Barbara Else

ABOUT

In Brief

Barbara Else is novelist and editor, and also works as a literary agent and manuscript assessor. Known for the sharp humour in her writing, Else won the Victoria University Writer’s Fellowship in 1999, and was made a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to literature in 2005. She also received the Creative NZ Scholarship in Letters in 2004 to write the historical novel Wild Latitudes. Else has edited several collections of writing for children and is available to visit schools.

Barbara's latest publication (due out in late September) is Great Mates: 30 New Zealand Stories for Children. In the latest in this ever-popular series of children’s anthologies, Barbara Else has hand-picked the best tales of friendship. Philip Webb has lovingly illustrated each one in a quirky style that helps us imagine the world of each story.

Friendship is a universal theme for Kiwi kids. This collection of 30 New Zealand stories about friends covers a range of emotions and situations: being the new kid at school, competing with friends, sharing adventures and jokes, getting furious with your friends and finding friends in unexpected places.

Barbara's novel The Travelling Restaurant has been selected as the New Zealand 2012 IBBY Honour Book for Writing.

In Detail

Barbara Else (born in 1947) is a playwright and fiction writer. Barbara was born in Invercargill and was educated at Otago University (MA 1969). She has lived in Wellington since 1980, working since 1988 with her husband Chris Else as a literary agent, editor and fiction consultant.

The Warrior Queen (Godwit 1995) was selected as one of the top twenty books for the 1995 Listener Womens Book Festival. It was shortlisted for the 1996 Montana New Zealand Book Awards.

Gingerbread Husbands (Godwit 1997) was shortlisted for the 1988 Booksellers Choice BookData Award.
 
A third novel, Eating Peacocks (Vintage 1998) tells the story of the funny, feisty Delia as she copes with the complexities of violent relationships, and the nature of memory.

A 'finely-judged comedy' wrote The Evening Post, featuring the most 'hilariously ghastly dinner party in New Zealand fiction.'

Three Pretty Widows (Vintage) was published in 2001. After the death of Barnaby Rivers, three lovely women come to terms with their own natures, and their attitudes to men, motherhood and love.

'Else is known as a funny novelist,' wrote the New Zealand Herald. 'Her humour is quieter, deeper, found in her dark, sardonic point of skew, in her quirky, wry vignettes that are a fond satire of modern middle class life and those who live it ...'

'From the breathtaking succinct title through to the satisfyingly wrapped-up ending, this is a most skilful, involving and enjoyable read.'

The Case of the Missing Kitchen (Vintage 2003) marked a return to the black comedy and family satire that Else made her own in The Warrior Queen. With break-neck pace and deft plotting, this is a wickedly funny take on the thriller genre.

Else received the Creative NZ Scholarship in Letters, which helped her to write Wild Latitudes (Vintage, 2007). This tells the story of a young woman and her teenage brother who are catapulted from a comfortable life in Yorkshire to life in Dunedin during the Otago gold rush. About the novel Else says: 'It seemed utterly appropriate to set the novel in Dunedin during the gold rush, 1864, a time when the small pious settlement had been violently expanded by an influx of several hundred thousand rough and riotous seekers of fortune, con men, entrepreneurs, self-servers all. In a new country, where you're thrown on your own resources, you can reinvent yourself as many times as you like - what an image of what happens to each one of us in the teenage years.'

Else's first book for children was Skitterfoot Leaper (HarperCollins 1997). Two children, each with problem parents, meet a cat-like creature and pass through a waterfall to a strange winter world.

Tricky Situations, illustrated by Trevor Pye (Random House 1999) tells the story of a 'problem consultant', Ms Winsley, who lives in the dull town of Greyvale. The Evening Post judged the novel, suitable of readers aged 6 - 11 years, as 'even funnier than Roald Dahl'.
 
A third novel for children, The Travelling Restaurant, is due out from Gecko Press in March 2011.

Barbara had edited several anthologies for children and teenagers.

Another 30 New Zealand Stories for Children (Random House  2002) is edited by Barbara Else, with illustrations by David Elliot. This sequel to 30 New Zealand Stories for Children contains stories that are funny and sad, magical and touching.
 
30 Weird & Wonderful New Zealand Stories (Random House 2003) edited by Barbara Else, with illustrations by Philip Webb, is a collection of spooky, hilarious and moving tales which are great for both reading aloud and enjoying by yourself.

Claws and Jaws, 30 NZ Animal Stories (Random House 2004), was listed as a Storylines Children's Literature Foundation of NZ Notable Book in 2005.

Like Wallpaper (Random House, 2005), is an anthology of short stories for teenagers and was a Storylines Children's Literature Foundation of New Zealand Notable Book in 2006.
 
Mischief and Mayhem: 30 New Zealand Stories (Random House, 2005) is about children having escapades and adventures.
 
In 2006, she edited Hideous and Hilarious -30 History Stories for Children (Random House).
 
Dare and Double-dare - 30 Sports Stories for Children (Random House, 2007) is for the sports-mad reader and those who prefer to watch.

Showtime! - 30 NZ Stories for Children (Random House, 2008) edited by Else is a collection all about children having a go at something or being involved in a celebration or unusual event.
 
Barbara Else is also the editor of Grand Stands (Random House 2000). It features prominent New Zealand authors writing on the experience of being a grandparent. Contributors include Albert Wendt, Fiona Kidman and Patricia Grace.

In 1998, Barbara Else was chosen for a New Zealand and Australia Exchange Writer and also was a visiting writer at Vancouver International Writers' Festival and the Winnipeg International Writers' Festival.
 
In 1999, Else won the Victoria University Writers' Fellowship, during which she wrote Three Pretty Widows and edited Grand Stands.

Barbara Else was one of three judges for the 2004 New Zealand Post Book Awards for Children and Young Adults.

Else participated in the 2004 Book Council WOW (Words on Wheels) tour of the deep South.

Barbara Else was made a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to literature at the 2005 Queen's Birthday Honours.