Sheridan Keith (born 1942) is a New Zealand author, artist, broadcaster and curator.

Life and career

Keith was born 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 ...

in 1942. She is the daughter of ceramic artist and painter June Black. She studied zoology and English literature at

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 ...

. During the 1960s she spent a decade living in London, and returned to New Zealand in 1974, where she worked as a journalist for several years before beginning to write fiction. Her work has included broadcasting, journalism and teaching creative writing, and her writing has been published in ''

The London Magazine ''The London Magazine'' is the title of six different publications that have appeared in succession since 1732. All six have focused on the arts, literature and miscellaneous topics. 1732–1785 ''The London Magazine, or, Gentleman's Monthly I ...

'', ''Landfall'', the ''

New Zealand Listener The ''New Zealand Listener'' is a weekly New Zealand magazine that covers the political, cultural and literary life of New Zealand by featuring a variety of topics, including current events, politics, social issues, health, technology, arts, f ...

'' and other magazines. Her first collection of short stories, ''Shallow are the Smiles at the Supermarket'' (1991) was shortlisted in the Best First Book category of the

Commonwealth Writers Prize Commonwealth Foundation presented a number of prizes between 1987 and 2011. The main award was called the Commonwealth Writers' Prize and was composed of two prizes: the Best Book Prize (overall and regional) was awarded from 1987 to 2011; the Bes ...

. Her first novel, ''Zoology'' (1995), grew out of a short story included in her second collection of short stories, ''Animal Passions'' (1992). It won the Fiction Award at the 1996

Montana Book Awards The Ockham New Zealand Book Awards are literary awards presented annually in New Zealand. The awards began in 1996 as the merger of two literary awards events: the New Zealand Book Awards, which ran from 1976 to 1995, and the Goodman Fielder W ...

. Academic

Terry Sturm Terence Laurie Sturm (11 July 1941 – 25 May 2009) was a New Zealand professor of English literature and editor. His scholarship was mainly in the fields of Australian and New Zealand literature. He lectured at the University of Sydney from 1 ...

said Keith's short stories "focus on the practices and aspirations of women in a demanding world". Since around 1995, Keith has owned a gallery called Blikfang Art and Antiques in Northcote, a suburb of Auckland.

References

External links

Interview with Sheridan Keith for Cultural Icons project

Biography
at Read NZ Te Pou Muramura Living people 1942 births Victoria University of Wellington alumni People from Wellington City 20th-century New Zealand women writers 20th-century New Zealand writers Writers from Wellington City New Zealand women curators {{NewZealand-writer-stub