Clive David Hill (born 1942) is a New Zealand author, especially well known for his

young adult fiction Young adult literature (YA) is typically written for readers aged 12 to 18 and includes most of the themes found in adult fiction, such as family dysfunction, substance abuse, alcoholism, and sexuality. It is characterized by simpler world build ...

. His young fiction books '' See Ya, Simon'' (1992) and '' Right Where It Hurts'' (2001) have been shortlisted for numerous awards. He is also a prolific journalist, writing many articles for ''

The New Zealand Herald ''The New Zealand Herald'' is a daily newspaper published in Auckland, New Zealand, owned by New Zealand Media and Entertainment, and considered a newspaper of record for New Zealand. It has the largest newspaper circulation in New Zealand, ...

''.

Biography

Hill was born in 1942 in Napier. He gained an MA (Hons) from

Victoria University of Wellington Victoria University of Wellington (), also known by its shorter names "VUW" or "Vic", is a public university, public research university in Wellington, New Zealand. It was established in 1897 by Act of New Zealand Parliament, Parliament, and w ...

in 1964 and taught English in secondary schools in New Zealand and England before becoming a full-time writer in 1982. His work includes fiction, plays and reviews and articles in newspapers, journals and magazines, both in New Zealand and overseas. His books for young people range from picture books to books for young adults. His novels have been published around the world and translated into various languages and his work has also been broadcast on the radio. He visits schools as part of the Writers in Schools programme and is one of the presenters on the

Coursera Coursera Inc. () is an American global massive open online course provider. It was founded in 2012 by Stanford University computer science professors Andrew Ng and Daphne Koller. Coursera works with universities and other organizations to offe ...

online course Writing for Young Readers: Opening the Treasure Chest. He enjoys writing for teenagers because he sees them as an exciting and challenging audience to write for: sophisticated readers, who are at a stage where they are coming across many new ideas and experiences in their lives for the first time. He cites Maurice Gee as his favourite author, and

Joy Cowley Cassia Joy Cowley (; born 7 August 1936) is a New Zealand author best known for her children's fiction, including the popular series of books Mrs. Wishy-Washy. Writing career Cowley started out writing novels for adults, and her first book, ...

and

Margaret Mahy Margaret Mahy (21 March 1936 – 23 July 2012) was a New Zealand author of children's and young adult books. Many of her story plots have strong supernatural elements but her writing concentrates on the themes of human relationships and growi ...

as his favourite children's authors. Hill currently lives in

New Plymouth New Plymouth () is the major city of the Taranaki region on the west coast of the North Island of New Zealand. It is named after the English city of Plymouth, in Devon, from where the first English settlers to New Plymouth migrated. The New Pl ...

Awards and prizes

Hill was the Robert Lord Writer in Residence in Dunedin from June to August 2003. In 2010, he participated in the

International Writing Program The International Writing Program (IWP) is a writing residency for international artists in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Since 2014, the program offers online courses to many writers and poets around the world. Since its inception in 1967, the I ...

at the

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (U of I, UIowa, or Iowa) is a public university, public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is organized int ...

. He was Artist-in-Residence (co-sponsored by Massey University and the Palmerston North City Council) in Palmerston North in 2016. He is also a frequent speaker at literary festivals and took part in the Auckland Writers Festival Schools Programme in 2017. Hill was appointed a

Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit The New Zealand Order of Merit () is an order of merit in the New Zealand royal honours system. It was established by royal warrant on 30 May 1996 by Elizabeth II, Queen of New Zealand, "for those persons who in any field of endeavour, have ...

in the

2004 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 2004 were appointments by some of the Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours are awarded as part of the New Year celebrations ...

, for services to literature. In 2005 Hill became the 15th recipient of the Storylines Margaret Mahy Medal and Lecture Award. Many of Hill's books have won or been shortlisted for awards and named as Storylines Notable Books. ''See Ya Simon'' won the 1994 Times Educational Supplement Award for Special Needs and was awarded the Storylines Gaelyn Gordon Award for a Much-loved Book in 2002. In 2013 ''My Brother's War'' won the Junior Fiction Award at the

New Zealand Post Children's Book Awards The New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults are a series of literary awards presented annually to recognise excellence in children's and young adult's literature in New Zealand. The awards were founded in 1982, and have had severa ...

, and also the children's choice award in that category. In 2021, Hill received the

Prime Minister's Award for Literary Achievement A prime number (or a prime) is a natural number greater than 1 that is not a product of two smaller natural numbers. A natural number greater than 1 that is not prime is called a composite number. For example, 5 is prime because the only ways ...

in Fiction. In the

2024 New Year Honours The 2024 New Year Honours are appointments by some of the 15 Commonwealth realms to Orders and decorations of the Commonwealth realms, various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Hono ...

, Hill was promoted to

Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit The New Zealand Order of Merit () is an order of merit in the New Zealand royal honours system. It was established by royal warrant on 30 May 1996 by Elizabeth II, Queen of New Zealand, "for those persons who in any field of endeavour, have ...

, for services to literature, particularly children’s literature.

Books

*''The Seventies'' (1970) *''Introducing Maurice Gee'' (1981) *''On Poetry: Twelve Studies of Work by New Zealand Poets'' (1984) *''Ours But to Do'' (1986) *''Taranaki'' (1987) *''The Boy'' (1988) *''A Time to Laugh'' (1990) *''The Games of Nanny Miro'' (1990) *'' See Ya, Simon'' (1992)(winner of 1994 Times Educational Supplement Award for Special Needs and Children's Literature Foundation Gaelyn Gordon Award for a Much-Loved Book. NCSS-CBC Notable Children's Trade Book in the field of Social Studies.

Bank Street College Bank Street College of Education is a private school and graduate school in New York City. It consists of a graduate-only teacher training college and an independent nursery-through-8th-grade school. In 2020 the graduate school had about 65 ful ...

Children's Book of the Year. Reprinted in the United States.) *''A Day at a Time'' (1994) *''Curtain Up'' (1995) *''Kick Back'' (1995) *''Take It Easy'' (1995)(also reprinted in the United States) *''The Winning Touch'' (1995) *''Second Best'' (1996) *''Fat, Four-eyed and Useless'' (1997)(Winner Esther Glen Medal 1998; New Zealand Post Children's Book Awards finalist 1998) *''Just Looking, Thanks'' (1999) *''Boots 'n' All'' (1999) *'' Right Where It Hurts'' (2001)(winner of 2003 LIANZA Esther Glen Medal,

2003 shortlister) *''The High Wind Blows'' (2001) *''The Sleeper Wakes'' (2001) *''The Name of the Game'' (2001) *''Where All Things End'' (2002) *''My Story: Journey to

Tangiwai Tangiwai is a census area and a small rural community in the Ruapehu District of the Manawatū-Whanganui region of New Zealand's North Island. It is located east of Ohakune and Rangataua and west of Waiouru on State Highway 49. In 2018 37.5% ...

, The Diary of Peter Cotterill, Napier 1953'' (2003)(New Zealand Post Book Awards for Children & Young Adults 2004 junior section finalist) *''No Big Deal'' (2003) *''No Safe Harbour'' (2003)(New Zealand Post Book Awards for Children & Young Adults 2004 young adult section finalist) *''Coming Back'' (2004)(New Zealand Post Book Awards for Children & Young Adults 2005 young adult section finalist) *''Bodies and Soul'' (2005)(Storylines Notable Book 2006) *''Running Hot'' (2005)(New Zealand Post Book Awards for Children & Young Adults 2006 young adult section finalist) *''Aim High'' (2006) *''Hill Sides'' (2006) *''How I met myself'', Cambridge University Press, (2006) *''Black Day'' (2007) *''The Forgotten Children'' (2007) *''Duet'' (Youth Book) (2007) *''My Brother's War'' (2012) *''The Red Poppy'' (2012)(Storylines Notable Book 2013) *''Sinking'' (2013)(Storylines Notable Book 2014) *''The Deadly Sky'' (2014) *''First to the Top: Sir Edmund Hillary’s Amazing Everest Adventure'' (2015)(winner of the New Zealand Book Awards for Children & Young Adults 2016 Children's Choice Award - Non-Fiction. Listed as a Storylines Notable Book for 2016) *''Enemy Camp'' (2016)(finalist for the Esther Glen Junior Fiction Award and the Children's Choice Junior Fiction Award in 2016 New Zealand Book Awards for Children & Young Adults) *''Speed King'' (2016) *''Flight Path'' (2017) *''Sky High: Jean Batten's Incredible Flying Adventures'' (2019)(New Zealand Book Awards for Children & Young Adults 2019 non-fiction section finalist) *''Taking the Lead: How Jacinda Ardern Wowed the World'' (2020) *''Below'' (2023)(Esther Glen Award, 2023 winner)

References

External links

New Zealand Writers: HILL, DavidInterviews with NZ Children's Authors: David Hill
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hill, David 1942 births Living people New Zealand male novelists Victoria University of Wellington alumni People from Napier, New Zealand 20th-century New Zealand novelists 21st-century New Zealand novelists 20th-century New Zealand male writers 21st-century New Zealand male writers New Zealand children's writers Companions of the New Zealand Order of Merit