Maurice Gee

Multi-awardwinning author Maurice Gee was named an Arts Foundation Icon Artist in 2003. His books often touch on dysfunctional families and violence, and tend to be set in small town environs. 

Gee was born in Whakatane, but grew up in Henderson - then a country town, now part of Auckland city. Wadesville, the location of Gee's third novel In My Father's Den (1972) shares many setting similarities. 

Gee completed an MA in English at Auckland University in 1954. He had already started to write, with his first short story appearing in Landfall in 1955. Gee spent time working as a schoolteacher in New Zealand and England.

His first novel The Big Season was published in 1962, based partly on his experiences playing rugby. Gee became a full-time writer after two further novels, around the time he released his first collection of short stories: A Glorious Morning, Comrade (1975). In 1982 the title story, the tale of an old man escaping his daughter's home, was adapted into a 25-minute short by director John McKay. An earlier short story, horseracing tale The Losers, had previously been adapted for television in 1976.

By then Gee was writing for television himself. He handled episodes of Close to Home, Country GP and police drama Mortimer's Patch, including high-rating, award-winning episode 'Fighting Johnny Fuller', the story of an ex-boxer who may be a murderer. 

Gee's work on Mortimer's Patch led to 1984 spin-off movie Trespasses, which he co-wrote with producer Tom Finlayson. The film incorporates a number of Mortimer's Patch characters into the story of a young woman (Katie Wells) caught between her fundamentalist father (Patrick McGoohan) and a charismatic guru (Frank Whitten). 

Gee has also written extensively for children and teenagers. His first book aimed at children was 1979's Under the Mountain, an adventure involving aliens who are connected to the city's volcanoes. The bestseller was adapted by Ken Catran for a successful TVNZ series in 1981, and in 2009 became a Jonathan King-directed feature film. 

Two later Maurice Gee kidult novels began as projects that he originally created for television. The idea for 1986's The Fire-Raiser was inspired by an inspirational headmaster at Nelson Central School, and an arsonist who burnt down the school in the 1880s. Gee's five-part series reimagines arsonist and headmaster in a small town in 1915. The Fire-Raiser won GOFTA awards for Gee's script, and Peter Sharp's direction. The show sold well overseas, winning awards  in Australia and America. It was also reconfigured into tele-movie Undercover Gang, and a book published by Penguin.  

In 1988 Fire-Raiser producer Ginette McDonald enlisted Gee to write a follow-up. Gee drew upon his war-period memories of growing up in Henderson for The Champion, the story of a black American GI billeted with a Kiwi family during World War Two. Director Peter Sharp remembers the show proudly, but argues that it "slipped into obscurity through bad timing, no publicity, and the lack of awards that year".

Gee's novel Crime Story also formed the basis of 2004 ensemble drama Fracture, a rare directorial outing for producer Larry Parr.

In 2004 Gee's breakthrough third novel In My Father's Den was adapted for an acclaimed movie version by director Brad McGann. Among other changes, McGann's script relocates the story to central Otago. Father's Den scooped multiple awards, including NZ Screen Awards for best film, direction and script.