Ko wai au? About Me
Ko Taranaki maunga
Ko Waiwhakahio awa
Nō Ngāti te Whiti o Te Ātiawa au
Ko Lauren Keenan tōku ingoa
I tipu ake au ki Manawatū, engari, Te Whanganui-a-Tara tōku kāinga ināianei
Kia ora - I'm Lauren, I call Wellington, New Zealand home, where I live with my husband, two kids, and two cats.
My goal
A massive history nerd, I want history to be interesting, exciting and accessible to a range of audiences, kids and adults alike. It's this goal that has motivated me to present our past in a range of diverse formats, because, when seeking to understand what has come before us, not everyone wants to consume information in the same sort of way.
My writing
I write adult historical fiction, middle-grade historical fiction, short stories, historical non-fiction, and anything else that tickles my fancy.
I'm the author of The Space Between (Penguin Random House, 2024), Amorangi and Millie's Trip Through Time (Huia, 2022), Rimu: The Tree of Time (Huia, 2024) and The 52 Week Project: How I Fixed My Life by Trying a New Thing Every Week for a Year (Allen & Unwin, 2020).
My next book and first historical non-fiction, Toitū Te Whenua: Places and People of the New Zealand Wars will be released in March 2025.
My study
I'm currently in my second year studying for a Diploma in Te Reo Māori at Massey University. It feels like something that has come 20 years too late and at just the right time all at once.
My first degree was a Master of Arts in New Zealand History with a smattering of International Relations, Māori Studies and Spanish thrown into the mix. Although I played so much Tetris I really ought to count that as my minor.
Other random factoids
Over the past couple of years I have tried 29 new flavours of sweet pie. A #lifegoal is to discover even more types. Wish me luck.
I love travel, and have lived in Italy, the UK and the USA (twice). But I always love coming home to where I'm from and my wider whānau.
However, my other #lifegoal is to visit 50 countries before I am 50. At this rate I'll have more luck with the pie, but I live in hope.
My writing successes
The Space Between sitting on the Aotearoa New Zealand Bestseller charts for five months.
Amorangi and Millie winning the 2023 Book Lovers Award, as well as being a finalist for the 2022 New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults.
Being awarded a 2021 CLNZ and New Zealand Society of Authors grant to write a middle-grade novel (see details here).
Winning the 2017 Pikihuia award for best short story (find this story here) and, in 2019, being a finalist in the same awards for best emerging Māori writer.
Participant on the 2016 Te Papa Tupu writing incubation programme.
Blog Modern Mothercraft listed by the New Zealand Herald as being one of New Zealand's top four parenting blogs in 2014.