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Des Hunt (born 29 December 1941) is a New Zealand teacher and a writer for children and young adults. Several of his books have been shortlisted for or have won awards, including Cry of the Taniwha which won the Gaelyn Gordon Award for a Much-Loved Book in 2016. He was also the recipient of the prestigious Margaret Mahy Award in 2017. He lives in Matarangi, Coromandel Peninsula.

Biography

Des Hunt was born on 29 December 1941 in Palmerston North. As a child, he was fascinated by science which was his "favourite and best" subject at school. His favourite childhood book was The Lost World by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and another influential author in his life was Howard Spring.

He was educated at Terrace End School, Palmerston North Intermediate, Palmerston North Boys' High School, Victoria University of Wellington and Christchurch College of Education.

Hunt was a teacher for over 42 years, beginning at Hawera High School. He taught chemistry, physics, electronics and computing, and also wrote science textbooks.

In 2007, he retired from teaching to devote himself to writing, but remains a frequent visitor to schools to talk about his books and often uses chemical reactions in his presentations as a way of explaining and illustrating the writing process. His love of the natural world is evident in his books which often deal with environmental issues and have strong conservation themes.

He is married with two adult children and lives at Matarangi, Coromandel Peninsula.

Awards and prizes 

A number of Hunt's books have been shortlisted for awards or named as Storylines Notable Books.

He was a finalist in the NZ Post Children's Book Awards 2003 (A Friend in Paradise), 2007 (Frog Whistle Mine), 2010 (Cry of the Taniwha) and 2014 (Project Huia). Cool Nukes was shortlisted in the Children's Choice category of the 2016, and he was finalist in the 2017 New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults with Sunken Forest. His book Cry of the Taniwha received the Gaelyn Gordon Award for a Much-Loved Book in 2016.

In 2017, Hunt was the recipient of the Storylines Margaret Mahy Medal and Lecture Award and delivered his lecture titled Stories Out Loud.

He has also received the Woolf Fisher Memorial Award for services to education and the New Zealand Institute of Physics Award.

His 2020 book, Red Edge, was shortlisted for the 2021 Young Readers prize at the Ngaio Marsh Awards.

Bibliography

• A Friend in Paradise (HarperCollins, 2002)
• The Moa Cave (HarperCollins, 2005)
• Frog Whistle Mine (HarperCollins, 2006)
• Where Cuckoos Call (HarperCollins, 2007)
• Shadows in the Ice (HarperCollins, 2007)
• The Tooth (HarperCollins, 2008)
• Whale Pot Bay (HarperCollins, 2009)
• Cry of the Taniwha (HarperCollins, 2009)
• The Secret of Jelly Mountain (Scholastic, 2009) republished as The Last Tuatara
• The Crocodile Nest (HarperCollins, 2010)
• The Naughty Kid’s Book of Nature (HarperCollins, 2010)
• The Peco Incident (HarperCollins, 2011)
• Cody’s Unexpected Catch (HarperCollins, 2011)
• Steel Pelicans (HarperCollins, 2012)
• The Phantom of Terawhiti (HarperCollins, 2013)
• Project Huia (Scholastic, 2013)
• Crown Park (Oceanbooks, 2013)
• Cool Nukes (Scholastic, 2015)
• Skink Gully (Torea Press, 2015)
• Sunken Forest (Scholastic, 2016)
• Deadly Feathers (Torea Press, 2016)
• Broken Poppies (Scholastic, 2018; Kiwis at War)
• Search for a Kiwi Killer (Torea Press, 2018)
• To Trap a Thief (Scholastic, 2019)
• Red Edge (Scholastic, 2020)

References

1. "Interview with Des Hunt". Christchurch City Libraries Nga Kete Wananga-o-Otautahi. 2002. Retrieved 15 November 2018.
2. "Author Interview: Des Hunt". Scholastic. Archived from the original on 22 January 2020. Retrieved 15 November 2018.
3. "Questions for Des Hunt". Christchurch Kids Blog. 29 November 2010. Retrieved 15 November 2018.
4. Murison, Barbara (28 April 2014). "Interview with Des Hunt New Zealand Post Book Awards for Children and Young People 2014". Around the Bookshops. Retrieved 15 November 2018.
5. ^ "Bio". Des Hunt: a writer for young readers. Retrieved 15 November 2018.
6. ^ Winder, Virginia (20 March 2012). "Influencing kids with fiction". Stuff: Taranaki Daily News. Retrieved 15 November 2018.
7. ^ "Storylines Profiles: Des Hunt". Storylines. Retrieved 15 November 2018.
8. "First post from Des Hunt – The start of a new novel". Christchurch Kids Blog. 1 November 2010. Retrieved 15 November 2018.
9. "Hunt, Des". New Zealand Book Council Te Kaunihera Pukapuka o Aotearoa. February 2017. Archived from the original on 19 November 2018. Retrieved 15 November 2018.
10. "Storylines Notable Books Awards". Storylines. Archived from the original on 12 December 2019. Retrieved 15 November 2018.
11. "Storylines Gaelyn Gordon Award". Storylines. Archived from the original on 10 July 2021. Retrieved 15 November 2018.
12. "Storylines Margaret Mahy Medal and Lecture Award". Storylines. Archived from the original on 1 December 2017. Retrieved 15 November 2018.
13. "Ngaio Marsh Awards 2021 shortlists announced". Books+Publishing. 16 September 2021. Archived from the original on 16 September 2021. Retrieved 17 September 2021.

• Living people
• New Zealand children's writers
• 1941 births
• Christchurch College of Education alumni
• New Zealand male writers
• 21st-century New Zealand male writers