Ken Catran (born 16 May 1944) is a children's

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living writing novels and other fiction, while others asp ...

and

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...

screenwriter from

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

Career

Catran is the author of many teen novels, including ''Taken at the Flood'', ''Voyage with Jason'', ''Doomfire on Venus'', ''Space Wolf'', ''Jacko Moran: Sniper'', ''Talking to Blue'' and its sequels ''Blue Murder'' and ''Blue Blood''. He also contributed to the television dramas ''

Shortland Street ''Shortland Street'' is a New Zealand prime-time soap opera centring on the fictitious Shortland Street Hospital, first broadcast on TVNZ 2 on 25 May 1992. It is New Zealand's longest-running drama and soap opera, being broadcast continuously ...

'' and '' Close to Home''. Around 1993, he moved away from screenwriting to focus more on writing novels. Since then, he has become a prolific and varied writer within the New Zealand literary community. Ken's television credits include soap operas (''Radio Waves'', '' Close to Home'') as well as episodes in other TV dramas such as ''

Mortimer's Patch ''Mortimer's Patch'' was a popular TVNZ police drama from the early 1980s. It featured actors Terence Cooper, Sean Duffy, Don Selwyn and Jim Hickey and depicted detective and police work in the fictional town of "Cobham". It was filmed in a ...

''. He also penned '' Under the Mountain'', an 8-episode treatment of the

Maurice Gee Maurice Gough Gee (born 22 August 1931) is a New Zealand novelist. He is one of New Zealand's most distinguished and prolific authors, having written over thirty novels for adults and children, and has won numerous awards both in New Zealand an ...

novel, and wrote the critically well-received ''Hanlon'', a biographical law drama. The opening episode treating sympathetically the

Minnie Dean As a first name, Minnie is a feminine given name. It can be a diminutive (hypocorism) of Minerva, Winifred, Wilhelmina, Hermione, Mary, Miriam, Maria, Marie, Naomi, Miranda, Clementine or Amelia. It may refer to: People with the given name * ...

case received positive ratings and critical reception.

Awards

In 1986, Catran won the Drama Script category in the Listener Television Awards (also called the GOFTA Awards) for the first episode of ''Hanlon'', ''In Defence of Minnie Dean''. In 2004, Catran won the

Esther Glen Award The Esther Glen Award, or LIANZA Esther Glen Junior Fiction Award, is the longest running and the most renowned literary award, literary prize for New Zealand children's literature. History The prize was called into being in memory of New Zeal ...

, presented by LIANZA, for his book, ''Jacko Moran, Sniper''. Another six of his books have been short-listed for the award from 1997 to 2013, and ''Smiling Jack'' was a finalist for the 2011 LIANZA Young Adult Fiction Award. In 2001, Catran's book, ''Voyage with Jason'', won the Children's Book of the Year award, and the Young Adult Fiction category, at the

New Zealand Post Children's Book Awards The New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults are a series of literary awards presented annually to recognise excellence in children and young adult's literature in New Zealand. The awards began in 1982 as the New Zealand Governme ...

. Later, his book, ''Smiling Jack'', won the Children's Choice Young Adult Fiction category at the 2011 awards. An additional three of his books have been shortlisted at the various incarnations of these awards — ''Deepwater Black'' and ''Dream-bite'' for Senior Fiction, and ''Something Weird about Mr Foster'' for Junior Fiction. In 2007, after writing more than 30 novels, he won the Margaret Mahy Medal, awarded by the Storylines Children's Literature Charitable Trust to a person who has made a significant contribution to children's literature, publishing, or literacy. At least one of his books have been on the Storylines Notable Books List in the Young Adult Fiction category from when the list was established in 2000 to 2008, and again in 2011. In 2003 one of his books was included in the Junior Fiction category of the list, ''Something Weird About Mr Foster''. He was the

University of Otago College of Education The University of Otago College of Education is a teacher-training facility that is part of the University of Otago in Dunedin, New Zealand. It was formed on 1 January 2007 through a merger of the University of Otago's Faculty of Education with t ...

Children's Writer in Residence in 1996, and the

University of Waikato , mottoeng = For The People , established = 1964; years ago , endowment = (31 December 2021) , budget = NZD $263.6 million (31 December 2020) , chancellor = Sir Anand Satyanand, GNZM, QSO, KStJ , vice_chancellor = Neil Quigley , cit ...

Writer in Residence in 2007. In 2005 he was presented with the

Sir Julius Vogel Award The Sir Julius Vogel Awards are awarded each year at the New Zealand National Science Fiction Convention to recognise achievement in New Zealand science fiction, fantasy, horror, and science fiction fandom. They are commonly referred to as the ...

for services to science fiction and fantasy, and was nominated for the Sir Julius Vogel Best Novel for ''Protus Rising''.

Personal life

Catran is married to Wendy Catran, a screenwriter and children's writer. They live in

Waimate Waimate is a town in Canterbury, New Zealand and the seat of Waimate District. It is situated just inland from the eastern coast of the South Island. The town is reached via a short detour west when travelling on State Highway One, the main No ...

, a township in

South Canterbury South Canterbury is the area of the Canterbury Region of the South Island of New Zealand bounded by the Rangitata River in the north and the Waitaki River (the border with the Otago Region) to the south. The Pacific Ocean and ridge of the Southe ...

, New Zealand. Through an interview, he has revealed that he chose writing over other interests because it 'came naturally to me'. He relaxes by going for walks and reading regularly. Catran also frequently visits schools and gives advice to young writers on creating novels and short stories.

References

External links

*
Ken Catran
biography, selected bibliography, and awards list at the Storylines Children's Literature Charitable Trust website

biography at the

New Zealand Book Council Read NZ Te Pou Muramura (formerly the New Zealand Book Council) is a not-for-profit organisation that presents a wide range of programmes to promote books and reading in New Zealand. History It was established in 1972 as a response to UNESCO's ...

website
''In Defence of Minnie Dean''
the multi-award-winning first episode of the ''Hanlon'' television series written by Catran, streamed free at

NZ On Screen NZ On Screen is a state-funded online promotional showcase of New Zealand television and film. Funded by NZ On Air, it provides free worldwide access to NZ-produced television, film and music videos. Content is streamed and the webpages provide ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Catran, Ken 1944 births Living people New Zealand children's writers New Zealand screenwriters Male screenwriters Ned Kelly Award winners People from Waimate