John Millen Lasenby, commonly known as Jack Lasenby, was a New Zealand writer.
17 Facts About Jack Lasenby
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Jack Lasenby wrote over 30 books for children and young adults, many of which were shortlisted for or won prizes.
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Jack Lasenby was the recipient of numerous awards including the Margaret Mahy Medal and Lecture Award in 2003 and the Prime Minister's Award for Literary Achievement for Fiction in 2014.
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Jack Lasenby attended Waharoa Primary School and went on to Matamata Intermediate and Matamata College from 1943 to 1949.
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Jack Lasenby later described her as "one of the three most intelligent people I've known, a dear friend, and a continual source of laughter, and imaginative wonder".
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Jack Lasenby was a primary school teacher, editor of the New Zealand School Journal and lecturer of English at Wellington Teachers' College before retiring at 55 to become a full-time writer.
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Jack Lasenby recalled that "the Matamata district was alive with stories in my childhood, sad, funny, haunting".
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Jack Lasenby lived at Paremata near Wellington in the 1980s, where he sailed on the Porirua Harbour and Pauatahanui Inlet.
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Jack Lasenby brought up his daughter and two stepchildren there.
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Jack Lasenby lived for many years in central Wellington and died on 27 September 2019, aged 88.
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Many of Jack Lasenby's books were shortlisted for or won prizes or were named as Storylines Notable Books.
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Jack Lasenby was awarded the Buddle Findlay Sargeson Fellowship in 1991 and the Victoria University of Wellington writing fellowship in 1993.
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Jack Lasenby was the University of Otago College of Education writer-in-residence in 1995.
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The Jack Lasenby Award was established in his name in 2002 by the Wellington Children's Book Association.
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Jack Lasenby's standing in the literary world and his identity as a Wellington writer was recognised with a plaque on the Wellington Writers Walk, unveiled by Governor-General Sir Jerry Mateparae on 21 March 2013.
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In 2003, Jack Lasenby was awarded the Margaret Mahy Medal and Lecture Award.
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Jack Lasenby received the Prime Minister's Award for Literary Achievement for Fiction in 2014.