Shonagh Koea

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Shonagh Koea
Born1939
Taranaki, New Zealand
OccupationWriter

Shonagh Maureen Koea (born 1939) is a New Zealand fiction writer. [1]

Contents

Biography

Koea was born in Taranaki, New Zealand, in 1939, and grew up in Hastings, Hawke's Bay. [2] [3] [4] She became a journalist and began working at the Taranaki Herald newspaper in New Plymouth. There she met and married a fellow journalist, George Koea of Te Āti Awa. [5] [6] She wrote novels as a pastime; however none were published. [7] In her late 20s Koea stopped writing fiction, disillusioned with her lack of success. However, ten years later, in 1981, she submitted a story to New Zealand's leading literary contest of the time (the Air New Zealand Short Story Competition) and won. [7] Her stories began to be published in magazines such as The Listener.

Koea's husband died in 1987, and in 1990 she moved to Auckland. [3] Since then, she has been a full-time writer; she has received a number of literary grants and fellowships, and produced novels, short stories and memoirs. [3]

Works

Recurring themes in Koea's writing are personal relationships and their difficulties, and men's and women's roles in the family. Male characters are often oppressive, and females initially helpless; after a period, however, the women eventually take charge of their own destiny. [3] Her narratives have been likened to those of fellow New Zealand writers Katherine Mansfield and Frank Sargeson, which also centred on familiar characters and situations. [3]

Koea's main publisher is Random House.

Collections of short stories

Novels

Awards and recognition

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References

  1. 1 2 [www.randomhouse.co.nz], Random House Books New Zealand. "Shonagh Koea - Authors - Random House Books New Zealand". Random House New Zealand. Retrieved 24 April 2016.
  2. ↑ Stachurski, Christina (2005). "Koea, Shonagh (1939– )". In Benson, Eugene; Conolly, L.W. (eds.). Encyclopedia of post-colonial literatures in English. 2 (2nd ed.). Abingdon: Routledge. ISBN   0-415-27887-2 . Retrieved 8 November 2018.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "New Zealand Book Council". www.bookcouncil.org.nz. Retrieved 24 April 2016.
  4. 1 2 Benson, Eugene (2004). Encyclopedia of Post-Colonial Literatures in English. Routledge. p. 778. ISBN   0-415-27885-6.
  5. ↑ "Issue 96 December 15 2000 -". www.manaonline.co.nz. Retrieved 24 April 2016.
  6. ↑ "The writer's resilience revealed". Stuff.co.nz. 21 September 2007. Retrieved 24 April 2016.
  7. 1 2 "Quote Unquote: Tim Wilson on Shonagh Koea". quoteunquotenz.blogspot.co.nz. Retrieved 24 April 2016.
  8. 1 2 Hill, Rebecca Barry (3 May 2014). "Shonagh Koea: Her dark materials". New Zealand Herald. ISSN   1170-0777 . Retrieved 24 April 2016.
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