century New Zealand novelists 21st-century New Zealand novelists 20th-century New Zealand short story writers 21st-century New Zealand short story writers 20th-century New Zealand male writers 21st-century New Zealand male writers