Anthony Lapwood

@antzlapwood

Fiction writer. He / him. Ngāti Ranginui, Ngāi Te Rangi, Ngāti Whakaue, Pākehā. Won the Hubert Church Prize for Fiction for my story collection Home Theatre. My novel Mincemeat is forthcoming in 2026. Views my own. www.anthonylapwood.com

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Anthony Lapwood@antzlapwood· 16d

It was a real treat chairing Ingrid Horrocks and Lawrence Patchett today, for the @modernletters.bsky.social Writers on Mondays programme. My favourite insight was the importance of challenging ourselves to see characters more deeply. The act of compassion is essential to the art of fiction 📚💚

Selfie of me (in the middle) with Ingrid and Lawrence before going on stage.

Photo of me and Ingrid seated on stage while Lawrence reads at the podium. The stage is at the front of the vibrant Rongomaraeroa at Te Papa, and there is a good sized crowd in the foreground.

Photo of me, Ingrid and Lawrence seated on stage at the front of Rongomaraeroa at Te Papa, after the event.

Anthony Lapwood@antzlapwood· May 31

Celestial "sisters": Welcoming Marama and Whetū to our whare. Marama (🌝) is a luminescent grey-and-white like the moon (with a wee milk moustache) and Whetū (⭐) is black as deep space with a white star on her chest. #catsky #aotearoapets

Photo of a grey and white medium-haired cat.

Photo of a black short-haired cat with a small white patch on her chest.

Anthony Lapwood@antzlapwood· Apr 24

I wrote "Silence" after hearing Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto in E Minor (the far more famous of his two violin concertos). The music haunted me for days. I couldn't sleep; I had to do something with it. The story also features Madonna and Wham!

Pop art style cover for a vinyl record titled "Your kind of Mendelssohn" featuring differently coloured copies of Mendelssohn's face.

Photographic cover for a vinyl record of Mendelssohn violin concertos in E Minor and in D Minor performed by Yehudi Menuhin (featured playing).

Anthony Lapwood@antzlapwood· Apr 18

Savage email received from an AI this morning. I'll take "strange and playful and sad" as a compliment. But I feel this should not preclude writing from also being serious and grounded or literary 💀😂

AI email text excerpt:

"The algorithm is showing your book to people searching for literary awards contenders. Those people want serious and grounded. You are neither of those things. You are strange and playful and sad."

Anthony Lapwood@antzlapwood· Mar 22

Just finished Hilary Mantel's masterful trilogy: - Getting Rid of Katherine - Getting Rid of Anne - Getting Rid of Cromwell Brutal and brilliant. Hard to name a more significant, sustained achievement of literary craft in recent times. Of course, I'm rather late to the party 👑📚

Photo showing the spines of Hilary Mantel's Cromwell trilogy:

- Wolf Hall
- Bring Up the Bodies
- The Mirror and the Light

Anthony Lapwood@antzlapwood· Mar 15

Felt a bit tearful returning to Te Matapihi Central Library. It's an extraordinary place, well worth celebrating. Today was like greeting a dear friend after many years, and finding them in better health than ever.

Anthony Lapwood@antzlapwood· Feb 22

Thrilled to share some big news: my next book, The Carnivore Diaries, will be published later this year with Āporo Press 🍎 #TheCarnivoreDiaries #pukapuka #NZbooks @damienlevi.bsky.social

TITLE PAGE:

The Carnivore Diaries

By Anthony Lapwood

about 86,000 words

“Now the truth of the story was this:”
— Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, Don Quixote

“It seemed like a nice neighbourhood to have bad habits in.”

— Raymond Chandler, The Big Sleep
“Love is an open wound.”

— Charles Brasch, “Into the Hands of Men”

“I think perhaps all of us go a little crazy at times.”
— Robert Bloch, Psycho

Photo of a golden Labrador lying on green grass and smiling with an open mouth into the camera.

Anthony Lapwood@antzlapwood· Jan 5

Chuffed to have a new short story, "Crossed With the Cat", out via NZ Listener 😺 The title comes from a Mark Twain quote: "If man could be crossed with the cat, it would improve man, but it would deteriorate the cat."

Magazine spread featuring the text of "Crossed with the cat" by Anthony Lapwood, with a supporting image of a blow torch flame.

Portion of magazine spread of "Crossed with the cat" by Anthony Lapwood.

Photo of a tabby cat (Virginia) at the vet, with bandaged paw and IV drip line.

Photo of a tabby cat (Virginia) in a cat box with head hanging out the doorway hole.

Anthony Lapwood@antzlapwood· Dec 27

2/2

Anthony Lapwood@antzlapwood· Dec 27

My year in books (apologies for the awkward cutoffs). Loved many, disliked very few. Hope you found plenty of great reading too 📚💚 1/2

Anthony Lapwood@antzlapwood· Dec 19

Photograph of three books: Our Wives Under the Sea, by Julia Armfield; Animalia, by Jean-Baptiste Del Amo; The Penguin Book of the Modern American Short Story, edited by John Freeman.

Anthony Lapwood@antzlapwood· Dec 18

Three #pukapuka recs from me, in the annual @modernletters.bsky.social newsletter: 👁️‍🗨️ The Penguin Book of the Modern American Short Story, edited by John Freeman. 🌊 Our Wives Under the Sea, by Julia Armfield. 🐷 Animalia, by Jean-Baptiste Del Amo (translated from the French by Frank Wynne).

The Penguin Book of the Modern American Short Story, edited by John Freeman. A terrific collection of fiction which brings together writers of various backgrounds and writing of various genres, as proof of the virtues of the great melting pot and proof, I hope, that you are better to judge the soul of a nation by its artists than by its politicians.

Our Wives Under the Sea, by Julia Armfield. A beautifully haunting novel about what happens when the person you love goes away and then comes back different. It's a genuine horror story and a tender examination of a failing marriage (which just happens to be a queer one).

Animalia, by Jean-Baptiste Del Amo (translated from the French by Frank Wynne). A blindingly good novel about several generations of owners of a piggery. It elevates protest to an art form, using the tools of fiction to palpably render the problems and complications of its subject on the page. Some of the best prose you'll ever read.

Anthony Lapwood@antzlapwood· Nov 29

Xmas is just around the corner... So I'm doing a book giveaway! Win a copy of my prize-winning story collection Home Theatre 🏠🎭 Simply reply below with a good book you read this year. Draw closes 5pm NZST Sunday 30 November. #pukapuka @thwupbooks.bsky.social

Cover of Home Theatre with Xmas themes cheaply added: a Santa hat stuck on a man standing in an apartment window, a red nose and reindeer antlers stuck on a glowing horse in the window above.

Anthony Lapwood@antzlapwood· Nov 16

"Which is essentially what all novelists do," he said. "We go to a party and then tell why it was awful." From "The Penthouse" by Andrew Holleran.

Salient excerpt from "The Penthouse" by Andrew Holleran:

"So tell me about Proust," he said, turning to the novelist, who had promised to give Ashley a reading list. "What's his schtik?"

"His schtik?" said the novelist, raising his eyebrows.

"In twenty-five words or less," said Ashley.

"Well...," said the novelist. "Proust is a man who went to a party—and then went home and wrote a book about what was wrong with it. Which is essentially what all novelists do," he said. "We go to a party and then tell why it was awful."

Anthony Lapwood@antzlapwood· Jun 11

"Great! The voice of the writer won through." This must go down as one of the best authorial prefaces. Anyway, finally giving myself a proper education and giving this #pukapuka a read.

Anthony Lapwood@antzlapwood· Jun 5

Keen to explore the art of the short story through a series of supportive workshops? 👍 Apply for CREW 254 @modernletters.bsky.social by 20 June ✍️ What have current students said? Course: excellent. Teaching: excellent. Top marks 😎 www.wgtn.ac.nz/modernletter...

ANTHONY LAPWOOD
Ngāti Ranginui, Ngāi Te Rangi, Ngāti Whakaue, Pākehā

[Photo of Anthony outdoors]

Course Convenor
CREW 254 Short Fiction | He Kōrero Paki
2025 T1 & T2

What advice would you give to someone who wants to write?

"Get good at noticing the specifics of the world around you and in the worlds of your stories. As they say, the universal is found through the specific. What you notice is also fundamental to developing your voice – the act of speaking is first of all an act of seeing."

What do you love about teaching creative writing?

"Nothing beats seeing emerging writers start to find their voice and tell the stories that only they can tell, with the confidence that comes from knowing how to deploy their craft effectively."

What's something you get students to do in your workshop?

"I like to ask students to summarise each other's stories. Sometimes they worry they'll fail the 'test' by not remembering every plot point. But the aim is to remember what was worth remembering – what stood out for them as a reader."

Anthony Lapwood@antzlapwood· May 3

Finally, sunshine 🌞

A tortoiseshell cat sitting on a yellow table, basking in sunlight, face raised to the sky.

Anthony Lapwood@antzlapwood· Apr 21

Sole annotation in the back of a found copy of The Miserables by Damien Wilkins: "Lawyers accrediting pp 105" #pukapuka

Anthony Lapwood@antzlapwood· Apr 11

My short story "Catch" – about fish farms and gay neanderthals – is free to read in the latest issue of @takahemagazine.bsky.social 🎣👬 www.takahe.org.nz/catch/ #pukapuka #shortstories

Excerpt:

Catch

6 April 2025 | in t113

They have escaped to this region on the recommendation of Josh’s friend, who has family down this way. Josh and his partner, Matt, don’t think they know anyone else who lives or holidays here—not regularly. The whole environment is abnormally clean, the air and the freshwater springs, the bush, the [text cuts off]

Excerpt:

They have two fish now in the chilly bin and, feeling hungry, decide that’s enough. They can always come back another day, there’s no shortage of time. Even though they caught one fish each, Matt killed them both. Josh had wanted to kill his own, but in the end, with the awl in his hand, he had been unable. He’d known that if he tried, he would hesitate and falter, and it would be bad—worse than before. Quicker. Quicker. Though he had been right about the top [text cuts off]

Excerpt:

Perhaps they should have asked an attendant to kill the fish. An attendant mentioned it was an option when showing them the rods. The attendants seem almost eager to do the killing for you. Josh sips his IPA and studies his partner. Do you reckon neanderthals were gay? he says.

Cover of takahē issue 113, April 2025. Masthead states: fiction, poetry, art, essays, reviews.

Anthony Lapwood@antzlapwood· Feb 17

Junk mail doesn't come more junk than this 🤮

Cover of an idiotic, racist booklet titled 'STOP CO-GOVERNANCE' by one Julian Batchelor.

Anthony Lapwood@antzlapwood· Jan 27

This felt so good #X

X platform notification confirming my account is deactivated.

Anthony Lapwood@antzlapwood· Jan 21

Reminded lately of this modern masterpiece, "America" by Maurizio Cattelan 🚽🪙

Photo of a functional toilet made out of gold.

Anthony Lapwood@antzlapwood· Jan 16

Owls Do Laugh: the lost sequel #pukapuka #JanetFrame #OwlsDoCry 🦉📖

Anthony Lapwood@antzlapwood· Nov 23

Great show from Beastwars last night! Vocalist Matthew Hyde is one of the most enigmatic and charming performers in #NZmusic, an unpretentious but commanding bogan wizard. He's also something of a kindly uncle with his banter: "Have a good summer!" "Happy '25! Can't get any worse, they say!"

Anthony Lapwood@antzlapwood· Nov 19

Toitū te Tiriti. Good to support the hīkoi today – not just against Seymour's racist bill but this Government's full racist agenda 🖤🤍♥️✊

Anthony Lapwood@antzlapwood· Sep 22

If you wonder how writers pick names for characters, this is the cheap bass amp I've had for about 20 years, and the name of the boyfriend of the main recurring character in my book Home Theatre is... (yes, it's the word beginning with Ash- ).

Close up of a bass guitar amplifier with the headphone jack and power switch and the lettering:

BA 4012
BASS AMPLIFIER
Ashton

Anthony Lapwood@antzlapwood· May 15

It's been a humbling experience and a privilege being a judge for this year's fiction category for the Ockham New Zealand Book Awards. My heartfelt congrats to two very deserving winners in Lioness by Emily Perkins and Ruin by Emma Hislop. Thank you for your finely made words 📚💚🎉 #pukapuka

Anthony Lapwood@antzlapwood· May 9

Apart from his unusual guitar strap technique and sonic genius, the part about Steve Albini I admired was his support for other artists, especially the ones that never made it big, and underdogs in general. Here's a few bits I collected when I saw Shellac, including Albini's pick and signature. RIP.

A scrapbook collection from seeing Shellac play at Bodega in Wellington in 2015. Including Steve Albini's used guitar pick, the setlist (a grid of song options from different albums that they selected from on stage) which is signed by Albini, and Todd Trainer's splintered drum stick.

Anthony Lapwood@antzlapwood· May 4

The set texts will offer a broad sense of what's possible in a short story, and provide illustrations and examples for our discussions on craft. Here's the list from the course reader (I'll no doubt recommend more fantastic authors and stories along the way...)

Charles Baxter: ‘On Defamiliarization’

Rabindranath Tagore: ‘A Day’

Simon Armitage: ‘The Experience’

Jorge Luis Borges: ‘Borges and I’

Raymond Carver: ‘Cathedral’

George Saunders: ‘Victory Lap’

*William Brandt: ‘His Father’s Shoes’

Donald Barthelme: ‘The School’

*Authors from Aotearoa

Tomoyuki Hoshino: ‘Pink’

J.G Ballard: ‘The Drowned Giant’

*Maria Samuela: ‘Bluey’

Flannery O’Connor: ‘A Good Man Is Hard to Find’

*Airini Beautrais: ‘Sin City’

James Baldwin: ‘Sonny’s Blues’

Anton Chekov: ‘The Kiss’

*Pip Adam: ‘The Kiss’

*Authors from Aotearoa

Ursula K Le Guin: ‘The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas’

*Gina Cole: ‘Black Ice’

Junot Diaz: ‘How to Date a Brown Girl (Black Girl, White Girl, or Halfie)’

Italo Calvino: ‘The Distance to the Moon’

*Keri Hulme: ‘A Tally of the Souls of Sheep’

Lorrie Moore: ‘You’re Ugly, Too’

Jamaica Kincaid: ‘Girl’

*Authors from Aotearoa

*Barbara Anderson: ‘Up the River with Mrs Gallant’

*Frank Sargeson: ‘A Great Day’

Ernest Hemingway: ‘In Another Country’

John Cheever: ‘The Swimmer’

*Airana Ngarewa: ‘Pātea Warriors’

*Tracey Slaughter: ‘Deleted Scenes for Lovers’

Ted Chiang: ‘The Great Silence’

*Authors from Aotearoa

Anthony Lapwood@antzlapwood· May 4

I'm thrilled to be joining @modernletters.bsky.social to teach CREW 254 Short Fiction | He Kōrero Paki. Together, we'll investigate the art of the short story through supportive workshopping of student writing and discussing a range of published examples. More details and how to apply below ✍️💚