Heather Morris (born 1953) is a

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

author who lives in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. Her 2018 debut novel was ''

The Tattooist of Auschwitz ''The Tattooist of Auschwitz'' is a 2018 The Holocaust, Holocaust novel by New Zealand novelist Heather Morris (author), Heather Morris. The book tells the story of how Slovakian Jew Lale Sokolov, who was imprisoned at Auschwitz in 1942, fell i ...

''.

Early life and family

Heather Morris was born in 1953 in

Te Awamutu Te Awamutu is a town in the Waikato, Waikato region in the North Island of New Zealand. It is the council seat of the Waipā District and serves as a service town for the farming communities which surround it. Te Awamutu is located some south ...

in the

North Island The North Island ( , 'the fish of Māui', historically New Ulster) is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, islands of New Zealand, separated from the larger but less populous South Island by Cook Strait. With an area of , it is the List ...

of New Zealand. She later moved with her family to the town of

Pirongia Pirongia is a small town in the Waipā District of the Waikato region of New Zealand's North Island. It is 12 kilometres to the west of Te Awamutu, on the banks of the Waipā River, close to the foot of the 962 metre Mount Pirongia, which lies i ...

, and graduated from Te Awamutu High School. In interviews, she stated that as a child she knew nothing about

the Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...

. In 1971, she moved to

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

; there she met and married Steve Morris in 1973. In 1975, she returned to New Zealand with her husband and settled in

Christchurch Christchurch (; ) is the largest city in the South Island and the List of cities in New Zealand, second-largest city by urban area population in New Zealand. Christchurch has an urban population of , and a metropolitan population of over hal ...

. Their first son was born in 1976, their second son in 1980, and their daughter in 1985. She began studying at the

University of Canterbury The University of Canterbury (UC; ; postnominal abbreviation ''Cantuar.'' or ''Cant.'' for ''Cantuariensis'', the Latin name for Canterbury) is a public research university based in Christchurch, New Zealand. It was founded in 1873 as Canterbur ...

in 1986 but returned to Melbourne in 1987 and graduated from

Monash University Monash University () is a public university, public research university based in Melbourne, Victoria (state), Victoria, Australia. Named after World War I general Sir John Monash, it was founded in 1958 and is the second oldest university in the ...

with a BA in Political Science and Sociology in 1991. In 1995, she began working as an office manager in the social work department at the Monash Medical Center in Melbourne, where she remained until 2017.

Career

In 1996, Morris enrolled in a professional writing course at the Australian College of Journalism. She has participated in screenwriting lectures, seminars and creative workshops both in Australia and the US. Her first script was reviewed by the Oscar-winning author and screenwriter

Pamela Wallace Pamela Wallace (born 1949 in Exeter, California) is an American screenwriter and author. She won an Oscar for co-writing the screenplay for the movie ''Witness''. Wallace has also written 25 romance novels, under her own name and the pseudonyms P ...

. In 2003, she met and befriended

Lale Sokolov Ludwig ("Lali" or "Lale") Sokolov ( Eisenberg; 28 October 1916 – 31 October 2006), was an Austro-Hungarian-born Slovak-Australian businessman and Holocaust survivor. Biography Lale Sokolov was born Ludwig Eisenberg on 28 October 1916 in Korom ...

, two months after the death of his wife, Gita. He was 87 years old at the time. For the next three years, until his death in 2006, Lale told her details about his life during the Holocaust and his work as a tattooist in the

Auschwitz concentration camp Auschwitz, or Oświęcim, was a complex of over 40 Nazi concentration camps, concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in Polish areas annexed by Nazi Germany, occupied Poland (in a portion annexed into Germany in 1939) d ...

, a job he had been assigned to by the camp's S.S. administrators. Based on his stories, Morris later wrote ''The Tattooist of Auschwitz,'' initially as a

screenplay A screenplay, or script, is a written work produced for a film, television show (also known as a '' teleplay''), or video game by screenwriters (cf. ''stage play''). Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing pieces of w ...

. Although the screenplay was optioned by an Australian film company, the company did not exercise its right and the option lapsed after six years. She then entered her work in international competitions where she won many honours including the International Independent Film Awards in 2016. Eventually, Morris was persuaded by her sister-In-law to rewrite the screenplay as a novel, which she titled ''

''. The book, released in 2018, became a bestseller. It was published in over 50 countries around the world and sold tens of millions of copies. In 2018, it was #1 on

the New York Times Best Seller list ''The New York Times'' Best Seller list is widely considered the preeminent list of best-selling books in the United States. John Bear, ''The #1 New York Times Best Seller: intriguing facts about the 484 books that have been #1 New York Times ...

and #1 on The New York Times international bestseller list. In 2024, the book was adapted into the miniseries ''

'', with

Harvey Keitel Harvey Keitel ( ; born May 13, 1939) is an American actor and film producer, known for his portrayal of morally ambiguous and "tough guy" characters. He rose to prominence during the New Hollywood movement, and has held a long-running associatio ...

as Lale Sokolov and

Melanie Lynskey Melanie Jayne Lynskey ( ; born 16 May 1977) is a New Zealand actress. Known for her portrayals of complex women and her command of American accents, she works predominantly in independent films and television. She is the recipient of numerous ...

as Morris. Her second book, the sequel to ''The Tattooist from Auschwitz'', ''Cilka's Journey'', was released in 2020 and tells the story of Cilka Kovacova, who was 16 when she arrived in Auschwitz and became the camp commandant's mistress. After her release from the camp she was arrested and sent to the

Gulag The Gulag was a system of Labor camp, forced labor camps in the Soviet Union. The word ''Gulag'' originally referred only to the division of the Chronology of Soviet secret police agencies, Soviet secret police that was in charge of runnin ...

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

where she met her husband Ivan and fled to Canada. As part of the research work for the book, Morris visited

Slovakia Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's m ...

four times and researched the life of Kovacova. She also visited

Yad Vashem Yad Vashem (; ) is Israel's official memorial institution to the victims of Holocaust, the Holocaust known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (). It is dedicated to preserving the memory of the Jews who were murdered; echoing the stories of the ...

to further research the Holocaust. Kovacova's stepson, George Kovach from

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, sued Morris upon the publication of the book, because according to him the story is "hurtful" and blurring the boundaries of fact and fiction. The third book in the trilogy ''Three Sisters'', about three sisters who together survive Auschwitz, arrive in Slovakia and immigrate to

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

, was released in 2021. Her latest book from 2023, ''Sisters Under the Rising Sun'' is about women in the

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

labor camps in

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Bibliography

The ''Tattooist of Auschwitz'' trilogy

* 2017 - ''

,'' Bonnier Publishing Fiction * 2019 - ''Cilka's Journey'', St. Martin's Publishing Group * 2021 - ''Three Sisters'', Center Point Large Print

Other novels

* 2020 - ''Stories of Hope'', Bonnier Books UK * 2022 - ''Listening Well'', St. Martin's Publishing Group * 2023 - ''Sisters Under the Rising Sun,'' St. Martin's Publishing Group

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Morris, Heather 21st-century Australian novelists 21st-century New Zealand novelists 21st-century Australian women writers 21st-century New Zealand women writers Writers about the Holocaust Writers from Melbourne University of Canterbury alumni Monash University alumni People from Te Awamutu 1953 births Living people