Denis Baker

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Baker, Denis is a novelist and short story writer from Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland.

Baker began writing seriously in the mid-nineties after almost a decade living abroad in the UK, the US and Australia. On his return to New Zealand he joined the Kamo Writers’ Group based in the K'Rd restaurant/bar of the same name. Convened and led by the legendary Auckland writer, the late David Brown, its other core members at this time included Veronica McLaughlin and Sarah Weir, their talent and influence formative in Baker’s writing.

He sold his first story ("The Major", produced by Steve Danby) to Radio New Zealand a short time later, and went on to have a number of stories bought for broadcast over the following years. Other early stories were included in anthologies such as Penguin New Fiction, Stephanie Johnston (ed), and 100 NZ Short Short Stories, Graham Lay (ed), so establishing a publishing track record, essential for any new writer in New Zealand. During this period Baker was also published in Australia.

Continuing with this early publishing success Baker eschewed the traditional literary journal path to publication (partly unintentionally, partly through fear), instead selling stories to glossy magazines such as Metro and Grace at a time when publication in commercial outlets was extremely difficult. He later went on to write non-fiction for both Metro and Next.

In 1998 Baker was placed first runner up in the Sunday Star Times Short Story Competition (behind two-time winner Bernard Steeds), and in 1999 was second runner-up in the Takahē short story competition. This success led to the publication of a short story collection, Floating Lines (David Ling Publishing 2000), launched at the Auckland Writers’ Festival that year. “Baker’s characters are sharp, often bleedingly alive.” (NZ Listener)

Keen to build a career, Baker set to work on a novel. Recipient of a modest Creative New Zealand grant, he committed to writing full-time, giving up his job and living off savings to complete the work. In 2002 Baker was awarded the Buddle Finlay Sargeson writer’s fellowship for a period of six months. Early in the fellowship his novel On A Distant Island (David Ling Publishing, 2002) was released to critical acclaim. Options to the screen rights were bought by New Zealand’s largest film production company within days of the first reviews appearing.

“One of the best books I have read this year.” (NZ Herald)
“Could become a significant voice of his generation.” (Otago Daily Times)
“A fluent and gripping narrative.” (Dominion Post)
“A good novel - satisfying, easy to read, and light without being lightweight.” (Sunday Star Times)

In mid-2003 a move to Europe was prompted, and with it a reassessment of his career and life goals. While appearing for readings at the Berlin Film festival in 2003 in support of the launch of the film adaptation of Witi Ihimaera’s novel The Whale Rider, and again a year later at the invitation of the New Zealand Embassy in Berlin, Baker stopped writing completely in early 2004.

Staying in Europe, Baker married, had a family, and set up a small business that he ran for the next fifteen or so years. In early 2019, the original film production company contacted David Ling Publishing Ltd looking to renew the lapsed screen rights to On a Distant Island. A satisfactory deal couldn’t be reached, but the contact proved a catalyst. After a hiatus of a decade and a half, with the support and encouragement of his wife, Baker returned to writing towards the end of that year, playing with short stories and exploring ideas for a new novel.

Baker remains in Europe, misses New Zealand, and enjoys writing and walking his kurī.