Zoë Rankin

Zoë Rankin’s first book The Vanishing Place (Moa Press) about a shocking murder set in dense New Zealand bush, catapulted to the bestseller charts on publication in September last year and has largely remained there ever since. The psychological thriller has secured valuable publishing deals in the UK and the US.

NVA judge Guy Somerset says Zoë has a firm grasp of New Zealand gothic and its enduring appeal. ‘… thrilling and terrifying. Rankin’s writing is as visceral about the bush as it is about the violence that inhabits it.’