Rachael King

Rachael King
Born1970 (age 55–56)
Hamilton, New Zealand
Alma materVictoria University of Wellington
RelativesMichael King (father)
Jonathan King (brother)
Rebecca Priestley (sister-in-law)
Writing career
LanguageEnglish
Notable worksThe Sound of Butterflies, Red Rocks
Notable awardsEsther Glen Award
Websiterachael-king.com

Rachael King (born 1970) is a New Zealand fiction writer. Her book Red Rocks (2012) won the LIANZA Esther Glen Junior Fiction Award and was adapted into the 2025 television series Secrets at Red Rocks. For eight years she was literary director of the WORD Christchurch Writers and Readers Festival.[1]

Life

King was born in 1970, in Hamilton, New Zealand.[2] In 2001 she received a Master of Arts in creative writing from Victoria University of Wellington.[3]

King is a bass guitarist and has played with several bands on the Flying Nun label.[4][5]

King's father was the historian and author Michael King and her brother is filmmaker Jonathan King.[6][7]

King was a contestant on season 3 of the reality television show The Traitors NZ.[8][9]

Writing career

King has published five novels:

  • The Sound of Butterflies (2006, Random House)
  • Magpie Hall (2009, Random House)
  • Red Rocks (2012, Random House)
  • The Grimmelings (2024, Allen & Unwin)
  • Violet and the Velvets, The Case of the Missing Stuff (2025, Allen & Unwin)
  • Violet and the Velvets, The Case of the Angry Ghost (2025, Allen & Unwin)

Short stories by King have been published in several anthologies including in Home: New Short Short Stories by New Zealand Writers[10] and Creative Juices.[11]

In 2013, King became literary director of the WORD Christchurch Writers and Readers Festival.[3][4] She was a judge for the New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults in 2017.[12]

King's book Red Rocks was adapted into the 2025 television series Secrets at Red Rocks.[13]

Awards

King won the 2005 Lilian Ida Smith Award.[3] In 2007, King's first novel The Sound of Butterflies won the NZSA Hubert Church Best First Book Award for Fiction at the Montana New Zealand Book Awards.[14] She was also the 2008 Ursula Bethell Writer in Residence at the University of Canterbury.[15]

Her novel for children, Red Rocks, was shortlisted for the Junior Fiction category in the 2013 New Zealand Post Children's Book Awards[16] and won the LIANZA Esther Glen Award.[17]

The Case of the Missing Stuff was shortlisted for the New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults' Wright Family Foundation Esther Glen Junior Fiction Award in 2025.[18] The Case of the Missing Stuff and The Case of the Angry Ghost were both named as Storylines Notable Junior Fiction Books for 2025.[19]

References

  1. ↑ "Rachael King". Academy of New Zealand Literature. Retrieved 26 November 2025.
  2. ↑ "Interview with Rachael King". Christchurch City Libraries Ngā Kete Wānanga o Ōtautahi. 2012. Retrieved 24 May 2026.
  3. 1 2 3 "Rachael King - Writer's Files". Read NZ Te Pou Muramura. Retrieved 24 May 2026.
  4. 1 2 Matthews, Philip (9 July 2016). "National portrait: Rachael King, literary director". The Press. Retrieved 23 November 2017.
  5. ↑ "How do we inspire girls to rock out?". RNZ. 6 April 2025. Retrieved 24 May 2026.
  6. ↑ "Michael King The Writer". Michael King Writers Centre. Retrieved 24 May 2026.
  7. ↑ "Jonathan King". Verb Wellington. Retrieved 24 May 2026.
  8. ↑ "Wild magic and Traitors with Rachael King". RNZ. 23 May 2026. Retrieved 29 May 2026.
  9. ↑ Casey, Alex (11 May 2026). "From superfans to witches: everything we know about The Traitors NZ S3 so far". The Spinoff. Retrieved 29 May 2026.
  10. ↑ Lay, Graeme; Stratford, Stephen, eds. (2005). Home: New Short Short Stories by New Zealand Writers. Random House. ISBN 9781869417413.
  11. ↑ Neale, Emma, ed. (2002). Creative Juices. HarperCollins. ISBN 9781869504106.
  12. ↑ "2017 Awards Judges". New Zealand Book Awards Trust. Retrieved 23 November 2017.
  13. ↑ Ward, Tara (10 March 2025). "Secrets at Red Rocks is a delightful dive into nostalgic waters". The Spinoff. Retrieved 25 November 2025.
  14. ↑ "Past Winners by Author". New Zealand Book Awards Trust. Retrieved 23 November 2017.
  15. ↑ "Ursula Bethell Residency". University of Canterbury. Retrieved 31 May 2026.
  16. ↑ "New Zealand Post Children's Book Awards - finalists announced". Publishers Association of New Zealand. 4 April 2013. Retrieved 31 May 2026.
  17. ↑ "LIANZA Esther Glen Junior Fiction Award". Christchurch City Libraries. Retrieved 23 November 2017.
  18. ↑ "2025 New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults shortlists". Books+Publishing. 5 June 2025. Retrieved 6 June 2025.
  19. ↑ "2025 Storylines Notable Book Awards announced". New Zealand Society of Authors (PEN NZ Inc) Te Puni Kaituhi O Aotearoa. 6 November 2025. Retrieved 31 May 2026.
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