MIT celebrates Eleanor Catton’s Man Booker shortlisting

12 September 2013

News release

MIT celebrates lecturer Eleanor Catton’s Man Booker shortlisting

Eleanor Catton’s novel “The Luminaries” (Granta/VUP) is one of six books shortlisted for the 2013 Man Booker Prize. Catton lectures in Creative Writing at the Manukau Institute of Technology (MIT) in Auckland.

“MIT is absolutely delighted to learn of Eleanor’s shortlisting,” says Dr. Peter Brothers, Chief Executive of MIT.

“Eleanor’s nomination will focus international attention on New Zealand literature and New Zealand writing. We are extremely proud that our creative writing students are learning their craft from one of the country’s leading literary voices.”

Catton says creative writing programmes provide students with benefits beyond being able to craft great fiction.

“Fiction writing…is about being able to solve problems in creative ways. The goal isn’t just to become a better writer; it’s to become a better person.”

This personal evolution unfolds naturally as part of the collaborative workshopping process her students at MIT move through as part of their creative writing course work.

She says this method of teaching allows both the lecturer and students to be genuinely invested in the creative development of others.

“Fiction can offer something that no other art form in the world offers: the chance to inhabit the mind of someone else. Curiosity, kindness, and empathy are prerequisites.”

MIT students studying under Ms Catton are able to progress through to a degree level qualification in creative writing via the Institute’s Bachelor of Creative Arts (Creative Writing) programme.

MIT also offers a Diploma in Creative Writing (Level Five).

Ms Catton teaches both programmes in partnership with some of New Zealand’s most accomplished writers, including Professor Witi Ihimaera, Professor Albert Wendt, Robert Sullivan, Sue Orr, and Anne Kennedy.

ENDS

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