# Kaur Kender

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{{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](/source/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](/source/Estonian_literature) in 1998 with his debut novel, ''Independence Day'' ({{Translation|''Iseseisvuspäev''}}), which has been translated into [Finnish](/source/Finnish_language) (2001) and [Russian](/source/Russian_language) (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](/source/Eesti_P%C3%A4evaleht) 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](/source/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](/source/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](/source/Disco_Elysium),'' which achieved critical and commercial success for the development team [ZA/UM](/source/Disco_Elysium).<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](/source/GamesRadar) }}</ref> ''Disco Elysium'' won multiple [British Academy Games Awards](/source/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](/source/Dolph_Lundgren). The origins of the game were detailed in articles by ''[GamesRadar](/source/GamesRadar%2B)'' and ''[PC Gamer](/source/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

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Kaur Kender](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaur_Kender) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaur_Kender?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.