Peter Wells (director)

**Peter Northe Wells**  (8 February 1950 – 18 February 2019) was a New Zealand writer and filmmaker and historian. He was born in Auckland. His best known work was _Desperate Remedies_ (1993). Wells' 2003 novel _Iridescence_ was a runner up in the fiction category of the Montana New Zealand Book Awards and a finalist in the 2005 Tasmania Pacific Fiction Prize.

In 2006, Wells was made a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit. He was openly gay.

## Personal life

Wells, who was gay, was married to the writer Douglas Lloyd Jenkins. Wells died from prostate cancer at Mercy Hospice under hospice care in Auckland on 18 February 2019, aged 69.

### Bibliography

- Short story collection. Won 1992 NZ Book Award for Fiction and 1992 PEN (NZ) Best First Book in Prose Award.
    - The feature film _Memory and Desire_ (1997) directed by Niki Caro, was based on Wells' short story "Of Memory and Desire" in this collection.
- _Best Mates: Gay Writing in Aotearoa New Zealand_ (1997) Edited by Peter Wells and Rex Pilgrim. Auckland: Reed
- _Frock Attack! Wig Wars!: Strategic Camp in Desperate Remedies_ (1997) Auckland: Centre for Film, Television and Media Studies, University of Auckland
- _Long Loop Home: a memoir_ (2001)  Auckland: Vintage. Won the Biography Category of the 2002 Montana NZ Book Awards
- _Iridescence_ (2003) Auckland: Vintage. Runner-up for the 2004 Deutz Medal for Fiction and shortlisted for the Tasmania Pacific Fiction Prize 2005
- _On Going to the Movies_ (2005) Series editor Lloyd Jones. Wellington: Four Winds Press
- _The Cat's Whiskers: New Zealand Writers on Cats_ (2005) Edited by Peter Wells. Auckland: Vintage
- _Lucky Bastard_ (2007) Auckland: Random House
- _The Hungry Heart_ (2012) Auckland: Random House
- _Little Joker Sings_ (2013) Auckland: Random House
- _Journey to a Hanging_ (2014) Auckland: Random House
- _Dear Oliver: Uncovering a Pākehā History_ (2018) Massey University Press

### Filmography and videography

- _Foolish Things_ (1980)
- _Little Queen_  (1984)
- _Jewel's Darl_ (1985)
- _My First Suit_ (1985)
- _Newest City on the Globe: Art Deco Napier_ (1985). Auckland: Moving Image Centre.
- _Newest City on the Globe_ (1985). Written and directed by Peter Wells. Produced and edited by Stewart Main. Auckland: TVNZ.
- _A Death in the Family_. Film for television with Stewart Main.
- _Drama on Film_. Wellington: New Zealand Film Commission.
- _The Mighty Civic_ (1988)  Documentary co-directed by Wells and Stewart Main. Wellington: New Zealand Film Commission.
- _A Taste of Kiwi_ (1990)
- _Desperate Remedies_ (1993). Written by Wells and co-directed by Wells and Main. Isambard Productions.
- _Naughty Little Peeptoe_, with Garth Maxwell.
- _One of Them_ Written by Wells and directed by Main.
- _Georgie Girl_ (2001)

## Other websites

- List at University of Auckland New Zealand Literature File of works by and about Wells
- NZ Book council bio and interview
- My Favourite Room: Peter Wells
- Profile audio interview with Peter (2013), PrideNZ.com

## Infobox (writer)

- **name**: Peter Wells
- **image**: Peter_wells(3113).jpg
- **alt**: Peter Wells
- **caption**: Wells in 2013
- **birth name**: Peter Northe Wells
- **death place**: Auckland, New Zealand
- **nationality**: New Zealander
- **spouse**: Douglas Llyod Jenkins
- **awards**: New Zealand Order of Merit, Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit