Eirlys Hunter

Eirlys Elisabeth Hunter (born 10 May 1952) is a writer and creative writing teacher in New Zealand. She was born in London, England.

Eirlys Hunter
Born (1953-05-11) 11 May 1953
London, England
OccupationWriter
NationalityNew Zealand
Children4
Website
VUW staff profile

Biography

Eirlys Hunter was born on 10 May 1952 in London, England.[1] She has Welsh heritage (Eirlys is a Welsh name)[1] and grew up in the United Kingdom.[2]

Hunter moved to Wellington, New Zealand, in 1983,[3] and began writing seriously when the last of her children went to kindergarten.[2] In 1991, she took the Original Composition class with Bill Manhire at Victoria University of Wellington and in 1998 she completed a Master of Arts degree in creative writing.[3][4] She has written one adult novel and seven novels for children. Her most recent children's novel, The Mapmakers' Race, was described by Kate De Goldi as poised, stylish and an utter delight.[5]

Hunter's short stories have been broadcast on Radio New Zealand, and published in journals such as Sport[6] and Landfall,[4] and in anthologies such as Best New Zealand Fiction 2 (edited by Fiona Kidman) and Best New Zealand Fiction 4 (edited by Fiona Farrell). She has written stories and plays for the New Zealand School Journal and other educational publications, and visited schools with the New Zealand Book Council's Writers in Schools programme.[3] She went on the Book Council's Words on Wheels tours in 2001 and 2002,[7] and in 2003, she was writer-in-residence at the American Embassy School in New Delhi, India.[3]

Hunter is also a teacher of creative writing, judge, assessor, mentor, website administrator and board member for literary organisations.[8] She was a founder member (and chair) of the Wellington Writers Walk committee in 2001.[3][9][10] She was on the judging panel for the New Zealand Post Children’s Book Awards in 2013,[11] and has also been judge for the Jack Lasenby Award (Junior) in 2011,[12] short-story judge for the Ronald Hugh Morrieson literary awards in 2013,[13] and youth judge for the NFFD (National Flash Fiction Day) youth competition in 2019.[14][15] In 2016, she and Louise O’Brien founded the website Hooked on NZ Books He Ao Ano for young adults.[3][16]

Hunter has led writing workshops for children and adults,[8][17][18] and since 2003, she has taught CREW255 Writing for Children at the International Institute of Modern Letters at Victoria University of Wellington.[3][8] She is also on the Board of NZ Review of Books Pukapuka Aotearoa.[3][19]

Hunter has four children,[4] and lives in Wellington.

Awards and prizes

The Robber and the Millionaire was shortlisted for the 1997 Aim Children's Book Awards,[20] and The Mapmakers’ Race was shortlisted in the junior fiction section for the 2019 New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults.[21][22]

Hunter has received Storylines Notable Book Awards for Coldkeep Castle (2002) and The Mapmakers' Race (2019).

Publications

Adult fiction

  • Between Black and White (Random House, 2000)

Children’s fiction

  • The Robber and the Millionaire, illustrated by Nobby Clark (Scholastic, 1996)
  • The Astonishing Madam Majolica, illustrated by Kelvin Hawley (Scholastic, 1996)
  • The Quake (Scholastic, 1999)
  • The Finn’s Quest trilogy:
    • The Queen-Seekers (Scholastic, 2000)
    • Coldkeep Castle (Scholastic, 2001)
    • The Slave-Stealers (Scholastic, 2004)
  • The Mapmakers’ Race (Gecko, 2018)[23]

References
  1. "Interview with Eirlys Hunter". Christchurch City Libraries Nga Kete Wananga-o-Otautahi. 2002. Retrieved 7 July 2019.
  2. "Author Q&A: The Mapmakers' Race – Eirlys Hunter with Julia Eccleshare". thereaderteacher.com. 9 August 2018. Retrieved 7 July 2019.
  3. "Hunter, Eirlys". New Zealand Book Council Te Kaunihera Pukapuka o Aotearoa. January 2017. Retrieved 7 July 2019.
  4. Storylines. "Eirlys Hunter". Retrieved 7 July 2019.
  5. "Kate De Goldi - Young adult reading picks". RNZ. 30 June 2018. Retrieved 8 July 2019.
  6. "Eirlys Hunter (Person)". New Zealand Electronic Text Collection Te Puhikotuhi o Aotearoa. Retrieved 7 July 2019.
  7. "Authors talk words with readers". Waikato Times. 27 February 2002. p. 2.
  8. "Eirlys Hunter". Victoria University of Wellington International institute of Modern Letters. Retrieved 7 July 2019.
  9. "About". Wellington Writers Walk. Retrieved 7 July 2019.
  10. "Writers walked all over". Evening Post. 22 August 2001.
  11. "New Zealand Post Children's Book Awards - finalists announced". Creative NZ. 2 April 2013. Retrieved 7 July 2019.
  12. "Winner announced - The Jack Lasenby Writing Award (Junior)". wellylit4kids. 2 December 2011. Retrieved 7 July 2019.
  13. "Young writers have the 'wow' factor". Taranaki Daily News. 8 October 2013. p. 12.
  14. "Interview: NFFD 2019 Youth Judges". Flash Frontier. 16 February 2019. Retrieved 7 July 2019.
  15. "National Flash Fiction Day 2019". New Zealand Book Council Te Kaunihera Pukapuka o Aotearoa. Retrieved 7 July 2019.
  16. "Welcome to Hooked on NZ Books He Ao Ano!". Hooked on NZ Books He Ao Ano. Retrieved 7 July 2019.
  17. "Keeping it real at writer's birthplace". Dominion Post. 19 September 2006. p. A 13.
  18. "Top Kiwi author visits south". The Southland Times. 2 August 2005. p. 21.
  19. "New Zealand's only periodical dedicated to reviewing our books". NZ Review of Books Pukapuka Aotearoa. Retrieved 7 July 2019.
  20. "20 finalists vie for children's book awards". Dominion. 8 February 1997.
  21. Green, Paula (7 July 2018). "In the hammock: Eirlys Hunter's sumptuous The Mapmakers' Race". Poetry Box. Retrieved 7 July 2019.
  22. "Five quick fire questions with Eirlys Hunter". KidsBooksNZ. 22 July 2018. Retrieved 7 July 2019.
  23. "The Mapmakers' Race". Gecko Press. Retrieved 7 July 2019.
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