{{short description|Estonian author and entrepreneur (born 1971)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=December 2024}}{{Infobox author | name = Kaur Kender | birth_date = 27 May 1971 | occupation = Writer | citizenship = Estonia | period = 1998 {{en dash}} present | language = Estonian | genre = Literary fiction }} '''Kaur Kender''' (born 27 May 1971) is an Estonian author,<ref>{{cite book |title=Geschichte der estnischen Literatur: von den Anfängen bis zur Gegenwart |last=Hasselblatt |first=Cornelius |year=2006 |publisher=Walter de Gruyter |isbn=978-3-11-018025-1 |page=[https://archive.org/details/geschichtederest00hass/page/n793 774] |url=https://archive.org/details/geschichtederest00hass|url-access=limited }}</ref> entrepreneur, and advertising executive. Kender entered the Estonian literary scene in 1998 with his debut novel, ''Independence Day'' ({{Translation|''Iseseisvuspäev''}}), which has been translated into Finnish (2001) and Russian (2003).
== Career == Kender subsequently published the novels ''Yuppie God'' (1999), ''Abnormal'' (2000), and ''Check Out'' (2001). He has also written collaborative works: ''Through Peaceful Eyes'' (2001) with Heikki Erich Merila, and ''Raha'' (2002) with banker Rain Lõhmus. Eesti Päevaleht has identified Kender's work as one of the "most scandalous" in Estonian contemporary works.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Eesti lugu: Kaur Kender "Iseseisvuspäev" |url=https://epl.delfi.ee/artikkel/51175079/eesti-lugu-kaur-kender-iseseisvuspaev |access-date=2023-11-27 |website=Eesti Päevaleht |language=et}}</ref>
Kender provided both input and investment to support his fellow Estonian author Robert Kurvitz's novel, ''Sacred and Terrible Air'' (2013). In 2014, Kender published a novel called ''Untitled 12'', which received mixed reactions in Estonian society. The Finnish Pen described it as a "grotesque thriller" and an important book discussing taboos central to the entertainment industry, including death, serial murder, pornography, and pedophilia.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2016-07-17 |title=Finnish PEN club: Kender's 'U12' is a 'grotesque thriller', not child porn |url=https://news.err.ee/118569/finnish-pen-club-kender-s-u12-is-a-grotesque-thriller-not-child-porn |access-date=2023-07-29 |website=ERR |language=en}}</ref> In early 2016, he was charged with writing child pornography and put on trial but was later acquitted.<ref>{{Cite web |first=James|last=Robertson |date=2017-01-05 |title=Transgression as ends and means: The trial of Kaur Kender |url=https://lefteast.org/transgression-as-ends-and-mean/ |access-date=2022-05-09 |website=Lefteast |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |agency=BNS |date=2016-02-10 |title=Trial of Kaur Kender on child porn charges to be partially closed to the public |url=https://news.err.ee/117619/trial-of-kaur-kender-on-child-porn-charges-to-be-partially-closed-to-the-public |access-date=2022-05-09 |website=ERR |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Estonia: Savisaar says will stay in politics for a long time |url=https://www.baltictimes.com/estonia__savisaar_says_will_stay_in_politics_for_a_long_time/ |access-date=2022-05-09 |website=The Baltic Times}}</ref> In 2025, Kender claimed that Robert Kurvitz, not he, was the author of ''Untitled 12''.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Kaur Kender väitis, et ta kohtupinki viinud teose kirjutas Robert Kurvitz. Väidetav autor: ma ei kommenteeri seda |url=https://epl.delfi.ee/artikkel/120363644/kaur-kender-vaitis-et-ta-kohtupinki-viinud-teose-kirjutas-robert-kurvitz-vaidetav-autor-ma-ei-kommenteeri-seda |access-date=2025-08-15 |website=Eesti Päevaleht |language=et}}</ref> He wrote under the pseudonym Kras Mazov on the RPGcodex forum: “I haven't even read it. I'm just a shitposter.”<ref>{{Cite web |date=13 March 2025 |website=RPGCodex |title=XXX Nightshift - true detective RPG from former Disco Elysium developers |url=https://rpgcodex.net/forums/threads/xxx-nightshift-true-detective-rpg-from-former-disco-elysium-developers.151547/page-8#post-9359036}}</ref>
Kender moved to London in 2017 to act as an early investor and Executive Producer for the video game ''Disco Elysium,'' which achieved critical and commercial success for the development team ZA/UM.<ref name="gamesradar conception">{{cite web |url = https://www.gamesradar.com/the-making-of-disco-elysium-how-zaum-created-one-of-the-most-original-rpgs-of-the-decade/ | title = The making of Disco Elysium: How ZA/UM created one of the most original RPGs of the decade | first = Alex | last = Wiltshire | date = 9 January 2020 | access-date = 8 April 2020 | work = GamesRadar }}</ref> ''Disco Elysium'' won multiple British Academy Games Awards,<ref>{{Cite web |date=2020-03-03 |title=Disco Elysium - MUSIC |url=https://www.bafta.org/games/awards/music-1 |access-date=2023-11-27 |website=www.bafta.org |language=en}}</ref> including one for narrative.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2020-03-03 |title=DISCO ELYSIUM - NARRATIVE |url=https://www.bafta.org/games/awards/narrative-0 |access-date=2023-11-27 |website=www.bafta.org |language=en}}</ref> Kender jokingly said that ''Disco Elysium'' was funded by "four Fs": Friends, Fools, Family and Kender's Ferrari, which formerly belonged to Dolph Lundgren. The origins of the game were detailed in articles by ''GamesRadar'' and ''PC Gamer''.<ref>{{Cite news |author1=Rich Stanton |date=2022-11-23 |title=Disco Elysium's elevator pitch: 'the greatest fantasy setting ever conceived' |language=en |work=PC Gamer |url=https://www.pcgamer.com/disco-elysiums-elevator-pitch-the-greatest-fantasy-setting-ever-conceived/ |access-date=2023-07-29}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |author1=Alex Wiltshire |date=2020-01-09 |title=The making of Disco Elysium: How ZA/UM created one of the most original RPGs of the decade |url=https://www.gamesradar.com/the-making-of-disco-elysium-how-zaum-created-one-of-the-most-original-rpgs-of-the-decade/ |access-date=2023-07-29 |website=gamesradar |language=en}}</ref>
==Bibliography== * {{lang|et|Iseseisvuspäev}}; English translation: Independence Day (1998, {{ISBN|978-9949-684-99-1}}) * {{lang|et|Yuppiejumal}}; English translation: Yuppiegod (1999, {{ISBN|978-9985-79-510-1|link=no}}) * {{lang|et|Ebanormaalne}}; English translation: Abnormal (2000, {{ISBN|978-9985-79-362-6|link=no}}) * {{lang|et|Läbi rahulike silmade}}; English translation: Through Peaceful Eyes (2001, {{ISBN|9985-9291-9-5|link=no}}) * Check Out (2001, {{ISBN|978-9949-38-958-2|link=no}}) * {{lang|et|Pangapettus}}; English translation: Bank Con (2002, {{ISBN|978-9985-9424-8-2}}) * {{lang|et|Kuidas saada isaks}}; English translation: How to Become a Father (2003, {{ISBN|978-9949-10-306-5|link=no}}) * {{lang|et|Raha}}; English translation: Money (2002, {{ISBN|978-9985-78-428-0|link=no}}) (together with Rain Lõhmus) * Comeback (2010, {{ISBN|978-9985-79-463-0|link=no}}) * Untitled 12 (2014, {{ISBN|978-1-5308-4165-3|link=no}})
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== * [http://www.egothemag.com/archives/2006/02/the_causes_of_c.htm Excerpts from "Through Peaceful Eyes"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080723114345/http://www.egothemag.com/archives/2006/02/the_causes_of_c.htm |date=2008-07-23 }} {{ZAUM}}{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kender, Kaur}} Category:1971 births Category:Living people Category:Estonian male novelists Category:20th-century Estonian novelists Category:21st-century Estonian novelists Category:Writers from Tartu Category:Video game producers