# Sue McCauley

Sue McCauley QSM (born 1 December 1941 in Dannevirke) is a New Zealand novelist, short story writer, playwright, journalist and screenwriter.
Her first novel was the semi-autobiographical Other Halves (1982), which won both the Wattie Book of the Year Award and the New Zealand Book Award for Fiction. It was adapted into a film, released in 1984 with McCauley credited as screenwriter.
Her manuscript "Landed" was shortlisted for the 2021 Michael Gifkins Prize and was published in March 2023 by Bateman.

## Novels

* Other Halves (1982) (Hodder & Stoughton)
* Then Again (1986) (Hodder & Stoughton)
* Bad Music (1990) (Hodder & Stoughton)
* A Fancy Man (1996) (Vintage)
* Tropic of Guile (2013) (Xlibris) a commissioned/sponsored novel
* Landed (2023) (Bateman Books)

## Short story collections

* It Could be You (1997)
* Life on Earth (2003)
These short stories and others have also appeared in numerous publications and anthologies including:
* The Best of New Zealand Fiction - vol.3 (2006) and vol.4 (2007)
* .. Graminees Review (2020) A French translation.

## Drama (Television Drama, Theatre Radio & Television Plays)

Television Drama
* The Shadow Trader (series) (1989)
* Shark in the Park (1991) Contributing writer
* Marlin Bay (1993) Contributing writer
* Mel’s Amazing Movies (1990s) Contributing writer- children’s series
* Posy Narkers (1990s) Contributing writer - children’s series
* Family Law Series (1990s) Educational dramatised videos.
Stage Plays
* Waiting for Heathcliff (1988) (Court Theatre)
* Hitting Fifty (2002) (Court Theatre)
Radio Plays
* The Obituary (1967)
* The Evening Out (1968)
* ABC (1970)
* Robbie (1972)
* Crutch (1975)
* Minor Adjustment (1975)
* Letters to May (1977)
* The Ordinary Girl (1978)
* When Did He Last Buy You Flowers? (1980)
* The Missionaries (1981)
* Isobel, God and the Cowboy (1981)
* The Ezra File (1982)
* Thank You Buzz Aldrin (1982)
* The Man Who Sleeps With his Mother (1983)
* The Ezra File (1982)
* Family Ties (1986)
* Waiting for Heathcliff (1989) - note: this is an adaption of stage play
* ..The Voice Despised (1989
* Rescue Remedy (1990)
* The Upward Mobility of Gordon Reddy (1998) (shortlisted for the Mobil Radio Awards)
Television Plays
* As Old As The World (1968)
* Friends and Neighbours (1974)

## Film Scripts

Feature Films
* Other Halves (1986) note: this is an adaption of the novel "Other Halves", which was written by Sue McCauley
Short Films
* Married (1993)
* Matrons of Honour (1994)
* "Food for Thought" (2015) Adaption of short story "The Assassin Bug".

## Journalism/ Non-Fiction

Non-Fiction
* Escape from Bosnia; Aza’s Story (1966) (Shoal Bay Press) as told to Sue McCauley by Aza Mehmedovic
Columns
* Hers (late 1960s) (NZ Listener)
* Sue McCauley On... (1970s) (Thursday Magazine)
* Lives (1988-9) (NZ Listener)
Autobiographical Essays (anthologised)
* My Father and Me (1993) (Tandem Press)
* Cherries on a Plate (1996) (Vintage)
Other
* contributor to New Zealand Heritage (1971) (historical periodical)
* contributor and TV reviewer (1970-80) (NZ Listener)
* Book reviewer (1990s) (New Zealand Books - a literary magazine)
* Reporter for - and part owner of - Waiheke Island's Gulf News (1974 -79)

## Awards

* Wattie Book Award (1982)
* Mobil Radio Award (1982)
* New Zealand Book Award (1983)
* Queen’s Service Medal (1986) as published in the Supplement to the New Zealand Gazette of
Thursday, 9 January 1986

## Fellowships

* Auckland University writer-in-residence (1986)
* Canterbury University writer-in-residence (1993)
* Hagley College writer-in-residence (2000)
* The Foxton Fellowship (2005)

## Book Editing (anthologies)

* Erotic Writing - (1992) (Penguin) co-authored by Richard McLachlan
* Mind & Mirror - (1994) (Orca Publishing Service) writing by women imprisoned
* Totally Devoted - (2002) (Harper Collins) true stories by readers of The Women's Weekly.
* A Magpie Stole My Heart (2003) (Whitireia Publishing) writing contributed by Whitireia students.

## Journalism Employment

* Copywriter, New Zealand Broadcasting Corporation (1958 - 1960) note: Sue was based in Napier then Wellington
* Journalist for the New Zealand Listener weekly magazine (1960 - 61 )
* Taranaki Herald (1963-64)
* Christchurch Press (1964 -65)

## Education

Sue attended Waitahora Primary School near Dannevirke; and then Nelson Girls’ College in the South Island