Gaelyn Gordon (; 26 November 1939 – 17 May 1997) was a New Zealand novelist, children's writer and schoolteacher. In a ten-year period between retiring as a teacher and her early death, she wrote a number of fantasy novels for young adults, picture books for young children, and crime novels for adults. After her death, the Gaelyn Gordon Award was established in her memory.

Early life and teaching career

Gordon was born in

Hāwera Hāwera is the second-largest centre in the Taranaki region of New Zealand's North Island, with a population of . It is near the coast of the South Taranaki Bight. The origins of the town lie in a government military base that was establishe ...

, in the

Taranaki Taranaki is a regions of New Zealand, region in the west of New Zealand's North Island. It is named after its main geographical feature, the stratovolcano Mount Taranaki, Taranaki Maunga, formerly known as Mount Egmont. The main centre is the ...

region of New Zealand, on 26 November 1939. She attended New Plymouth Girls' High School, followed by the

University of Canterbury The University of Canterbury (UC; ; postnominal abbreviation ''Cantuar.'' or ''Cant.'' for ''Cantuariensis'', the Latin name for Canterbury) is a public research university based in Christchurch, New Zealand. It was founded in 1873 as Canterbur ...

and Christchurch Teachers' College. She was an English and drama teacher at

Hamilton Girls' High School Hamilton Girls' High School (Māori: ''Te Kura Tamaahine o Kirikiriroa'') is a state single sex secondary school located in central Hamilton, New Zealand. The school caters for students in Years 9 to 13 (ages 12 to 18). History Hamilton High ...

until 1987, when she began to suffer from

Ménière's disease Ménière's disease (MD) is a disease of the inner ear that is characterized by potentially severe and incapacitating episodes of vertigo, tinnitus, hearing loss, and a feeling of fullness in the ear. Typically, only one ear is affected in ...

; she left teaching at this time and became a full-time writer.

Literary career

Gordon is best known for her young adult fiction, which include ''Stonelight'' (1988), ''Mindfire'' (1991) and ''Riversong'' (1995), a trilogy of fantasy novels for young adults which feature elements of

Māori mythology Māori mythology and Māori traditions are two major categories into which the remote oral history of New Zealand's Māori people, Māori may be divided. Māori myths concern tales of supernatural events relating to the origins of what was the ...

, and two novels featuring aliens living in the head of a young man named Alfred Brown. Her 1992 novel ''Tripswitch'', about three cousins who discover they are witches, was selected in 2004 to be the first book published as part of the ''Collins Modern New Zealand Classics'' series, along with a foreword from

Tessa Duder Tessa Duder (née Staveley, born 13 November 1940) is a New Zealand author of novels for young people, short stories, plays and non-fiction, and a former swimmer who won a silver medal for her country at the 1958 British Empire and Commonwealt ...

. She wrote a number of picture books for young children, including ''The Life-size Inflatable Whale'', illustrated by John Tarlton. This book was published in 1998 after Gordon's death, and received the Children's Choice award at the 1999

New Zealand Post Book Awards for Children and Young Adults The New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults are a series of literary awards presented annually to recognise excellence in children's and young adult's literature in New Zealand. The awards were founded in 1982, and have had severa ...

. Gordon's husband accepted the award on her behalf. Gordon's novels for adults included the blackly comic crime novels ''Above Suspicion'' (1990), narrated by a murder victim, ''Strained Relations'' (1991) and ''Deadlines'' (1996). These novels feature the fictional detective Sergeant Rangi, described by the ''Oxford Companion to New Zealand Literature'' as a "comic mixture" of

Hercule Poirot Hercule Poirot (, ) is a fictional Belgian detective created by the English writer Agatha Christie. Poirot is Christie's most famous and longest-running character, appearing in 33 novels, two plays (''Black Coffee (play), Black Coffee'' and '' ...

Don Juan Don Juan (), also known as Don Giovanni ( Italian), is a legendary fictional Spanish libertine who devotes his life to seducing women. The original version of the story of Don Juan appears in the 1630 play (''The Trickster of Seville and t ...

and Billy T. James. She also wrote the novel ''Marj's Story'', one of four

tie-in A tie-in work is a work of fiction or other product based on a media property such as a film, video game, television series, board game, website, role-playing game or literary property. Tie-ins are authorized by the owners of the original proper ...

novels based on the New Zealand soap opera ''

Shortland Street ''Shortland Street'' is a New Zealand Prime time, prime-time soap opera centring on the fictitious Shortland Street Hospital. The show was first broadcast on TVNZ 2 on 25 May 1992 and is New Zealand's longest-running drama and soap opera, be ...

''.

Awards and legacy

Gordon received the Choysa Bursary for Children's Writers in 1990, the Buddle Findlay Sargeson Fellowship in 1992, and a Queen Elizabeth II Arts Council Scholarship in Letters in 1994. Her publisher Paul Bradwell said on her death that she was "seen by many as the best author never to win the Children's Book of the Year award, although shortlisted three years in succession".

said of Gordon: Gordon died of cancer in

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

on 17 May 1997. She was survived by her husband and two children. In May 1998, her debut (and only) play, ''Within a Magic Prison'', was performed at the Little Maidment Theatre in Auckland. A review 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 ...

'' noted it was inspired by Gordon's experiences parenting her autistic daughter, and said "the resulting salute, flaws accepted, stands as a fond tribute to Gordon's life". In 1999, the Children's Literature Foundation established the Gaelyn Gordon Award, presented annually in New Zealand to a children's book that has not previously won a major award but that has been popular with children and has "stood the test of time". The first winner of the award was

Elsie Locke Elsie Violet Locke (née Farrelly; 17 August 1912 – 8 April 2001) was a New Zealand Communism, communist writer, historian, and leading activist in the feminism and peace movements. Also available to subscribers at Oxford Reference Online'. P ...

in 1999, for ''The Runaway Settlers''.

Selected works

Books for young adults

* ''Stonelight'' (1988) *''Tales from Another Now'' (1989) * ''Several Things are Alive and Well and Living in Alfred Brown's Head'' (1990) * ''Mindfire'' (1991) * ''Prudence M. Muggeridge, Damp Rat'' (1991) * ''Tripswitch'' (1992) * ''Take Me to Your Leaders'' (1993) * ''Riversong'' (1995) * ''The Other Worlds of Andrew Griffin'' (1995)

Picture books

* ''Duckat'' (illustrated by Chris Gaskin, 1991) * ''The Fortunate Flats'' (illustrated by John Tarlton, 1995) * ''The Life-size Inflatable Whale'' (illustrated by John Tarlton, 1998)

Books for adults

* ''Above Suspicion'' (1990) *''Strained Relations'' (1991) *''Last Summer'' (1993) *''Fortune's Fool'' (1994) *''Deadlines'' (1996) *''Marj's Story'' (1996)

References

External links

Profile
at

Read NZ Te Pou Muramura Read NZ Te Pou Muramura (formerly the New Zealand Book Council) is a not-for-profit organisation that presents a wide range of programmes to promote books and reading in New Zealand. It was established in 1972 and its programmes have included ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gaelyn, Gordon 1939 births 1997 deaths People from Hāwera People educated at New Plymouth Girls' High School University of Canterbury alumni New Zealand schoolteachers 20th-century New Zealand dramatists and playwrights 20th-century New Zealand women writers 20th-century New Zealand novelists 20th-century New Zealand short story writers New Zealand crime fiction writers New Zealand children's writers New Zealand women children's writers