by Carl Nixon
Carl Nixon is an award-winning short story writer, novelist and playwright. His first book, Fish ’n’ Chip Shop Song and other stories went to number one on the New Zealand bestselling fiction list and was shortlisted for the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize for Best First Book. In 2007 he won the Bank of New Zealand Katherine Mansfield Short Story Competition.
Nixon completed his first novel while he was the Ursula Bethell/Creative New Zealand Writer in Residence at Canterbury University in 2006. Rocking Horse Road saw him identified as ‘a major talent’ by North & South, and was long-listed for the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Awards 2009. His second novel, Settlers’ Creek, was also long-listed for the IMPAC in 2012. Both novels have also been published in Germany.
His writing for theatre includes The Birthday Boy and The Raft, numerous plays for children, and he has adapted for the stage Lloyd Jones’s novel The Book of Fame and JM Coetzee’s Disgrace.
Copyright
A VINTAGE BOOK published by Random House New Zealand 18 Poland Road, Glenfield, Auckland, New Zealand
For more information about our titles go to www.randomhouse.co.nz
A catalogue record for this book is available from the National Library of New Zealand
Random House New Zealand is part of the Random House Group
New York London Sydney Auckland Delhi Johannesburg
First published 2013
© 2013 Carl Nixon
The moral rights of the author have been asserted
ISBN 978 1 77553 375 7
eISBN 978 1 77553 376 4
This book is copyright. Except for the purposes of fair reviewing no part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
Design and internal illustrations: Carla Sy
Cover design: Kate Barraclough
Cover illustration: Jochen Schlenker/Getty Images
Author photograph: Stephanie Nixon
Printed in New Zealand by Printlink
This publication is printed on paper pulp sourced from sustainably grown and managed forests, using Elemental Chlorine Free (ECF) bleaching, and printed with 100% vegetable-based inks.
The assistance of Creative New Zealand is gratefully acknowledged by the author and the publisher