Des Hunt facts for kids

Des Hunt (born 29 December 1941) is a New Zealand teacher and a popular writer for children and young adults. Many of his books have been nominated for or have won important awards. For example, his book Cry of the Taniwha won the Gaelyn Gordon Award in 2016. He also received the special Margaret Mahy Award in 2017. Des Hunt lives in Matarangi, on the Coromandel Peninsula.

About Des Hunt

Early Life and Education

Des Hunt was born on 29 December 1941 in Palmerston North, New Zealand. When he was a child, he loved science. He said it was his "favourite and best" subject at school. His most loved book as a child was The Lost World by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Another writer who inspired him was Howard Spring.

Des Hunt went to several schools and universities. He studied at Terrace End School, Palmerston North Intermediate, Palmerston North Boys' High School, Victoria University of Wellington, and Christchurch College of Education.

Teaching and Writing Career

Des Hunt was a teacher for more than 42 years. He started teaching at Hawera High School. He taught subjects like chemistry, physics, electronics, and computing. He even wrote science textbooks to help his students learn.

In 2007, he stopped teaching full-time to focus on writing books. Even though he retired, he still visits schools often. He loves to talk about his books and how he writes them. He sometimes uses fun chemical reactions in his presentations to show how writing works.

Des Hunt loves the natural world, and this is clear in his books. His stories often talk about environmental issues. They also have strong messages about protecting nature and wildlife. He is married and has two grown-up children. He lives in Matarangi, on the Coromandel Peninsula.

Awards and Books

Recognised Books

Many of Des Hunt's books have been recognised with awards or named as Storylines Notable Books. This means they are considered excellent books for children.

Some of his books that were finalists in the NZ Post Children's Book Awards include:

• A Friend in Paradise (2003)
• Frog Whistle Mine (2007)
• Cry of the Taniwha (2010)
• Project Huia (2014)

His book Cool Nukes was a finalist in the Children's Choice category in 2016. In 2017, Sunken Forest was a finalist in the New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults. Cry of the Taniwha also won the Gaelyn Gordon Award for a Much-Loved Book in 2016.

Special Honours

In 2017, Des Hunt received the Storylines Margaret Mahy Medal and Lecture Award. This is a very important award for children's writers in New Zealand. When he received it, he gave a speech called "Stories Out Loud."

He has also received other awards for his work. These include the Woolf Fisher Memorial Award for his great service to education. He also got the New Zealand Institute of Physics Award.

His book Red Edge, published in 2020, was nominated for the Young Readers prize at the Ngaio Marsh Awards in 2021.