Millen, Julia
IN BRIEF
Julia Millen is a writer, historian and biographer. She has published a collection of short stories, and many others have appeared in journals. Millen has produced a range of books on social history, from the Royal New Zealand Corps of Transport to the Kirkaldie and Stains department store. She is known for her literary biography of novelist Ronald Hugh Morrieson, and has written for television and radio, particularly for the Concert programme.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Millen, Julia (–) is a fiction writer, historian and biographer whose works include a biography of novelist Ronald Hugh Morrieson.
In the Oxford Companion to New Zealand Literature Patrick Evans writes that Millen's Ronald Hugh Morrieson: A Biography (1996) 'emphasises the strange creativity that arose from the contradictions between his matriarchal home life and his rebelliously dissolute night-time activities.'
Her numerous and diverse works of social history include histories of the Royal New Zealand Corps of Transport, Kirkaldie and Stains department store, and the Wellington branch of the Vintage Car Club of New Zealand.
A writer for radio and television, including a stint with the Concert Programme, Millen has compiled, written and presented a series of histories of New Zealand and Australian musicians and composers. Continuing her interest in things musical, she has been a libretto writer for two New Zealand operas, 'Hypatia' and 'The Golden Salamander.'
Millen has also published a collection of short stories, Panama Hats and Pony Tails (1987), and her short stories and articles have appeared in journals including Landfall, NZ Listener, NZ Law Journal, and in four volumes of The Dictionary of New Zealand Biography.
Julia Millen's titles are: Colonial Tears and Sweat (1984); Dilemma of Dementia: a daughter's story (1985); The Third Quarter: The New Zealand Society of Accountants 1960 - 1985 (1985); MsCellany: Women writer's prose and poetry (ed. Julia Millen and Joy Tonks) (1987); The Story of Bell Gully Buddle Weir (1990); Wellington's Motoring Spirit (1993); Salute to Service (1997); Ronald Hugh Morrieson (1996); Panama Hats and Pony Tails (1987); Over the Top with the Best of Luck (1992); Brave Little Girls Don't Cry (1992); Glaxo (1997); Breaking Barriers: IHC's first 50 years (1999); Through Trackless Bush (2000), Kirkcaldie & Stains (2000), and Guthrie Wilson, soldier, writer, educator (2006), First Edition Publishers.
writers in schools information
Julia Millen is happy to speak to children between 10 and 18 years of age as part of the Book Council's Writers in Schools programme. She is able to speak about being a non-fiction writer and a screenwriter/playwright. Her preferred number of students in a session is 12, with a maximum of 20 students. She can participate in tours outside of her region, and is also able to speak Spanish.
Kapai: Kids' Authors Pictures and Information
What is the best thing about being an author?
Thinking up the beginning of a story and finding out what happens in the end.
Where do you get your ideas?
They come to me at any time, anywhere: In the middle of the night, in the shower, walking in the rain, doing a shoulder stand at yoga class and on the dance floor.
Is there anything else you would like to tell us about yourself?
I was one of the first women to go to Antarctica. We stayed in a base that was perched on top of two kilometres of snow. I spend all my spare time tango dancing.
