New Zealand Writers
BEALE, Fleur
Beale shows her understanding of teenagers, male and female, and her ability to motivate even reluctant readers.
- From The Oxford Companion to New Zealand Literature
- Links
- KAPAI: Kids read about Fleur here
- Writers in Schools: Fleur Beale’s involvement
Author entry from The Oxford Companion to New Zealand Literature, edited by Roger Robinson and Nelson Wattie (1998), pp. 50. Entry written by Diane Hebley [About the Companion entries]
BEALE, Fleur (1945– ), author of teenage fiction, was born in Inglewood and educated there and at Victoria University and Christchurch Teachers’ College.
She now lives in Wellington. She has taught at Melville HS, at first intermittently, since 1985. She began her writing career with a small reader and picture book. (Her mother, Estelle Corney, wrote Pa’s Top Hat, 1980.)
In quick succession, Beale then produced novels with strong teenage appeal: Against the Tide (1993), Slide the Corner (1993), Driving a Bargain (1994), Over the Edge (1994), The Fortune Teller (1995) and Fifteen and Screaming (1995).
With an emphasis on various outdoor activities, such as rally driving and camping, and with characters intensely aware of their difficulties, social troubles and shortcomings, Beale shows her understanding of teenagers, male and female, and ability to motivate even reluctant readers.
Fleur Beale participates in the Writers in Schools programme.
DH
Updated Information
Fleur Beale has received several grants from the QEII Arts Council (now Creative New Zealand). She has been a finalist in the Aim Children's Book Awards Junior Fiction category with Driving A Bargain and received an Honour Award at the 1999 New Zealand Post Children's Book Awards for her tale of a girl struggling to deal with her new life in a fundamentalist Christian family, I Am Not Esther (1998)In 1999 Fleur Beale was Writer in Residence at the Dunedin College of Education.
Beale's titles are The Great Pumpkin Battle (1988); A Surprise for Anna (1990); Slide the Corner (1992); Against the Tide (1993); Driving a Bargain (1993); Over the Edge (1994); The Fortune Teller (1995); Dear Pop (1995); the Rich and Famous Body and the Empty Chequebook (1995); Fifteen and Screaming (1995); Rockman (1996); I am not Esther (1998); Further Back Than Zero (1998); Keep Out (1999); Destination Disaster (1999); Playing to Win (1999); Trucker (2000); Deadly Prospect (2000);
Ambushed (2000), was shortlisted in the Junior Fiction category for the 2002 New Zealand Post Children's Book Awards.
Lucky for Some (2002) is a book for 10-14 year olds about Lacey Turner, a city girl who moves to the country. A story of personal growth and overcoming prejudices.
In 2003 I am not Esther was reprinted with a new cover. Fleur Beale is a former teacher who was inspired to write I am not Esther when one of her students was beaten and expelled from his family for going against their religious beliefs. She has published over 13 novels and received an Honour Award for I am not Esther in the 1999 NZ Post Children's Book Awards.
Red Dog in Bandit Country: A True Story as told by Bill Redding to Fleur Beale (2003). Bill (Red Dog) Redding flies a perilous payroll dilivery to the heart of Colombian bandit country, then takes explosives work with a construction company where 'safety last' seems the motto. With a nose for adventure and an instinct for survival, Red Dog quickly makes his mark, but suddenly he must flee for his life through bandit-riddled mountains. Red Dog's real life exploits are told in his own vernacular to writer, Fleur Beale.
Walking Lightly, illustrated by Michaela Sangl (Mallinson Rendel, 2004). Millie is a girl of extreme independence and resourcefulness. The other kids at school think she's just weird, but they are about to find out that, sometimes, extreme resourcefulness is exactly what is needed.
Lacey and the Drama Queens (Scholastic, 2004). Ever since Lacey Turner went to Australia to be her cousin's flowergirl, her best friend Vanessa has been acting really mean. And when the new girl at school, Belinda, tells the girls that their beloved dance teacher doesn't know what she's doing, things get really tense. Lacey just wishes everything could get back to normal.
Beale's book My Story: A New Song in the Land - The Writings of Atapo, Paihia, c. 1840 (Scholastic, 2004), tells the story of Atapo.When her tribe is defeated in battle, Atapo is captured and becomes a slave of her enemies. To save her life, she escapes to the Pakeha mission station at Paihia. There, Atapo is taught to read and write, and learns of the threat to Maori by some unscrupulous settlers greedy for land.
My Story: A New Song in the Land - The Writings of Atapo, Paihia, c. 1840 and Walking Lightly were both finalists in the Junior Fiction Catgory of the New Zealand Post Book Awards for Children and Young Adults 2005.
A New Song in the Land was also a finalist for The Esther Glen Award at the LIANZA Children's Book Awards 2005.
Beale has published two books in 2006: A Respectable Girl (Random House, 2006) is a young adult, historical romance novel, and Saving Mr Spender (Mallinson Rendel, 2006). Also in 2006, Playing to Win (Scholastic) was reprinted with a new cover.
The Transformation of Minna Hargreaves (Random House, 2007) deals with the effect being in a reality TV show has on a teenage girl's social life. It is also nominated in the Young Adult fiction section for the 2008 New Zealand Post Book Awards for Children and Young Adults.
Fleur Beale won the 2007 Storylines Gaelyn Gordon Award for a Much-Loved Book with her first novel for children, Slide the Corner (Scholastic NZ, 1993).
Quin Majik and the Marvellous Machine (Mallinson Rendell, 2008), illustrated by Philip Webb, is a book about ignoring the Jones' and fitting in your own way.
Fleur Beale is available to talk to intermediate or secondary school students. She is prepared to discuss her writing techniques and the craft of writing. She is able to run workshops for groups of up to 14 students. She is prepared to travel out of town for Writers in Schools visits.
KIDS AUTHORS PICTURES AND INFORMATION
Some Questions for Fleur Beale.
Where do you live?
Wellington
What books do you read?
Lots and lots and lots!
Do you have a favourite author?
Sherryl Jordan
How do you think up your ideas?
Ideas can arrive out the blue – if you’re lucky. They can come from something that’s happened. Sometimes you just have to work hard and dig deep to find them.
What is the best thing about being an author?
Being your own boss. Being able to make up a world of your own and then having adventures that perhaps you might never have in real life.
Some Special Questions for Primary School Students
Do you have any pets?
A cat.
Do you have a favourite colour?
Blue.
Do you have a favourite food?
Feijoas and avocados.
Do you play any games?
Cards.
How do you make books?
I write the story. I do lots of drafts until it’s just right. Then I send it to a publisher. The publisher employs an illustrator to do the pictures and the cover. An editor works on the story and fixes up any problems. The book comes out a year or two later.
Where do you like to go on your holidays?
London to visit my daughters.
What was the naughtiest thing you ever did at school?
I was so good at school it’s a wonder I didn’t die from boredom.
Some Special Questions for Secondary School Students.
How did you get started?
Writing short stories for radio.
Did anyone inspire you when you were getting started?
My mother, Dorothy Butler and Ray Richards – my agent.
What advice would you give an aspiring young writer?
Read widely. Take notice of how your favourite author handles things like scene changes, dialogue, and characters.
Is it difficult to make a living as a writer in New Zealand?
Yes – there aren’t enough New Zealanders to buy lots and lots of books.
What were you like as a teenager?
Quiet, shy and not at all interesting!
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