Laurence Fearnley: NZSA Janet Frame Award 2016

Novelist Laurence Fearnley has been awarded the NZSA Janet Frame Memorial Award 2016
 

For a period of ten years the NZ Society of Authors Janet Frame Memorial Award of $3,000 has been awarded biennially to an author of literary or imaginative fiction or poetry with the purpose of supporting a mid-career or established writer in furthering their literary career. The award was made possible by a gift of $15,000 from the Janet Frame Literary Trust to the NZSA in 2007.  Past recipients have been: Emma Neale, Tim Jones, Diane Brown and Elizabeth Smither. Late last year the last in a series of 5 awards was made to Laurence Fearnley, novelist and non-fiction writer.

 

Laurence Fearnley lives in Dunedin, a UNESCO City of Literature. She plans to use the award developing her current project – writing a series of short pieces structured in such a way that each story responds to the traditional development and dry-down of perfume. That is, the volume will open with ‘top notes’, develop through the ‘heart notes’ and end with ‘base notes’. She says:

 “I have long been interested in landscape and ‘place’ and have explored aspects of both in novels such as The Quiet Spectacular, The Hut Builder, Edwin and Matilda. But I am also interested in perfume and scent, and over the past year I have been thinking about ways to approach landscape through smell, rather than through sight (or sound). I believe that by taking notice of the scent of my surroundings, I have come to appreciate a more detailed, intimate relationship with the places I visit.”

Laurence Fearnley was selected from a very strong field of applicants and the quality of her fellow shortlisted authors speaks for itself: Riemke Ensing, Siobhan Harvey, Tina Shaw and Tracey Slaughter were all highly commended.

 Selection Panel Convenor Owen Marshall congratulated Laurence Fearnley and the other shortlisted writers, and also wished well all those writers who applied.