Keri Hulme was a New Zealand author and poet, principally known for her first novel, The Bone People, which won the 1985 Booker Prize. She died on December 27th 2021.

Her first book, The Silences Between: Moeraki Conversations (1982), is a verse collection noted for its unique and varied use of language. The Bone People, Hulme’s most acclaimed work, features three characters she first created as an 18-year-old. Hulme also published Te Kaihau/The Windeater (1986), a collection of short stories, and the collections of poetry Lost Possessions (1985) and Strands (1992). Stonefish (2004) is a collection of short stories.

Keri Hulme
Lived
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Remembering Keri Hulme

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Watch the full Channel 4 broadcast of the controversial 1985 Booker Prize winning ceremony, including interviews with the shortlisted authors and the deeply divided judges.

‘Despite the violence… I find it to be a book of some considerable joy.’ Author Keri Hulme shares her thoughts on her powerful and influential 1985 Booker Prize-winning novel, The Bone People, including the relationships between the main protagonists – both Māori and Pākehā (white people).

Watch the moment Keri Hulme’s The Bone People is announced as the 1985 Booker Prize winning book, and hear Hulme’s immediate reaction just after on the phone to Hermione Lee.

The Bone People
The Bone People

Winner The Booker Prize 1985

The Bone People

By
Keri Hulme
Published by
Hodder & Stoughton
Keri Hulme’s Booker Prize-winning novel focusses on the mysterious relationships between three unorthodox outsiders of mixed Maori and European heritage.