New Zealand Writers
EDWARDS, Denis
I think this is the way to do it; live a wonderfully full life and then ease writing into it.
EDWARDS, Denis ( - ) is a journalist, fiction writer and writer for children whose working class Catholic roots are the subject of his popular memoir Miramar Dog (1998).Edwards was born in Wellington and raised in what he describes as the "Catholic ghetto" of the Wellington suburb of Miramar. He has lived in Australia, the USA and Asia, working as an ambulance paramedic, a police officer, a journalist and an advertising copywriter. "I came to writing late," he writes. "I think this is the way to do it; live a wonderfully full life and then ease writing into it."
Vows: Nuns and Priests Speak Out (1997) collects the "confessions" of New Zealand Catholic nuns and priests, giving an insight into their cloistered lives.
Miramar Dog is Edwards' account of growing up in 1950's Mirimar, described as a cross between Belfast and a Quentin Tarantino movie. TimeOut describes the memoir - which is part fact, part fiction - as "Carl Hiassen meets Frank McCourt in a sleepy Wellington suburb".
Connor is Free (1999) is a thriller where "the action is fast and furious," writes The Dominion. It "takes us through Auckland like a hot chilli... fans of the genre will love its New Zealand flavour".
Edwards is an award-winning sports journalist, and his books for children both have a sports focus. Killer Moves (1998) is centred on rugby: "[A]nother fast-paced story. Appealing and wacky too," writes The Evening Post. The book was shortlisted for the 1999 New Zealand Post Children's Book Awards.
Rebound (1999) takes basketball as its subject.
Edwards has published short stories, a radio drama, and numerous feature articles, and was familiar to many as the columnist "Sir Launchalot" in the now defunct Quote Unquote literary magazine.
"Every time I sit down to write anything, be it journalism, ads, drama or books," writes Edwards, "I have just one target... to make whatever it is interesting, informative and as often as not, fun to read."
(KC.)
Updated Information
Edwards' latest novel is Miramar Morning (Penguin Books, 2005). Based on true events, this thrilling novel takes the reader into a hidden and forbidden world. David Hill, in the New Zealand Listener, writes that it "... has all the energy, irreverence and imminent anarchy that [Edwards'] fans will recognise and revere".
Writers in Schools Information
Denis Edwards takes part in the Book Council's Writers in Schools programme and is available for visits in the greater Wellington area and with notice, will travel. He is happy to discuss anything to do with writing, including life as a writer; and how to write stories. He is available to visit students aged 7 to 18. He is happy to run workshops by prior arrangement.
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