Biography

Kenneth McKenney was born in Fiji and grew up surrounded by the sea. Later, while studying geology at Auckland University he discovered the wonders of skin diving, the magic that lies beneath the waves. After graduation he worked as a geologist searching for copper in the Australian Outback and mining for gold in his native Fiji. None of this satisfied, so he left rocks and tunnels behind him to become a copywriter in the world of advertising. From copywriter he progressed to producer-director of TV commercials, travelling from Finland to Venezuela.

McKenney began scribbling poems and short stories at university, some of which were published. Then his one-act play, The Escape of Harry Springer, won the New Zealand British Drama Award, and his first novel was published in London. On receipt of a grant from the New Zealand Literary Fund he went to London, where he pursued his advertising career, writing all the while.

Eight more novels were published in London and New York, many of which went to foreign translations. The most successful being The Moonchild, taken by the Book of the Month Club in the USA. By then McKenney had, what he called, ‘written himself out of advertising’ and moved to Spain, where he now lives with his family and a menagerie of dogs, cats, and assorted fishes. A few years ago he published his memoir, In the Land of the Marquis, describing how his family arrived in an unknown coastal town in Cantabria, to become part of the community.

Now, with Squid, McKenney tells the tale of a curiously romantic bond which develops between a young Scottish diver and a giant squid. IN the book the diver, aided by a beautiful Spanish vet, struggles to save the squid he calls Alice – she lives in a wonderland – from those who would kill or capture her. Squid is a novel close to McKenney’s heart, recalling and recounting some of the marvellous moments he spent in many seas.