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Vivienne Plumb

b. 1955

New Zealand poet, playwright, fiction writer and editor

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About Vivienne Plumb

Born 1955. Vivienne Plumb is a New Zealand writer and playwright.

Vivienne Christiana Gracia Plumb (born 4 April 1955) is a New Zealand poet, playwright, fiction writer, and editor. Born in Sydney, Australia, she received a Bachelor of Arts degree in English literature and a Master of Arts in creative writing from the International Institute of Modern Letters at Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand. She has earned a Doctor of Creative Arts (DCA) degree from the University of Wollongong, Australia. Her 2012 doctoral thesis, titled Hitchhiking: the travelling female body, was in two parts: a collection of short fiction, The Glove Box and Other Stories; and an accompanying exegesis.

Plumb originally trained in acting and performance at the Victorian College of the Arts, Melbourne. After being accepted into Bill Manhire's Original Composition course in 1990 at Victoria University of Wellington, she began writing. In 1993, Plumb and several other women playwrights (Lorae Parry, Fiona Samuel, Jean Betts, and Cathy Downes) formed WOPPA (Women's Professional Playwrights Association) and established The Women's Play Press.

She currently resides in Wellington, New Zealand.

Awards and residencies Plumb has received numerous awards for her fiction, poetry, and drama.

1993 Bruce Mason Playwriting Award, Love Knots 1994 JD Stout Fellowship, Stout Research Centre, Victoria University of Wellington 2005 Varuna Retreat Fellowship, Australia 2006 Writer-in-Residence, Hong Kong Baptist University 2009 Doctorate of Creative Arts scholarship, University of Wollongong 2014 Ursula Bethell Writer-in-Residence, University of Canterbury

Publications Poetry 1998 Salamanca 2000 Avalanche 2004 Nearious, poems and parables 2005 Scarab 2006 Doppelganger (with Adam Wiedemann) 2007 From Darkness to Light 2010 Crumple 2011 The Cheese and Onion Sandwich and other New Zealand Icons

Plays 1994 Love Knots 2008 The Cape

Fiction 1993 The Wife Who Spoke Japanese In her Sleep 1999 The Diary as a Positive in Female Adult Behaviour 2003 Secret City 2014 The Glove Box and other stories

Nonfiction 1991 Between These Hills (collected writing of the students of the 1990 creative writing course, Victoria University of Wellington) 1993 Sevensome (poetry collection by New Zealand women poets) 2003 Red Light Means Stop (six short solo theatre pieces by New Zealand women) 2013 Twenty New Zealand Playwrights

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Important facts

Birth century
Occupation
Nationality
Education
Victoria University of Wellington, International Institute of Modern Letters
Awards
Bruce Mason Playwriting Award
Also known as
Vivienne Christiana Gracia Plumb

People in Vivienne Plumb's life

Named in this biography and alive at the same time

Contemporaries

People whose lives overlapped Vivienne Plumb's

Frequently asked questions

Who is Vivienne Plumb?

New Zealand poet, playwright, fiction writer and editor

When was Vivienne Plumb born?

Vivienne Plumb was born on 4 April 1955 in Sydney.

What is Vivienne Plumb's occupation?

Vivienne Plumb is a writer and playwright.

What nationality is Vivienne Plumb?

Vivienne Plumb is New Zealand.

Sources & further reading

· Wikipedia: Vivienne Plumb

· Wikidata: Q19270008

· DBpedia: Vivienne Plumb

Cite this page

APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Vivienne Plumb. https://biography.guide/vivienne-plumb/

MLA: "Vivienne Plumb." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/vivienne-plumb/.

Chicago: "Vivienne Plumb." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/vivienne-plumb/.

Data last updated: 2026-09-21 · Spot an error? Report a correction.

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