Ford, Vince
IN BRIEF
Vince Ford is a children's writer who has worked as a video producer, a jackaroo on a 400,000-acre Australian property, and a labourer in salt mines. Since his first book 2Much4U won the 1998 Tom Fitzgibbon Award, he has become a prolific author of books that combine humour with rural life in New Zealand. His series' include 'Sports Max', and the more recent 'Chronicles of Stone' books. Ford received the 2001 Creative New Zealand Iowa Writer's Residency and was Otago University's 2007 Children's Writer in Residence.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Ford, Vince (1970 –) is a children's writer.
His first book, 2Much4U won the 1998 Tom Fitzgibbon Award for best children's fiction by a previously unpublished author. 2Much4U also won Best in Junior Fiction at the 2000 New Zealand Post Book Awards for Children and Young Adults.
‘Small town New Zealand life is portrayed accurately and warmly. Highly recommended,’ writes a reviewer in Reading Time.
Accidentally setting alight a fertiliser spreading vehicle is the unusual source of inspiration for 2Much4U. Vince Ford has never forgotten the guilt he felt watching his vehicle — and the surrounding 20 hectares of wheat stubble — burn when he was working in Western Australia. The hero of 2Much4U is similarly guilt-stricken when he accidentally sets his mother's car alight, and the book follows his various attempts to earn enough money to replace the car.
SoMuch2Do (2002) and Possums2U (2002) are sequels to 2Much4U. SoMuch2Do follows the gang's exploits as they attempt to create their own business empires as part of a school project. In Possums2U, Davin and his friends attempt to catch 100 live possums. Things turn to custard when they find themselves trapped at the back of the farm with nothing to eat except caged possums. The Dare Club was also published in 2002.
Possums2U was listed as a 2003 Storylines Notable Junior Fiction Book.
It's A Try is another in the 'Sports Max' series, rugby and the tall poppy syndrome are themes.
Ford has worked as a video producer, a Jackaroo on a 400,000 acre Australian property, and a labourer in salt mines. Vince Ford received the 2001 Creative New Zealand Iowa Writer's Residency.
In A Handful of Blue (2003), more than an approaching cyclone hangs over Jeremy's family and their Makorori Beach home. A Handful of Blue was listed as a 2004 Storylines Notable Junior Fiction Book.
In 2004, Ford travelled to Melbourne with the Book Council's International Writer Exchange Programme.
Boyznbikes (2006), was published by Scholastic and it was shortlisted in the junior fiction category for the 2008 New Zealand Post Book Awards for Children and Young Adults. Boyznbikes was also listed as a 2007 Storylines Notable Junior Fiction Book.
Scorched Bone (Scholastic, 2008) is the first in the 'Chronicles of Stone' trilogy. It follows the adventures of twins as they journey to discover secrets that could change their tribe forever. Vince Ford researched the series in the United States and it revolves around the adoption of spear throwers and Clovis points, technology that allowed tribes to move onto the plains and hunt mammoth and bison. It was listed as a 2009 Storylines Notable Young Adult Fiction Book, and was shortlisted for the 2009 New Zealand Post Book Awards for Children and Young Adults.
Set in Stone and Tribal Ash complete the series. Tribal Ash (Scholastic New Zealand) was listed as a 2010 Storylines Notable Young Adult Fiction Book.
Ford's most recent work is Jonty and Choc, published by Scholastic in 2010. Jonty and Choc are best mates- one Pakeha, one Maori. The story opens with the boys on their final day of primary school, pulling pranks on their teachers. They go to the beach and find a mysterious lump, which Choc is inexplicably drawn to. The lump causes him to have dreams of ancient times, but also makes him angry...
writers in schools information
Ford is prepared to speak to children aged over 8 as part of the Writers in Schools programme. His preferred class size is 30 pupils. He is happy to discuss most things, and prepared to run workshops given prior notice.
KAPAI: Kids' Authors' Pictures and Information
Where do you live?
On a couple of acres just south of Gisborne. We have fruit trees, chickens, and a dog and it's only 5 minutes to the beach.
What sort of books do you like to read?
All sorts of books. I read adult novels by people like Tim Winton, Michael Chabon and Cormac McCarthy. I read children’s novels that appeal to me (I call it research). I read magazines and newspapers when I feel like relaxing.
Do you have a favourite author?
Tim Winton —I love the atmosphere he creates in his stories, his style and his love of landscape.
How do you think up your ideas?
Some ideas come from people or events, others come from an area or a landscape. Ideas come from things that move me.
What is the best thing about being an author?
Being able to do something that I love doing and call it my job.
Some Questions from Primary School Students
Do you have any pets?
A black lab cross bullmastiff (his father was a pig dog) called Axle and a cat called Toxo (named after a disease that 95% of cats have).
Do you have a favourite colour?
Lightning.
Do you have a favourite food?
Anchovies.
Do you have a favourite movie?
The Matrix
Do you plays any games or sports?
Rugby.
How do you make books?
I don’t have to do that, thank goodness. I just write the words and my publisher puts it together.
Where do you like to go for your holidays?
I live at the beach, sometimes I stay at home with my wife and have friends to stay. This summer I’m going touring on my motorbike with two other friends, they’ve got their own bikes, they wouldn’t all fit on mine.
What was the naughtiest thing you ever did at school?
I was grounded for a couple of weekends and went out anyway. I got caught climbing up a pipe to the top of a two-storey building where we were hiding out and sunbathing.
Some Questions from Secondary School Students
How did you get started?
I had this urge to write. When it became stronger than all the excuses about why I shouldn’t write – I started.
Who inspired you when you were getting started?
No one in particular, I was inspired by a lot of the books I read over many years.
What advice would you give an aspiring young writer?
Write as much as you can and write about things that matter to you. Persevere and do the hard work. Success doesn’t happen without it.
Is it difficult to make a living in New Zealand?
Very difficult, if my wife wasn’t a school principal I’d be doing another job as well.
What were you like as a teenager?
I was pretty laid back, I liked a laugh and a bit of fun. I loved adventure. I was interested in girls but scared as hell because I didn’t know what I was doing. I was scruffy. I didn’t try very hard to be like everyone else.
Is there anything else you would like to tell us about yourself?
I was hitching once and got picked up by a car of Black Power gang members. They fed me cheeseballs and thought that I was hard-out because I was hitching to a place hundreds of kilometres away.
I used to spread fertiliser in West Australia. I was driving a truck in a wheat field and the truck caught on fire. I had a fire extinguisher but the fire caught the hydraulic oil and I couldn’t get it out. The truck burned to the ground but the wheat stubble caught on fire too. It burned 20 acres of wheat stubble and took the farmer and five neighbours an hour to put it out. I nearly burned half of West Australia. I have long hairs that grow out of my nose. My wife hates them.
Media links and clips
- Vince Ford on Christchurch Library's Interviews with NZ Children's Authors
- a handful of blue features in the Spring 2003 Issue of BRAT: Books for Readers and Teachers
- Vince Ford's Storylines profile
- Vince Ford's Facebook page
