Name: Keith Olsen
Date of birth: 24 July 1952
Place of birth: Hawera
Now living in: Catlins
What is your favourite food?
Olives
What was your most embarrassing moment?
Nothing specific
How do you relax?
Play guitar, read, look out the window, walk on the beach
Who inspired you when you were little?
Father
What were you like at school?
Slow to finish work. I liked drawing.
What was your favourite/most hated subject at school?
Favourite: French.
Most hated: Social Studies.
What was the book you most loved as a child?
Swallowdale by Arthur Ransome.
Which person from the past would you most like to meet?
Leonardo da Vinci.
Who is your favourite author/children’s author?
Why did you want to be a writer?
Because I couldn’t find the right sort of books - the sort I write.
What’s the best thing and worst thing about being a writer?
You don’t have to live in a city.
If you weren’t a writer, what would you like to be?
I've been most of the things I've wanted to be - teacher, potter, outdoor instructor, illustrator, traveller.
What advice would you give to aspiring writers?
Make your writing simple and able to be clearly understood.
Read some books by Keith Olsen
More information about Keith Olsen
Read posts featuring Keith Olsen from the Christchurch Kids Blog.
This interview is from 2002.
