Dawe, Ted
IN BRIEF
Ted Dawe writes fiction for young adults. He has worked over the years as an insurance clerk, store man, builder's labourer and fitter's mate, and flown hot air balloons over Hyde Park. He's also been a university student, world traveller, high school teacher, and English language teacher. His first novel Thunder Road won both the Young Adult Fiction section and the Best First Book award at the 2004 New Zealand Post Book Awards for Children & Young Adults.
ProfilePlace of residence: Auckland |
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Dawe, Ted (1950 -) writes fiction for young adults.
As the child of school teachers, Ted Dawe moved around frequently and lived in places that ranged from Mangakino to Invercargill. In his early years at Ruatoria, he learned Maori from an elderly couple who looked after him while his parents taught.
He has worked over the years as an insurance clerk, store man, builder's labourer and fitter's mate, and flown hot air balloons over Hyde Park; he's been a university student, world traveller and high school teacher. Currently he is the Director of Studies at Taylors College, a foundation college for overseas students hoping to gain entry into New Zealand's university system. 'It's a neat job,' Dawe says. With his wife and teenage son - he also has two adult children - Ted Dawe is renovating their Auckland home. 'I'm more a carpenter than a cabinet-maker - I do the big stuff.'
Ted Dawe enjoys travel, surfing, and tennis. He loves cars, car people, and motorcycles, although he confesses to currently riding a motor-scooter to work. In later years, Dawe's early immersion in Maori culture reasserted itself, and he felt compelled to go back to the marae, and to relearn the language. With friend and mentor Niko Tangaroa, Dawe has made two trips down the Whanganui River in waka, and taken part in the controversial occupation of the Moutoa Gardenss.
Dawe's young adult novel, Thunder Road (2003) won the young adult fiction category at the 2004 New Zealand Post Book Awards for Children & Young Adults . He also won the 'Best First Book' Award. Of Thunder Road, Ted Dawe says it took him 40 days one summer to write, and although it came out in a rush, the story had been mulling for some time in his head. David Larsen, in the New Zealand Herald, writes that ‘a combination of fast-paced plotting and terse, punchy prose should guarantee this [novel] a substantial adult readership, but its real appeal will be to teenagers.’ Larsen also writes that the novel is ‘a strikingly impressive debut.’ Dawe describes his own book as ‘plot driven stories that aim to give the young adult reader all the rewards that adult readers get from a well written book, with a concerted effort to avoid moralising and finger wagging.’ The work was also listed as a 2004 Storylines Notable Young Adult Fiction Book.
Dawe’s earlier publications include contributions to Education Department Publications and as an editor of Telling it True: A Collection of Student Writing. 2005 saw the launch of the Urban imprint with his gritty and moving cross-over novel for young adults, K Road (Longacre Press, 2005). And Did Those Feet..., a junior fiction novel, was published in November 2006 and was a finalist at the 2007 New Zealand Post Book Awards for Children and Young Adults. The work was also included in the 2007 Storylines Notable Junior Fiction Book list.
Captain Sailor Bird and Other Stories was published in 2007 by Pearsons. In this book of short stories, Dawe has created distinct narrators for each story, each one telling the story in their own characteristic voice. In showing how a story is influenced by a character's voice, students are able to understand something about the writing process.
writers in schools information
KAPAI: Kids' Authors' Pictures and Information
Where do you live?
In Mt Eden (over the road from my son’s school.)
What sorts of books do you like to read?
American crime stories.
Who is your favourite author?
Cormac McCarthy.
Where do you get your ideas?
I plunder episodes from my childhood and adolescence.
What is the best thing about being an author?
Being able to make something from nothing.
Some Questions from Primary School Students
Do you have any pets?
We have two cats, a Devon Rex called E.T. and a Burmese called Quintus.
Do you have a favourite colour?
Red
Do you have a favourite food?
Fish
Do you have a favourite movie?
The Wizard of Oz
Do you play any sports or games?
Tennis
What is the most fun thing about being an author?
Putting characters in tight spots and seeing how they cope.
How do you make books?
You start with the desire. You think of a plan. You find the characters. You pick up a pen.
Where do you like to go for your holidays?
We like Katanoi Beach on the island of Phuket which is off Southern Thailand.
What was the naughtiest thing you ever did at school?
I told lies.
Some Questions from Secondary School Students
How did you get started?
By writing plays for my students at Aorere College.
Who inspired you when you were getting started?
F. Scott Fitzgerald
What advice would you give an aspiring young writer?
‘Screw your courage to the sticking place.’
Is it difficult to make a living writing in New Zealand?
Almost impossible.
What were you like as a teenager?
Cheeky. Noisy. Lazy. Confused. Shy. I was no good at school. I never made good sports teams, awards for academic achievement or positions of leadership. For me, school was one long session at the dentist.
Is there anything else you would like to tell us about yourself?
I had ring worm as a 6-year-old and had to have all my hair shaved off.
I broke my elbow at 8 playing cops and robbers, and was in hospital for a week and lost a stone (6kgs).
I got bashed up by my girlfriend’s big sister for reclaiming an engagement ring - I was 6 at the time.
I once bunked school, caught a train to Christchurch and spent the day in the movies watching three double features back to back.
I could go on all day…
