Des Hunt

Des Hunt lives at Matarangi on the Coromandel Peninsula. For more than 40 years he was a secondary teacher specialising first in physics, and then later in electronics and computing. Interspersed with this teaching were secondments to develop science curricula in the Pacific, Scotland and New Zealand. Several textbooks were written to support these curricula and his ideas for science education.

He retired from the classroom in 2007 to concentrate on writing fiction for children. He continues his aims of fostering young peoples’ natural interest in the science of their surroundings by visiting schools and libraries where he runs workshops and presentations.

Selected bibliography:

• A Friend in Paradise (HarperCollins 2002).
• The Moa Cave (HarperCollins 2005).
• Frog Whistle Mine (HarperCollins 2006).
• Where Cuckoos Call (HarperCollins 2007).
• Shadows in the Ice (HarperCollins 2007).
• The Tooth (HarperCollins 2008).
• Whale Pot Bay (HarperCollins 2009).
• Cry of the Taniwha (HarperCollins 2009).
• The Secret of Jelly Mountain (HarperCollins 2009).
• The Crocodile Nest (HarperCollins 2010).
• The Naughty Kid's Book of Nature (HarperCollins 2010).
• The Peco Incident (HarperCollins 2011).

Awards:

• Woolf Fisher Memorial Award for services to education.
• NZ Institute of Physics Award.
• New Zealand Post Children’s Book Awards 2003 Junior Fiction shortlist for A Friend in Paradise.
• Storylines Notable Books LIst 2003 Junior Fiction list for A Friend in Paradise.
• Storylines Notable Books List 2006 Junior Fiction list for The Moa Cave.
• New Zealand Post Children’s Book Awards 2007 Junior Fiction finalist for Frog Whistle Mine.
• Storylines Notable Books List 2007 Junior Fiction list for Frog Whistle Mine.
• Storylines Notable Books List 2008 Junior Fiction list for Shadows in the Ice.
• New Zealand Post Children's Book Awards 2010 Junior Fiction finalist for Cry of the Taniwha.
• Storylines Notable Books List 2011 Junior Fiction list for The Crocodile Nest.
• Storylines Notable Books List 2011 Non-fiction list for The Naughty Kid's Book of Nature.

Website:

• DesHunt.com