Brown, Ben
IN BRIEF
Ben Brown writes children’s books, non-fiction and short stories for children and adults. Since 1992, he has been a publisher and writer, collaborating with his wife, illustrator Helen Taylor, on numerous publications. Their Nga Raukura Rima Tekau ma rima, the Te Reo edition of Fifty-Five Feathers, was short-listed in the 2005 LIANZA Book Awards. The pair also won Best Picture Book at the 2006 New Zealand Post Children’s Book Awards. Brown is available to talk to students of any age.
ProfilePlace of residence: Lyttelton, Banks Peninsula, New Zealand |
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Brown, Ben (1962 -) writes children's books, non-fiction and short stories for children and adults. Born in Motueka, he has been a tobacco farm labourer, tractor driver and market gardener. Since 1992, he has been a publisher and writer, collaborating with his wife, illustrator Helen Taylor, in most of his 17 publications.
Many of Brown's books have a strong New Zealand nature background. Brown and Taylor were short-listed in 2005 for the Te Kura Pounamu Award in the LIANZA Children's Book Awards for Nga Raukura Rima Tekau Ma Rima, the Te Reo edition of Fifty-Five Feathers. The English edition was also shortlisted for the Russell Clark Award in 2005.
A Booming in the Night, written by Brown and illustrated by Taylor, won Best Picture Book at the 2006 New Zealand Post Book Awards for Children and Young Adults. The judges report said that the book was, 'a captivating, polished and deceptively simple package - a pictorially stunning book with an educational message that also manages to capture the cheeky personality of one of our endangered bird species.' The book also made the 2006 Storylines Notable Picture Book list.
Denis Welch said of Brown's autobiographical book A Fish in the Swim of the World, that, 'this is a cut above most autobiographies, giving us a vivid picture of hard-working rural life and a wonderful portrait gallery of farm people and family characters.' (New Zealand Listener, September 30, 2006)
In 2008, The Apple was published by Penguin, illustrated by Tracy Duncan. It was listed as a 2009 Storylines Notable Picture Book.
The Sparrow and the Feather (Puffin, 2009) was illustrated by Helen Taylor.
Brown's other publications include: The Cat with no Tail (Shadowcatchers, 1992); The Penguin who Wanted to Fly (Shadowcatchers,1993); Who is Brian Bear (Shadowcatchers, 1996); Brian Bear The Bouncing Ball (Shadowcatchers, 1996); Natural New Zealand ABC Wallchart (Reed, 2002); Te Tahae o nga Tae (Reed, 2002); Thief of Colours (Reed, 2003); Natural New Zealand ABC (Reed, 2004); Pukeko counts to Ten Wall Frieze (Reed, 2005); Tuna Moemoea (Reed, 2005); Eel Dreaming (Reed, 2005); The Rainmakers (Reed, 2007).
Brown lives in Lyttelton.
writers in schools information
Brown is available to talk to students of any age group about anything to do with his books. He can speak about a wide range of writing topics including fiction, poetry, storytelling, picture books and non-fiction. He is happy to speak to classes of any size, and will run workshops by prior arrangement. He will travel outside the Canterbury region, if required.
KAPAI: Kids' Authors Pictures and Information
Where do you live?
I live in Lyttelton on Banks Peninsula.
What books do you read?
Biographies, autobiographies and memoirs, history, fiction, children's books, poetry ...
Who is your favourite writer?
I have many favourite writers: James Elroy, Nick Cave, Dylan Thomas, Paul Auster, Michael King, Andrew Huebner, John Steinbeck, Oscar Wilde, Simon Schama, Shaun Tan, Mark Twain ... to name a few.
How do you think up your ideas?
Oscar Wilde used to say he thought in stories. He probably did too. I don't know if I'd go that far, but I think I know what he meant. For me, applying the question 'what if...' to the observation of moments in time can often lead to the germ of story. But it's a simplistic answer at best. Sometimes ideas fall out of the sky, or you trip over one while you're thinking of something else, or you realise they were there all the time, you just didn't recognise them ...
What is the best thing about being a writer?
Being your own boss. Hearing from readers. Getting a bigger cheque than you expected (a rare event).
What sort of pets do you have?
We have a cat and he is very lazy.
What is your favourite colour?
Red.
What is your favourite food?
A really good hamburger.
What is your favourite movie?
I don't really have a favourite, but there are lots that I like. Sometimes it just depends what's on at the time or what catches my eye at the DVD store.
What is your favourite game?
Rugby, but I'm a bit too broken to play it these days. I do enjoy watching a good game though.
What is the most fun thing about being an author?
Being your own boss and hearing from the people who read your books.
How do you make books?
With children's books, I start with an idea and then I sit down at my desk and start writing, then usually I start again, and again... until pictures start forming clearly in my head of the characters, setting, unfolding plot etc. After a while, the story itself starts to tell me what happens next, until finally, it's finished. Then I send it away to my editor who usually has things she wants to change, which I sometimes grumble about, then my illustrator gets the text and has to do the pictures. Sometimes these pictures look like the ones that form in my head when I'm writing and sometimes they don't, but that's part of the fun.
Where do you go for your holidays?
Usually I go back to Motueka, which is where I was born, but often we go to the West Coast (of the South Island).
What was the naughtiest thing you ever did at school?
It would be fair to say that I wasn't the best-behaved child at school. I probably shouldn't say much more than that, although I did manage to break the school flagpole in half when I was twelve. It was an accident of course but I got in a bit of trouble for that.
How did you get started?
I was at university trying to finish my degree, but found myself spending more time writing obscure little stories rather than the essays I was meant to be doing. I sent a few of these stories to publishers, got rejected, but did get some good comments and advice from one or two editors (to whom I am eternally grateful). Some of that advice I actually followed. Anyway, for a few years I got into self-publishing, hawking my own work so to speak, which is like a very noble way of going broke. Eventually started submitting work to publishers again, this time with the right result. Hope to continue doing so. No guarantees in this business though ...
Who inspired you when you were getting started?
Mum and Dad for their approach to work and self-employment (they were farmers not writers, but they worked hard and they believed).
Dylan Thomas for one word of advice given to any aspiring poet/writer. That word is: write.
What advice would you give an aspiring young writer?
See above.
Is it difficult to make a living writing in New Zealand?
Extremely.
What were you like as a teenager?
I think one expression for it is 'a handful', though I'm sure there are other, more colourful descriptions, depending upon whom you might be talking to. Nothing extreme mind you, more just a problem with authority figures I guess. Bit of a little shit actually, but a likeable one I'd like to imagine.
