Ken Catran (born 16 May 1944) is a children's

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living wage, living writing novels and other fiction, while other ...

and

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screenwriter A screenwriter (also called scriptwriter, scribe, or scenarist) is a person who practices the craft of writing for visual mass media, known as screenwriting. These can include short films, feature-length films, television programs, television ...

from

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Career

Catran is the author of many teen novels, including ''Taken at the Flood'', ''Voyage with Jason'', ''Doomfire on Venus'', ''Space Wolf'', ''Jacko Moran: Sniper'', ''Talking to Blue'' and its sequels ''Blue Murder'' and ''Blue Blood''. He also contributed to the television dramas ''

Shortland Street ''Shortland Street'' is a New Zealand Prime time, prime-time soap opera centring on the fictitious Shortland Street Hospital. The show was first broadcast on TVNZ 2 on 25 May 1992 and is New Zealand's longest-running drama and soap opera, be ...

'' and '' Close to Home''. Around 1993, he moved away from screenwriting to focus more on writing novels. Since then, he has become a prolific and varied writer within the New Zealand literary community. Ken's television credits include soap operas (''Radio Waves'', '' Close to Home'') as well as episodes in other TV dramas such as '' Mortimer's Patch''. He also penned '' Under the Mountain'', an 8-episode treatment of the Maurice Gee novel, and wrote the critically well-received ''Hanlon'', a biographical law drama. The opening episode treating sympathetically the Minnie Dean case received positive ratings and critical reception.

Awards

In 1986, Catran won the Drama Script category in the Listener Television Awards (also called the GOFTA Awards) for the first episode of ''Hanlon'', ''In Defence of Minnie Dean''. In 2004, Catran won the Esther Glen Award, presented by LIANZA, for his book, ''Jacko Moran, Sniper''. Another six of his books have been short-listed for the award from 1997 to 2013, and ''Smiling Jack'' was a finalist for the 2011 LIANZA Young Adult Fiction Award. In 2001, Catran's book, ''Voyage with Jason'', won the Children's Book of the Year award, and the Young Adult Fiction category, 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 ...

. Later, his book, ''Smiling Jack'', won the Children's Choice Young Adult Fiction category at the 2011 awards. An additional three of his books have been shortlisted at the various incarnations of these awards — ''Deepwater Black'' and ''Dream-bite'' for Senior Fiction, and ''Something Weird about Mr Foster'' for Junior Fiction. In 2007, after writing more than 30 novels, he won the Margaret Mahy Medal, awarded by the Storylines Children's Literature Charitable Trust to a person who has made a significant contribution to children's literature, publishing, or literacy. At least one of his books have been on the Storylines Notable Books List in the Young Adult Fiction category from when the list was established in 2000 to 2008, and again in 2011. In 2003 one of his books was included in the Junior Fiction category of the list, ''Something Weird About Mr Foster''. He was the

University of Otago College of Education The University of Otago College of Education is a teacher-training facility that is part of the University of Otago in Dunedin, New Zealand. It was formed on 1 January 2007 through a merger of the University of Otago's Faculty of Education with ...

Children's Writer in Residence in 1996, and the

University of Waikato The University of Waikato (), established in 1964, is a Public university, public research university located in Hamilton, New Zealand, Hamilton, New Zealand. An additional campus is located in Tauranga. The university performs research in nume ...

Writer in Residence in 2007. In 2005 he was presented with the Sir Julius Vogel Award for services to science fiction and fantasy, and was nominated for the Sir Julius Vogel Best Novel for ''Protus Rising''.

Personal life

Catran is married to Wendy Catran, a screenwriter and children's writer. They live in

Waimate Waimate is a town in Canterbury, New Zealand, and the seat of Waimate District. It is situated just inland from the eastern coast of the South Island. The town is reached via a short detour west when travelling on State Highway One, the main N ...

, a township in

South Canterbury South Canterbury is the area of the Canterbury Region of the South Island of New Zealand bounded by the Rangitata River in the north and the Waitaki River (the border with the Otago Region) to the south. The Pacific Ocean and ridge of the S ...

, New Zealand. Through an interview, he has revealed that he chose writing over other interests because it 'came naturally to me'. He relaxes by going for walks and reading regularly. Catran also frequently visits schools and gives advice to young writers on creating novels and short stories.

References

External links

*
Ken Catran
biography, selected bibliography, and awards list at the Storylines Children's Literature Charitable Trust website

biography at the New Zealand Book Council website
''In Defence of Minnie Dean''
the multi-award-winning first episode of the ''Hanlon'' television series written by Catran, streamed free at NZ On Screen {{DEFAULTSORT:Catran, Ken 1944 births Living people New Zealand children's writers New Zealand screenwriters New Zealand male screenwriters Ned Kelly Award winners People from Waimate