Rachael King

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Rachael King
Born1970 (age 54–55)
Hamilton, New Zealand
LanguageEnglish
Alma mater Victoria University of Wellington
Notable worksThe Sound of Butterflies, Red Rocks
Notable awardsNZSA Hubert Church Best First Book Award, Esther Glen Award
Relatives Michael King (father)
Jonathan King (brother)
Rebecca Priestley (sister-in-law)
Website
Official website

Rachael King (born 1970) is a New Zealand writer of fiction for both children and adults. Her book Red Rocks (2012) won the LIANZA Esther Glen Award and was adapted into a 2025 television series Secrets at Red Rocks. For eight years she was Literary Director of the WORD Christchurch Writers and Readers Festival. [1]

Contents

Background

King was born in 1970, in Hamilton, New Zealand. In 2001 she received a Master of Arts in creative writing from Victoria University of Wellington. [2]

King is a bass guitarist and has played with several bands on the Flying Nun label. [2] [3]

King's father was the historian and author Michael King and her brother is filmmaker Jonathan King. [4]

Works

King has published five novels:

Short stories by King have been published in several anthologies including in Home: New Short Short Stories by New Zealand Writers [5] and Creative Juices. [6]

In 2013, King became Literary Director of the WORD Christchurch Writers and Readers Festival. [2] [3] She was a judge for the New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults in 2017. [7]

King's book Red Rocks was adapted into a 2025 television series Secrets at Red Rocks. [8]

Awards

In 2007, King's first novel The Sound of Butterflies won the NZSA Hubert Church Best First Book Award for Fiction at the Montana New Zealand Book Awards. [9]

Her novel for children, Red Rocks, was shortlisted for the Junior Fiction category in the 2013 New Zealand Post Children's Book Awards [10] and won the LIANZA Esther Glen Award. [11]

King was the 2008 Ursula Bethell Writer in Residence at the University of Canterbury. [12] She has also won the 2005 Lilian Ida Smith Award. [2]

The Case of the Missing Stuff was shortlisted for the New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults, Wright Family Foundation Esther Glen Junior Fiction Award 2025. [13] Violet and the Velvets, The Case of the Missing Stuff and The Case of the Angry Ghost were both named as Storylines Notable Junior fiction Books for 2025. [14]

References

  1. ↑ "Rachael King". Academy of New Zealand Literature. Retrieved 26 November 2025.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Rachael King". New Zealand Book Council. Retrieved 23 November 2017.
  3. 1 2 Matthews, Philip (9 July 2016). "National portrait: Rachael King, literary director". The Press . Retrieved 23 November 2017.
  4. ↑ "Biography". Michael King writers Centre. Retrieved 23 November 2017.
  5. ↑ Lay, Graeme; Stratford, Stephen, eds. (2005). Home: New Short Short Stories by New Zealand Writers. Random House. ISBN   9781869417413.
  6. ↑ Neale, Emma, ed. (2002). Creative Juices. HarperCollins. ISBN   9781869504106.
  7. ↑ "2017 Awards Judges". New Zealand Book Awards Trust. Retrieved 23 November 2017.
  8. ↑ Ward, Tara (10 March 2025). "Secrets at Red Rocks is a delightful dive into nostalgic waters". The Spinoff. Retrieved 25 November 2025.
  9. ↑ "Past Winners by Author". New Zealand Book Awards Trust. Retrieved 23 November 2017.
  10. ↑ "New Zealand Post Children's Book Awards – finalists announced". Creative New Zealand. Retrieved 23 November 2017.
  11. ↑ "LIANZA Esther Glen Junior Fiction Award". Christchurch City Libraries. Retrieved 23 November 2017.
  12. ↑ "Ursula Bethell Residency in Creative Writing". The University of Canterbury. Retrieved 23 November 2017.
  13. ↑ "2025 New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults shortlists". Books+Publishing. 5 June 2025. Retrieved 6 June 2025.
  14. ↑ "2025 Storylines Notable Book Awards". The Sapling. 6 November 2025. Retrieved 6 November 2025.
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