Background
Wootton was born in Wellington in 1961, and spent much of her early life in Wanganui before moving to Dunedin, where she attended the University of Otago and has worked as a physiotherapist.
Wootton was born in Wellington in 1961, and spent much of her early life in Wanganui before moving to Dunedin, where she attended the University of Otago and has worked as a physiotherapist.
Wootton received a Bachelor of Arts degree in English literature in 2003, and published her first selection of poetry, Hourglass, in 2005. In 2008, Wootton was awarded the Robert Burns Fellowship by the University of Otago. Three short stories by Wootton appeared in the anthology The Happiest Music on Earth (Rosa Mira, 2013).
Other awards won by Wootton include the 2007 Inverawe Poetry Competition in Tasmania, the 2010 New Zealand Poetry Society International Poetry competition, and the 2013 Cancer Council Victoria Arts Awards poetry prize. Wootton was runner-up in the BNZ Katherine Mansfield short story awards in 2009 and 2010, and a finalist in the 2008 Sunday Star-Times short story competition.
