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Eleanor CattonNew Zealand writer
Date of Birth: 24.09.1985
Country: ![]() |
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Biography of Eleanor Catton
Eleanor Catton is a New Zealand writer and winner of the prestigious Booker Prize in 2013 for her second novel, "The Luminaries". On March 18, 2014, she was awarded the New Zealand Order of Merit for her outstanding achievements in the literary field.

Early Life and Education
Eleanor Catton was born on September 24, 1985, in Canada, where her father, a New Zealand citizen, was completing his doctoral dissertation at the University of Western Ontario. When she was six years old, her family returned to their homeland, and Eleanor grew up in Christchurch, a city on the eastern coast of the South Island. She also spent a year in Leeds, England, studying at the prestigious Lawnswood School, which surprisingly specialized in mathematics and computer disciplines. According to her own words, it was a challenging but remarkable experience. She attended Burnside High School and later studied English at the University of Canterbury. She obtained a master's degree in creative writing from the International Institute of Modern Letters at Victoria University in Wellington. In 2008, Catton completed the Iowa Writers' Workshop program at the University of Iowa in the United States.

Career and Works
Catton currently resides in Auckland with her boyfriend, American expatriate writer and poet Steven Toussaint. She teaches creative writing at the Manukau Institute of Technology. Her first novel, "The Rehearsal", was published in 2008 as her master's thesis. The novel explores the complex dynamics of a relationship between a teacher and his student, a girl from a local school, and the reactions of those around them. "The Rehearsal" earned Catton numerous awards, including the Adam Award in 2007, the Betty Trask Award in 2009, the New Zealand Book Award in 2009, the Guardian First Book Award in 2009, the Orange Prize for Fiction, and the Amazon.ca First Novel Award in 2010.

Success with "The Luminaries"
Catton's highly anticipated second novel, "The Luminaries," was published in 2013. The story is set in 1866 New Zealand and follows a young Scotsman named Walter Moody who arrives in Hokitika, hoping to strike it rich in the goldfields but instead finds himself in the midst of mysterious and tangled events. "The Luminaries" was shortlisted for the Booker Prize and ultimately won, making Catton, at 28 years old, the youngest author to be shortlisted and the youngest winner in the history of the prestigious award. With 832 pages, "The Luminaries" also became the longest novel to win the Booker Prize.
In addition to the Booker Prize, "The Luminaries" brought Catton the Duchess of Cornwall Literary Award in October 2013 and the Governor General's Award for Fiction in November of the same year. In January of the following year, it was announced that Catton would receive an honorary doctorate in literature from her alma mater, Victoria University.