Harris, David 1942- (David William Harris)

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Harris, David 1942- (David William Harris)

PERSONAL:

Born February 19, 1942, in Port Pirie, South Australia, Australia; son of Francis William (an electrician) and Queenie Anna Rose (a teacher) Harris; married second wife July 6, 1989; wife's name Christine (a writer); children: Sue, Paul, Andrew, Sam, Jenny. Education: University of Adelaide, B.A., 1963. Hobbies and other interests: "I enjoy watching the sun rise and the moon set at the same time, swimming in the dark, climbing hills, and eating mocha torte."

ADDRESSES:

Agent—Jenny Darling and Associates, P.O. Box 235, Richmond, Victoria 3121, Australia. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER:

Writer. Writer of technical works for international aid programs; public relations writer; speechwriter for South Australia Department of Health and Welfare. University of New England, visiting fellow in history; also worked as a teacher.

MEMBER:

Australian Society of Authors, Royal Geographical Society, South Australian Writers Centre, Ekidnas Children's Writers Group.

AWARDS, HONORS:

Virgiliana Medal, Italian Encyclopedic Institute.

WRITINGS:

FOR CHILDREN

The Carclew Ghost and Other Stories, McGraw-Hill (New York, NY), 1976.

A Man Called Possum, Penguin (New York, NY), 1998.

Author of thirty children's television scripts and two feature documentary scripts.

"CLIFFHANGERS" SERIES; FOR CHILDREN

Devil's Island, Penguin (New York, NY), 1999.

Fortress, Penguin (New York, NY), 1999.

Dead Silence, Penguin (New York, NY), 1999.

Firebug, Penguin (New York, NY), 1999.

NONFICTION; FOR ADULTS

(Coeditor) Coasting (regional arts anthology), 1988.

Black Horse Odyssey: Search for the Lost City of Rome in China, Wakefield Press (Kent Town, South Australia, Australia), 1992.

No Bed of Roses: Memoirs of a Madam, Wakefield Press (Kent Town, South Australia, Australia), 1993.

What A Line! The Story of the People Who Made the Hoist an Australian Icon, Hills Industries (Melrose Park, South Australia, Australia), 1996.

High Tide: Australians Doing Business in Asia, Wakefield Press (Kent Town, South Australia, Australia), 1997.

The Bucks and Hens Book, Bantam Books (Sydney, Australia), 1998.

Author of textbooks on writing fiction and biography. Contributor of more than 300 articles and reviews to Australian newspapers.

SIDELIGHTS:

Australian author David Harris writes books and articles on many subjects, including history, biography, travel, business, and cultural studies. "I love writing all kinds of things because the work takes me on journeys of discovery," he once wrote on his Web site. "I've written in a plane above the Black Sea, a room in Istanbul with a huge bear staring at me through the window, a slum in Bombay, a mountain top on the Silk Road, a Chinese train, a Fijian beach, and here at home with the door open onto the garden."

Since Harris enjoys adventure in his own life, it is not surprising that he should write adventurous novels. The Carclew Ghost and Other Stories is a collection of short stories for reluctant readers about a ghost in a house named Carclew, while A Man Called Possum is an adaptation for juvenile readers of a book by Max Jones about a mysterious hermit who survived on the banks of the Murray River.

In Harris's "Cliffhangers" series, readers follow teenage boy protagonists on fast-paced adventures. For example, in the novel Devil's Island, Luke battles a raging sea in a kayak and then finds himself on the infamous Devil's Island. There he must use his wits to survive life-threatening obstacles and the evil intentions of a mad scientist. Robert Holden, in his review of Devil's Island and Fortress for the Australian Book Review, noted Harris's debt to classic boys' adventure stories, such as Treasure Island and Robinson Crusoe. Holden wrote: "The narrative structure is certainly from the Indiana Jones school of white-knuckle adventure which sweeps us headlong into action. Plausibility and character development may be sacrificed to action and adventure but at least the sheer entertainment level never falters…. The fact that David Harris can take such a simple plot and still manage to instill tension and dramatic energy is a tribute to his storytelling skills." In Fortress, Harris recounts the adventures of Matt as he and a diverse group of others protest against activities at a nearby uranium plant. Holden judged this novel to be less successful than the series debut because the plot is not as taut and many characters are stereotypical. Nevertheless, he judged that the "book's exploits could entertain and satisfy younger readers."