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UC lecturer and award-winning author begins second book

Published: Sun 29 Sep 2013 10:03 AM
UC lecturer and award-winning author begins work on his second book
September 29, 2013
University of Canterbury gang lecturer and award-winning author Dr Jarrod Gilbert today announced he is beginning work on his second book, looking at murders in New Zealand.
As part of his PhD thesis, Dr Gilbert spent 10 years with New Zealand gangs researching his book Patched: The history of Gangs in New Zealand, which recently won the New Zealand Post Book Awards People's Choice Award.
Today he launched a new Facebook page – Murder: A New Zealand History – to begin writing and researching for his next book.
``I want to take interested people through the process as to how the book is researched and written. For me it’s a tough, torturous process, from a concept through to the finished product.
``This is a big project to embark on and an even more ambitious book than Patched but I am happy to take people along for the ride. It’s fantastic being based at UC and being able to lecture about gangs and related issues.
``Certain murders have gripped New Zealand, titillating, outraging, or sharply dividing the public. Most often, a great deal is known about these events but Murder will look at more than the events themselves by examining what these killings say about New Zealand and how they reflected our society at the time.
``The history of murder in this country becomes a history of New Zealand more generally. Murder will cast light on important parts of New Zealand history that are hitherto unexplored.
``I am convinced that Murder will be a bigger and more important work, and offer a greater number of essential findings that challenge our assumptions and inform deeper understandings of New Zealand history.’’
Dr Gilbert has worked alongside the Howard League for Penal Reform, the Department of Corrections, the New Zealand Police and key experts at UC, including criminologist Professor Greg Newbold, which will give him an advantage in accessing participants in the research, as well as databases and files necessary to carry out the book project.
The ideas for his project have been matured by discussions with a number of key people from long standing police detectives to Queen’s Counsel lawyers and history and sociology academics, all of whom support the project.
ENDS

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