David Hill

Guest writer

David Hill is one of New Zealand’s most distinguished writers of novels for teenagers and younger kids. He has been published in 10 languages and 15 countries. He is a former high school teacher, and was born in Napier in 1942.

Illustration: Hope McConnell

24th April, 2022

The Sunday Essay: Seize the day

For all its virtues, Anzac Day – unlike its cousin Armistice Day – is a commemoration of war, not peace.

The Sunday Essay: The armchair

19th December, 2021

The Sunday Essay: The armchair

Author David Hill on the things we leave behind.

(Image: Tina Tiller)

5th September, 2021

Does your doctor look at you?

A smile and a little small talk can go a long way in the doctor's office, writes David Hill.

(Photo: halbergman via Getty Images)

30th June, 2021

I wrote a controversial play for kids. Here’s why

Where do you draw the line in writing for young people?

(Image: Getty/Tina Tiller)

My pūriri: A love letter to climbing trees

This Arbor Day, author David Hill writes about the infinite universes of every child climbing a tree.

Photo: Getty Images

27th March, 2021

When we had to conceal instead of heal

In the not too distant past, grieving parents were expected to move on, to count their blessings, to not be morbid.

Photo: Getty Images

8th February, 2021

When we caned children

'I remember the boy crying out in pain. I remember also the look of distress and reproach he aimed at me as he left the room.'

Laundry work, Tennyson Street School, Battersea, London, 1907. (Photo by City of London: London Metropolitan Archives/Heritage Images/Getty Images)

10th December, 2020

Love’s labour: My mother, the servant

David Hill reflects on his mother's life of servitude, and that of many others like her.

An American child in an iron lung, January 1955 (Photo: Getty)

16th November, 2020

The virus that stalked children: Remembering New Zealand’s polio years

David Hill remembers his childhood friend Doug, who contracted polio a decade before the vaccine became available.

(Design: Tina Tiller)

25th October, 2020

David Hill on the story that started it all

How one book became the template for 30 years of writing for children and young adults.