Interview with Des Hunt

Book Cover of Phantom of TerawhitiName: Des Hunt

Date of birth: 29 December 1941

Place of birth: Palmerston North

Now living in: Matarangi, Coromandel Peninsula

What is your favourite food?

Pizza.

Do you have a nickname and if so what is it?

Dessy.

What was your most embarrassing moment?

Several – all of them involving trying to get to know girls.

How do you relax?

Reading.

Who inspired you when you were little?

An author named Howard Spring (aged 13 years +).

A teacher who was involved in the rediscovery of the takahe in 1947.

What were you like at school?

A nerd — though nobody labelled us that in the 1950’s – we were accepted like all other kids.

What was your favourite/most hated subject at school?

Favourite: Science

Most hated: English

What was the book you most loved as a child?

A Golden Book about a penguin who hated the cold and sailed off in a bathtub to the tropics.

Which person from the past would you most like to meet?

Isaac Newton.

Who is your favourite author/children’s author?

Maurice Gee, opens a new window.

Why did you want to be a writer?

To help people understand how special New Zealand nature is.

Do you have a special place where you write your books?

I have an office which overlooks the Pacific Ocean.

What’s the best thing and worst thing about being a writer?

The best thing is writing. The worst is waiting to see if it is accepted by a publisher.

What advice would you give to aspiring writers?

Write and write and write. Then read and reread what you have written.

Read some books by Des Hunt, opens a new window
Des Hunt’s website, opens a new window

Read posts featuring Des Hunt, opens a new window on the Christchurch Kids blog, opens a new window.

This interview is from 2002.

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