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Deborah Challinor

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Deborah Challinor
Born1959
Huntly
AwardsMember of the New Zealand Order of Merit
Academic background
Alma materUniversity of Waikato
Thesis
Doctoral advisorDouglas Simes, Lawrence Harold Barber

Deborah Ann Challinor MNZM is a New Zealand writer and historian. Challinor published her twenty-first book in 2024. In 2018 she was appointed a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to literature and historical research.

Academic career

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Challinor grew up in Huntly and attended Huntly College. Her father was a pharmacist.[1] After failing to get into teacher's college, Challinor attended university, where she studied English and then switched to history, graduating in 1980. She then went on to complete a master's and a PhD in history. Her doctoral thesis was titled Talking the talk: New Zealanders remember the Vietnam War at the University of Waikato in 1998.[2] Challinor's supervisor suggested she try to publish her thesis, and this resulted in her first book, Grey Ghosts, which was published by Hodder Moa Beckett in 1998.[1] Challinor describes herself as a 'recovering alcoholic', having started drinking at 14, and got sober in 1996 when she realised she wouldn't finish her PhD if she didn't.[1][3]

After the publication of Grey Ghosts, HarperCollins invited Challinor to co-write a book, Who’ll Stop the Rain? about the after-effects on families of the use of Agent Orange in Vietnam.[4] Two years later Challinor published her first work of historical fiction, Tamar, which was published in New Zealand and overseas and has been reprinted six times.[4] Challinor has published more than twenty books, including several series. Her books cover historical New Zealand events such as the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi, the Māori Land Wars, and the Otago goldrush, and New Zealand's involvement in the Vietnam War. In 2024 she published the first book in a planned series centred on a female undertaker in Sydney.[4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11]

Challinor was New Zealand's highest selling author in 2015, 2016 and 2017, after which she switched to an Australian publisher.[4] Her novels have been translated to German, Russian and Czech, and have sold a million copies worldwide.[4]

Honours and awards

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In 2017 the University of Waikato gave Challinor a distinguished alumni award.[12][13]

In the 2018 Birthday Honours, Challinor was appointed a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to literature and historical research.[4]

Selected works

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  • Children of War series: Tamar (2002), White Feathers (2003), Blue Smoke (2004)
  • The Smugglers Wife series: Kitty (2006), Amber (2007), Band of Gold (2010), The Cloud Leopard's Daughter (2016)
  • Convict Girls series: Behind the Sun (2012), Girl of Shadows (2013), The Silk Thief (2014), A Tattooed Heart (2015)
  • Tatty Crowe series: Black Silk and Sympathy (2024)

References

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  1. ^ a b c Easther, Elisabeth (25 September 2024). "Deborah Challinor: 'My dreams are very intense when I'm finishing a book'". NZ Herald. Retrieved 25 September 2024.
  2. ^ Challinor, Deborah (1998). Talking the talk: New Zealanders remember the Vietnam War (PhD thesis). University of Waikato.
  3. ^ McLarin, Hayley (25 May 2024). "how writer Deborah Challinor mixes her passion with history". Now to Love - New Zealand. Retrieved 25 September 2024.
  4. ^ a b c d e f "Queen's Birthday Honours 2018 - Citations for Members of the New Zealand Order of Merit | Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (DPMC)". www.dpmc.govt.nz. 4 June 2018. Retrieved 25 September 2024.
  5. ^ Booklovers, N. Z. (1 November 2018). "Interview: Deborah Challinor talks about From the Ashes". nzbooklovers. Retrieved 25 September 2024.
  6. ^ "Self-confessed taphophile: Deborah Challinor". RNZ. 6 April 2024. Retrieved 25 September 2024.
  7. ^ Booklovers, N. Z. (4 April 2022). "Interview: Deborah Challinor talks about The Leonard Girls". nzbooklovers. Retrieved 25 September 2024.
  8. ^ Christian, Dionne (5 November 2018). "NZ author Deborah Challinor on why we need to tell it like it was - or might have been". NZ Herald. Retrieved 25 September 2024.
  9. ^ "Deborah Challinor: From the Ashes". RNZ. 14 November 2018. Retrieved 25 September 2024.
  10. ^ "NZ author Deborah Challinor explores dark Victorian customs in new historical fiction series". NZ Herald. 29 March 2024. Retrieved 24 September 2024.
  11. ^ "Deborah Challinor - Writer's Files • Read NZ Te Pou Muramura". www.read-nz.org. Retrieved 24 September 2024.
  12. ^ "What historical fiction means to me: Deborah Challinor | HNSA". hnsa.org.au. 5 April 2020. Retrieved 25 September 2024.
  13. ^ "Recipients of Distinguished Alumni Awards :: University of Waikato". www.waikato.ac.nz. Retrieved 25 September 2024.
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