Vicki Simpson

Vicki Simpson spent her childhood on a farm outside of Marton – an idyllic life, before being sent to a girls’ boarding school at the age of 12 – a rude shock, and yes, this will be turned into a book somewhere in the future. She trained as a primary school teacher – like many children’s writers, and then discovered she didn’t want to teach, so tried many other jobs over the years – also like many children’s writers. These jobs included: apple picker, pizza maker, debt collector, bar person, market researcher, editorial assistant, receptionist, advertising coordinator, proof-reader, researcher, PA, winery tour organiser, retail management... and a two-day stint as an insurance salesperson.

As a child Vicki’s favourite book was The Magic Faraway Tree by Enid Blyton. This may be a major social blunder to admit but it doesn’t change the fact. As Vicki said, ‘The Magic Faraway Tree was the ultimate in imaginative escapism. Not only could you discover the lands at the top of the tree that Enid wanted you to find, you could create limitless lands of magic yourself.’ Somewhere at her parents’ house there are exercise books filled with these stories.

When she left school Vicki lived for two years in Wanganui, mainly writing pages of angst filled poetry about a boyfriend, before packing her bags and heading to Auckland.

After 20 years in Auckland, fun at 20-something years old, but less so approaching 40, Vicki escaped with her family, to the Kapiti Coast, land of black sand beaches and hippy artists and writers – bliss! The inspiration behind Yo, Shark Bait! came from many fishing trips out on her husband’s boat. No matter how stable a boat is, when it’s only a few metres long a huge shark gliding past is a terrifying sight. When Vicki caught a 99kg hammerhead shark in the ladies’ Whakatane fishing tournament (it took nearly 3 hours!) the idea for a story formed in her head and slowly fermented, until the first rough draft appeared about a year later. Thanks to the NZSA mentoring scheme and David Hill’s fantastic patience, this first draft transformed into the story that won the Storylines Tom Fitzgibbon Award in 2006.

Selected bibliography:

• Yo, Shark Bait! (Scholastic 2007).

Awards:

• Storylines Tom Fitzgibbon Award 2006.
• Storylines Notable Books List 2008 Junior Fiction list for Yo, Shark Bait!