Tracey Slaughter

Tracey Slaughter (born 1972) is a New Zealand writer and poet.

Life Slaughter was born in Papatoetoe, South Auckland, and lived there until she was 10 years old, when her family moved to the Coromandel Peninsula. She studied at the University of Auckland, graduating with a Ph.D in 2002. The title of her PhD thesis was Her face looking back at me: reflections on New Zealand women's autobiography. Slaughter has tutored in English at Massey University and the University of Auckland, and is a lecturer in creative writing at the University of Waikato.

Slaughter's writing includes short stories, poems and novels, and focus on relationships and life in New Zealand. Her characters often experience trauma, such as suicide, cancer or infidelity. She won the 2024 Calibre Prize for her essay "why your hair is long & your stories short" and was longlisted for the 2025 Elizabeth Jolley Short Story Prize for "Sediment".

Publications

her body rises (Random House, 2005) Conventional Weapons (Victoria University Press, 2019) Devil's Trumpet (Victoria University Press, 2021)