Elspeth Sandys

Elspeth Somerville Sandys (born 1940) is a New Zealand author and script writer.

Background

Born in Timaru in 1940, she grew up in Dunedin. She was adopted by the Alley family and was exposed to literature from a young age by Rewi Alley. She uses the surname Sandys as a pseudonym.

Sandys received an MA (First Class Honours) in English from the University of Auckland, an Associate Diploma (FTCL) in Speech & Drama and a Fellowship Diploma (LTCL) in Music, both from Trinity College London.

Works Sandys's fiction often focuses on personal, social, and political relationships. While some of her novels are historical fiction their motivating themes remain contemporary. In addition to her published works, Sandys has taught creative writing and worked as an editor at Oxford University Press. and New Zealand Books Pukapuka Aotearoa.

Non-fiction What Lies Beneath: a memoir (Otago University Press, 2014) Casting Off: a memoir (Otago University Press, 2017) A Communist in the Family: Searching for Rewi Alley (Otago University Press, 2019) With John Man, Sandys has ghostwritten several non-fiction works including The Survival of Jan Little (Penguin Books, 1986).

In the 2006 New Year Honours, Sandys was appointed an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services to literature.

Residencies and fellowships In 1992 Sandys was awarded the Grimshaw Sargeson Fellowship with Gaelyn Gordon. She was awarded the Robert Burns Fellowship, in 1995, a literary residency at the University of Otago in Dunedin, New Zealand. In 2016 she received a residency at the Michael King Writers Centre.