Jonathan Benton
Jonathan Benton left New Zealand with a burning desire to see the world. A qualified PADI Divemaster, he spent a year working in Fiji before moving to England, where he rambled the countryside for several years chasing myths and legends. On his way back to New Zealand, he stopped off in Australia — and never quite left.
Settling in Sydney, armed with the knowledge of his travels, Jonathan decided it was time to pursue his childhood dream — something that had been waiting in him since he first learned to read. He joined the NSW Writers’ Centre, completed several courses, and even played doubles with the then-Director — combining a love of literature with a very enthusiastic backhand.
Jonathan eventually made Brisbane home. He’s a dad to three awesome kids, and it’s here that his writing found its rhythm — shaped by imagination, responsibility, and the steady belief that stories matter.
The youngest of three siblings, Jonathan likes arts and entertainment, sports and leisure, and all the other categories on the Trivial Pursuit board.
Books that Changed Me – The Sydney Morning Herald
6 Things About Jonathan
1. First win.
Jonathan’s first attempt at fiction won him first place in a short story competition. He was ten. The prize was a certificate and a pat on the back — both of which he took very seriously.
2. A quiet hope.
Jonathan wants to leave Earth knowing he and his generation made it better than they found it. He’s an optimist, so he believes there’s still time.
3. Dickens = tears.
If Jonathan reads the final lines of A Tale of Two Cities, he cries.
If he thinks about those lines, he cries.
If Gary Oldman recites them at the end of a Batman movie, he’ll definitely cry.
4. A few favourites.
Roger Federer, Darth Vader, Everton FC, black ten-up Doc Martens, Tolkien, Stephen King (It is his all-time favourite), Charles Dickens, Catch-22, The Hunger Games, Pink Floyd, Beethoven.
5. A moment that shaped him.
Jonathan has a metal plate in his head — the result of a motor-vehicle accident at sixteen, when a drunk driver fell asleep at the wheel.
A beautiful young woman died in the crash — a tragedy that has stayed with him and quietly shaped the person he is today.
6. Reformed nuisance.
Jonathan was politely asked to leave high school. He loved books, just not the part where he had to sit and listen. He thought he was a rebel; he was more likely a nuisance.
But it’s never too late to learn: two years later, he enrolled in an on-campus course and gained university entrance.