Lawrence & Gibson
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Lawrence & Gibson is an independent publisher founded in Wellington, New Zealand in 2005.[1] The organisation functions as a non-profit worker collective where profits are split 50/50 between author and publisher.[1]
| Founded | 2005 |
|---|---|
| Country of origin | New Zealand |
| Headquarters location | Wellington |
| Publication types | Books (fiction) |
| Official website | www |
Their most notable releases are Richard Meros' On the condition and possibilities of Helen Clark taking me as Her Young Lover[2] (2005) and Brannavan Gnanalingam's Sprigs (2020). As of 2023, the collective is steered by Murdoch Stephens (co-founder), Brannavan Gnanalingam (2011) and Thomasin Sleigh, all of whom have released multiple titles with the collective.[3]
Notable authors
Notable authors include Richard Meros,[4][5][2][6] William Dewey,[7] Brannavan Gnanalingam,[8] Thomasin Sleigh,[9] Murdoch Stephens, Alice Tawhai, Tīhema Baker, Rhydian Thomas,[10] and Sharon Lam.[11][12] The Dominion Post described it as one of the capital city's most promising independent publishers.[13]
Publications and awards
In 2016, Gnanalingam's A Briefcase, Two Pies and a Penthouse, which was long-listed for novel of the year in New Zealand's Ockham Book Awards.[14] The following year, his novel Sodden Downstream was short-listed for the Ockham New Zealand Book Awards novel of the year.[15]
Both of their 2017 novels—Milk Island and Sodden Downstream —received critical acclaim. Milk Island was judged as the fifth best book of 2017 by the Spinoff,[16] while Sodden Downstream was described by the same publication as 'surely the best local novel of 2017 by a long stretch. No other novel comes close to achieving such a close examination of life in New Zealand right now.'[17]
The 2019 release of Lonely Asian Woman by Sharon Lam marked the twenty-fifth publication from the collective.[11][12][18] The novel was long-listed for the Ockham New Zealand Book Awards novel of the year.[19]
In 2020, the publisher and founder of Lawrence & Gibson, Murdoch Stephens revealed himself as the author behind the Richard Meros novels.[20][21] Concurrently, the collective released a debut novel under Stephens' own name Rat King Landlord.[22][23]
Gnanalingam's sixth book with the collective, Sprigs, was released to widespread acclaim in 2020.[24][25][26] It was short-listed for the best fiction of the year and described by The Spinoff as "having that rare thing in a novel: impetus" .[27] The success of the novel led to Gnanalingam authoring a fortnightly column in the Sunday Star-Times.[28] Sprigs won the Ngaio Marsh Award for best work of crime fiction in the 2021 ceremony.[29]