Anna Jackson

Anna Jackson, born in 1967, is a New Zealand poet, fiction writer, and non-fiction author who also works as an academic. She grew up in Auckland and is currently based in Wellington, where she is an associate professor in English, Film, Theatre, and Media Studies at Victoria University of Wellington. Jackson holds an MA from the University of Auckland and a DPhil from Oxford University.

Her literary career began with her poems appearing in the 1999 collection AUP New Poets 1. Since then, she has published numerous poetry collections, alongside co-editing and writing works of literary criticism, essays, and short stories. Her writing has been featured in various New Zealand and international publications, journals, and anthologies. Much of her poetic work delves into the themes of family and childhood. Jackson has received several accolades for her writing, including a Louis Johnson New Writers’ Bursary, a Writer in Residence position at Waikato University, the Katherine Mansfield Menton Fellowship, and a residency at the Michael King Writers Centre. She also won Viva la Novella VI in 2018 for "The Bed-making Competition."

Anna Jackson's published works span poetry, fiction, and literary criticism. Her poetry collections, beginning with "The Pastoral Kitchen" (2001) and continuing through titles like "The Gas Leak" (2006), "Thicket" (2011), "I, Clodia" (2014), and "Pasture and Flock: New and Selected Poems" (2018), often engage with the concepts of family and childhood. Beyond her own creative writing, Jackson has also contributed significantly to literary scholarship. She has co-edited several collections, including "Floating Worlds: Essays on Contemporary New Zealand Fiction" (2009) and "Truth and Beauty: Verse Biography in Canada, Australia and New Zealand" (2016), as well as a special issue of the journal Biography titled "Verse Biography" (2016). Her critical work, such as "The Gothic in Children’s Literature" (2007), demonstrates a broad engagement with literary studies.

In addition to her writing career, Anna Jackson is an established academic. She holds advanced degrees from both the University of Auckland and Oxford University. Currently, she serves as an associate professor at Victoria University of Wellington, contributing to the School of English, Film, Theatre, and Media Studies. Her contributions to literature have been recognized through various awards and honors. These include the Louis Johnson New Writers’ Bursary in 1999, a Writer in Residence position at Waikato University in 2001, the prestigious Katherine Mansfield Menton Fellowship in 2015, and a residency at the Michael King Writers Centre in 2017. In 2018, she was also acknowledged for her fiction with a win in Viva la Novella VI for "The Bed-making Competition."