# Russell Kirkpatrick > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Russell_Kirkpatrick > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Russell_Kirkpatrick.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell_Kirkpatrick > Source revision: 1293658431 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{short description|New Zealand geography lecturer and writer}} {{Use dmy dates|date=July 2019}} {{Use New Zealand English|date=July 2019}} {{Infobox writer | image = Russell Kirkpatrick, 2014.jpg | caption = Kirkpatrick, 2014 | birth_name = | birth_date = {{Birth year and age|1961}} | birth_place = [Christchurch](/source/Christchurch), New Zealand | occupation = {{Cslist|Novelist|geography lecturer|mapmaker|photographer}} | education = [University of Canterbury](/source/University_of_Canterbury) (PhD) | genre = [Fantasy](/source/Fantasy) | notable_works = {{plainlist}} *''Fire of Heaven'' trilogy *''Husk'' (or ''Broken Man'') trilogy {{endplainlist}} | children = 2 | awards = | website = }} '''Russell Kirkpatrick''' (born 1961) is a New Zealand novelist, geography lecturer, mapmaker and photographer. He has contributed to a number of notable atlases, and since 2004 has completed two fantasy trilogies. He is a three-time winner of the award for best novel (adult category) at New Zealand's [Sir Julius Vogel Awards](/source/Sir_Julius_Vogel_Awards). His books were first published in Australia and in the mid-2010s he moved to [Canberra](/source/Canberra), where ({{As of|2022|lc=yes}}) he now lectures at the [University of Canberra](/source/University_of_Canberra). ==Life and career== Kirkpatrick was born in [Christchurch](/source/Christchurch) in 1961, and lived there until 1999,{{cite web |title=Russell Kirkpatrick biography |url=https://www.fantasybookreview.co.uk/Russell-Kirkpatrick/biography.html |website=Fantasy Book Review |access-date=20 December 2022}} when he and his family moved to [Hamilton](/source/Hamilton%2C_New_Zealand).{{cite news |last1=Graham |first1=Ann |title=Flight of fantasy |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/313786240 |access-date=21 December 2022 |work=Waikato Times |date=28 February 2004 |page=D4|id={{ProQuest|313786240}} }} He became interested in maps and mapmaking at primary school,{{cite news |last1=Keene |first1=Howard |title=The world according to Russel |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/314292420 |access-date=20 December 2022 |work=[The Press](/source/The_Press) |date=28 August 1999 |page=WE3|id={{ProQuest|314292420}} }} and in the 1990s was noted as having New Zealand's largest collection of [Lego](/source/Lego).{{cite news |last1=Holloway |first1=Bruce |title=Map of New Zealand's heart |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/313596489 |access-date=20 December 2022 |work=Waikato Times |date=23 August 1999 |page=7|id={{ProQuest|313596489}} }} He holds a PhD in geography from the [University of Canterbury](/source/University_of_Canterbury), obtained in 1991,{{cite thesis |last=Kirkpatrick |first=Russell |year=1991 |type=Doctoral thesis |title=Putting self on the map: An examination of user-driven mapping |publisher=UC Research Repository, University of Canterbury |hdl=10092/4899 |doi=10.26021/6323 |url=https://ir.canterbury.ac.nz/handle/10092/4899}} and lectured at the [University of Waikato](/source/University_of_Waikato) in Hamilton from 2000 until 2014. {{As of|2020}} he was based in [Canberra](/source/Canberra), Australia, and working as a sessional lecturer at the [University of Canberra](/source/University_of_Canberra).{{cite web |last1=Huntman |first1=Gerry |title=New Title: Silent Sorrow by Russell Kirkpatrick |url=https://ifwgaustralia.com/2019/03/09/new-title-silent-sorrow-by-russell-kirkpatrick/ |website=IFWG Publishing Australia |access-date=19 December 2022 |date=9 March 2019}} Of his passion for maps, Kirkpatrick has said: {{blockquote|I'm probably a little more obsessive than most. I have this pet theory that there's a common link between my love of maps and the fact that I'm an obsessive Lego collector, a computer programmer, and a science-fiction fantasy lover.}} He has worked on a number of [atlases](/source/atlases), including as deputy editor of the ''New Zealand Historical Atlas'' (1998), which won the readers' choice award at the 1998 [Montana Book Awards](/source/Montana_Book_Awards),{{cite news |last1=Bradley |last2=Lisa |title=Fantasy writer Russell Kirkpatrick |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/314124893 |access-date=19 December 2022 |work=Sunday Star-Times |date=30 March 2008 |page=C6|id={{ProQuest|314124893}} }} and as author of the ''Contemporary Atlas of New Zealand'' (1999), which had sold more than 20,000 copies {{as of|2009|lc=y}}. His 2000 work ''Degrees of Deprivation in New Zealand: An Atlas of Socioeconomic Difference'' was described by [Annette King](/source/Annette_King), then the New Zealand Minister of Health, as an "exciting tool" that could be used by the government to ensure health spending was better-targeted.{{cite news |last1=Adams |first1=Daniel |title=Atlas illustrates NZ poverty |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/313671766 |access-date=20 December 2022 |work=Waikato Times |date=15 September 2000 |page=8|id={{ProQuest|313671766}} }} He wrote and provided photographs for a book about New Zealand waterfalls, ''Walk to Waterfalls'' (2011).{{cite news |last1=Kirkpatrick |first1=Russell |title=Chasing NZ's best waterfalls |url=https://www.stuff.co.nz/travel/6041214/Chasing-NZs-best-waterfalls |access-date=19 December 2022 |work=Stuff |date=27 November 2011}} He has said his favourite waterfall in New Zealand is [Marokopa Falls](/source/Marokopa_Falls).{{cite news |last1=Cooper |first1=Tracey |title=Falling stars |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/916025944 |access-date=21 December 2022 |work=Waikato Times |date=14 January 2012 |page=YW6|id={{ProQuest|916025944}} }} Kirkpatrick's first novel, ''Across the Face of the World'', was published in Australia in 2004, and was the best-selling fantasy novel in Australia in that year, as well as topping the [Dymocks](/source/Dymocks) bestseller list for over four weeks. It was followed by two further novels in the ''Fire of Heaven'' series. A 2004 review by ''[The New Zealand Herald](/source/The_New_Zealand_Herald)'' of ''Across the Face of the World'' noted that Kirkpatrick had spent 16 years writing the book, an "investment [which] seems to have paid off" in terms of world-building and the creation of a detailed atlas. The reviewer felt however that despite having "all the key fantasy elements" the book was lacking "enough creative spark to ignite [the reviewer's] imagination".{{Cite news |last=Cubey |first=Mark |date=2004-04-25 |title=Russell Kirkpatrick: Across the Face of the World |language=en-NZ |journal=The New Zealand Herald |url=https://www.nzherald.co.nz/lifestyle/irussell-kirkpatricki-across-the-face-of-the-world/HXJOH32AFSF7YCXKBCLWDFASDM/ |access-date=2022-07-18 |issn=1170-0777}} Gerard Campbell for ''[The Press](/source/The_Press)'' described it as "a solid fantasy world that is worth a look for fans of the genre".{{cite news |last1=Campbell |first1=Gerard |title=Story Shorts |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/314576150 |access-date=20 December 2022 |work=[The Press](/source/The_Press) |date=13 March 2004 |page=D11|id={{ProQuest|314576150}} }} In 2008, ''Across the Face of the World'' was published in the USA and was the best-selling science fiction or fantasy debut in that year.{{cite news |last1=Holman |first1=Tim |title=Bestselling SFF Debuts of 2008 |url=https://www.orbitbooks.net/2009/01/14/bestselling-sff-debuts-of-2008/ |access-date=21 December 2022 |work=Orbit Books |date=14 January 2009}} Each of the three novels of Kirkpatrick's ''Husk'' trilogy has won the award for best novel (adult category) at the [Sir Julius Vogel Awards](/source/Sir_Julius_Vogel_Awards): ''Path of Revenge'' in 2008, ''Dark Heart'' in 2009,{{cite web |title=Sir Julius Vogel Awards |url=https://my.christchurchcitylibraries.com/sir-julius-vogel-awards/ |website=Christchurch City Libraries |access-date=19 December 2022}} and ''Beyond the Wall of Time'' in 2010.{{cite web |last1=Walton |first1=Jo |title=The Sir Julius Vogel Awards 2010 |url=https://www.tor.com/2010/08/30/the-sir-julius-vogel-awards-2010/ |website=Tor |access-date=19 December 2022 |date=30 August 2010}} [Jason Nahrung](/source/Jason_Nahrung), reviewing ''Path of Revenge'' for ''[The Courier-Mail](/source/The_Courier-Mail)'', noted the praise Kirkpatrick has received for his mapmaking, and said he "has managed to not only paint a working, believable world in this, the first of a new series, but inhabit it with real people as well".{{cite news |last1=Nahrung |first1=Jason |title=Three tales deftly told |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/353947849 |access-date=21 December 2022 |work=The Courier-Mail |date=10 February 2007 |page=M30|id={{ProQuest|353947849}} }} Kirkpatrick has described his second trilogy as darker than the first, noting that at the time of writing the first he was training to be a pastor.{{cite news |last1=Geoff |first1=Taylor |title=Fantasy man's strange new world |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/313305156 |access-date=21 December 2022 |work=Waikato Times |date=22 March 2008 |page=E2|id={{ProQuest|313305156}} }} ''Silent Sorrow'' (2020), the first novel in his planned ''The Book of Remezov'' trilogy, was shortlisted for the best novel award at the 2022 Sir Julius Vogel Awards.{{cite web |title=2022 Sir Julius Vogel Awards Winners |url=https://locusmag.com/2022/08/2022-sir-julius-vogel-awards-winners/ |website=Locus Magazine |access-date=21 December 2022 |date=15 August 2022}} ==Selected works== ===''Fire of Heaven'' trilogy=== *''Across the Face of the World'' (2004) *''In the Earth Abides the Flame'' (2005) *''The Right Hand of God'' (2006) ===''Husk'' or ''Broken Man'' trilogy=== The ''Husk'' trilogy was published as the ''Broken Man'' trilogy in the United States and United Kingdom. *''Path of Revenge'' (2006) *''Dark Heart'' (2008) *''Beyond the Wall of Time'' (2009) ===''The Book of Remezov'' trilogy=== *''Silent Sorrow'' (2020) ===Non-fiction=== *''New Zealand Historical Atlas'' (1998, deputy editor, with editor [Malcolm McKinnon](/source/Malcolm_McKinnon)) *''Degrees of Deprivation in New Zealand: An Atlas of Socioeconomic Difference'' (2000) *''Contemporary Atlas of New Zealand'' (1999, 2nd edition 2004, author) *''Rural Canterbury, Celebrating its History'' (2001, co-editor with Garth Cant) *''Walk to Waterfalls'' (2011, author and photographer) ==References== {{Reflist}} ==External links== * {{isfdb name|id=Russell_Kirkpatrick}} {{Authority control}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Kirkpatrick, Russell}} Category:1961 births Category:Living people Category:New Zealand fantasy writers Category:New Zealand male novelists Category:University of Canterbury alumni Category:Academic staff of the University of Waikato Category:Educators from Christchurch Category:Writers from Christchurch Category:New Zealand emigrants to Australia Category:21st-century New Zealand novelists Category:20th-century geographers Category:21st-century geographers Category:20th-century New Zealand male writers Category:21st-century New Zealand male writers Category:Academic staff of the University of Canberra --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Russell Kirkpatrick](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell_Kirkpatrick) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell_Kirkpatrick?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.