Michele Powles
Michele Powles (born 1976) is a New Zealand novelist, playwright, and non-fiction writer.
Michele Powles | |
---|---|
Born | 1976 (age 47–48) Hawkes Bay, New Zealand |
Occupation | Writer |
Language | English |
Alma mater | Victoria University of Wellington, University of Auckland |
Genre | Fiction and Non-Fiction |
Notable works | Weathered Bones |
Notable awards | Robert Burns Fellowship 2010 |
Website | |
www |
Background
Powles grew up in the Hawke's Bay. She studied law at Victoria University of Wellington and completed a Master's in Creative Writing at University of Auckland, under Witi Ihimaera.[1] Powles is also a dancer and choreographer.[2][3] She was the director of the 2008 NZ Book Month. Powles also held the Robert Burns Fellowship, at the University of Otago in 2010, due to the success of her first novel, Weathered Bones.[4][5]
Career
Powles has written one novel and two non-fiction books. Her first book, Touch Compass (2007), traces the lives and stories of the members of the dance company of the same name.[6][7] Powles was the director of the performance touring company Rifleman Production Limited between 2006 and 2008.[8]
New Zealand author Fiona Kidman describes Powles's first novel, Weathered Bones (2009), as "a book full of real women from an exciting new writer."[9] Australia's Women's Weekly describes Weathered Bones as a "very contemporary" work that discusses "issues surrounding mental illness and the pain of love."[10] Landfall gave Weathered Bones a positive review, labeling the novel's protagonist lighthouse keeper Mary Jane Bennett "one of New Zealand's earliest feminists."[11] Powell went on to write the short story "Caged" for the Landfall Autumn 2012 issue.[12] She also wrote a series of articles for Stuff.co.nz about building her family home in West Auckland in 2015.[13]
Powles's latest book, When We Remember to Breathe (2018), is a collaboration with poet and playwright Renee Liang. The book traces the conversations of the two writers in the early stages of pregnancy.[14] Both writers committed themselves to writing one paragraph a week during their pregnancy.[15] Powles and Liang describe their work as "lay[ing] bare the raw joy, beauty, discomfort and humour of modern motherhood."[16] A share of the book's profits were given to the charity organisation Good Bitches Baking.[16]
Powles has written the screenplay for a New Zealand film in development, Tenderwood, directed by Alyx Duncan and produced by Firefly Films.[17] The films current synopsis is: "An estranged daughter tries to reconnect with her belligerent mother whose mysterious illness leaves her stuck in the centre of the room – both women must accept that the mother may be turning into a tree."[18]
Works
- Touch Compass (David Ling Publishing Limited, 2007) ISBN 978-1877378171
- Weathered Bones (Penguin Group [NZ], 2009) ISBN 978-0143011248
- "Caged," a short story in Landfall 223, Otago University Press, 2012 (NZ)
- When We Remember to Breathe (co-authored with Renee Liang) (Magpie, 2018) ISBN 978-0473453398
References
- ^ Smith, Charmian (2010-11-04). "Driven by her passion". Otago Daily Times Online News. Retrieved 2019-05-13.
- ^ "Carlile Dance Project, Strange Fruit at Carlile House". 2002-11-03. ISSN 1170-0777. Retrieved 2019-05-13.
- ^ Gibb, John (2009-09-26). "Four new arts fellows named". Otago Daily Times Online News. Retrieved 2019-05-13.
- ^ "The Robert Burns Fellowship, Otago Fellows, University of Otago, New Zealand". www.otago.ac.nz. Retrieved 2019-05-13.
- ^ "Where the heart is". 2008-09-26. ISSN 1170-0777. Retrieved 2019-05-13.
- ^ "The Company". Touch Compass. Retrieved 2019-05-13.
- ^ CircleSoft. "Touch Compass: Celebrating Integrated Dance by Michele Powles". The Women's Bookshop. Retrieved 2019-05-13.
- ^ "Rifleman Productions Limited - business information". www.bizdb.co.nz. Retrieved 2019-05-13.
- ^ "Weathered Bones about to hit shops (+video teaser)". The Big Idea. 2009-03-31. Retrieved 2019-05-13.
- ^ "Weathered Bones by Michele Powles". Now To Love. Retrieved 2019-05-13.
- ^ "Search Results for "Michele Powles"". landfallreview.com. Retrieved 2019-05-13.
- ^ Powell, Jenny (Autumn 2012). "Caged". Landfall. 223: 15–28 – via Otago University Press.
- ^ "Building a house: Where does a 'roof shout' come from?". Stuff. Retrieved 2019-05-15.
- ^ "Emma Espiner: Parenting - better with friends". Newsroom. 2019-05-01. Retrieved 2019-05-15.
- ^ "New book uncovers the raw journey of pregnancy". Newshub. 2019-02-05. Retrieved 2019-10-10.
- ^ a b "Renee Liang and Michele Powles - When we remember to breathe". RNZ. 2019-03-30. Retrieved 2019-05-15.
- ^ "Tenderwood – Firefly Films". Retrieved 2019-05-13.
- ^ "Tenderwood – Firefly Films". Retrieved 2019-10-10.
- v
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- 1959 Ian Cross
- 1960 Maurice Duggan
- 1961 John Caselberg
- 1962 R.A.K. Mason
- 1963 Maurice Shadbolt
- 1964 Maurice Gee
- 1965 Janet Frame
- 1966–67 James K. Baxter
- 1968 Ruth Dallas
- 1969 Warren Dibble
- 1970 O. E. Middleton
- 1971 Noel Hilliard
- 1972 Ian Wedde
- 1973 Graham Billing
- 1974 Hone Tuwhare
- 1975 Witi Ihimaera
- 1976 Sam Hunt
- 1977 Keri Hulme
- 1977–78 Roger Hall
- 1978 Peter Olds
- 1979 Michael A. Noonan
- 1980 Philip Temple
- 1981–82 William Sewell
- 1983 Rawiri Paratene
- 1984 Brian Turner
- 1985–86 Cilla McQueen
- 1987 Robert Lord
- 1988 John Dickson
- 1989 Renée
- 1990 David Eggleton
- 1991 Lynley Hood
- 1992 Owen Marshall
- 1993 Stuart Hoar
- 1994 Christine Johnston
- 1995 Elspeth Sandys
- 1996 Bernadette Hall
- 1997 Paddy Richardson
- 1998–99 Michael King
- 1999 Paula Boock
- 2000 James Norcliffe
- 2001 Jo Randerson
- 2002 Alison Wong
- 2003 Nick Ascroft
- 2003 Sarah Quigley
- 2004 Kate Duignan
- 2005–06 Catherine Chidgey
- 2006 Dianne Ruth Pettis
- 2007 Laurence Fearnley
- 2008 Sue Wootton
- 2009 Michael Harlow
- 2010 Michele Powles
- 2011 Fiona Farrell
- 2012 Emma Neale
- 2013 David Howard
- 2014 Majella Cullinane
- 2015 Louise Wallace
- 2016 Victor Rodger
- 2017 Craig Cliff
- 2018 Rhian Gallagher
- 2019 Emily Duncan
- 2020 John Newton
- 2021 Becky Manawatu
- 2022 Albert Belz
- 2023 Kathryn van Beek
- 2024 Mikaela Nyman