# Kit Denton > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Kit_Denton > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Kit_Denton.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kit_Denton > Source revision: 1353765967 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{Short description|British-Australian writer (1928–1997)}} {{Use Australian English|date=July 2014}} {{Use dmy dates|date=December 2023}} {{Infobox writer | name = Kit Denton | honorific_prefix = | honorific_suffix = | image = | image_size = | alt = | caption = | pseudonym = | birth_name = Arnold Christopher Ditkofsky | birth_date = {{Birth date|1928|5|5|df=y}} | birth_place = [Stepney](/source/Stepney), [London](/source/London), England | death_date = {{Death date and age|1997|4|14|1928|5|5|df=y}} | death_place = [Blue Mountains](/source/Blue_Mountains_(New_South_Wales)), [New South Wales](/source/New_South_Wales), Australia | occupation = {{hlist|Writer|radio announcer|TV director|TV producer|critic}} | citizenship = | education = | alma_mater = | period = | genre = | subject = | movement = | notableworks = | spouse = | partner = | children = Joanna, Andrew and Phillipa | relatives = | awards = | signature = | signature_alt = | years_active = }} '''Arnold Christopher "Kit" Denton''' (5 May 1928 – 14 April 1997), originally '''Arnold Ditkofsky''',Matthew Ricketson, 2004, ''The Best Australian Profiles'', Melbourne, Black Inc., p. 248.[http://www2.freebmd.org.uk/cgi/information.pl?scan=1&r=157800800&d=bmd_1358896109 General Register Office (UK), n.d. ''Births, Marriages & Deaths 1837–1983, Births registered in April, May and June 1928'', p. 285] (viewed 14 February 2013). was a prominent Australian writer and broadcaster. Denton was born in England and was of [Polish Jew](/source/History_of_the_Jews_in_Poland)ish descent. He is the father of comedian and television presenter [Andrew Denton](/source/Andrew_Denton). ==Early life== Denton was born in the London suburb of [Stepney](/source/Stepney) and was raised in the [East End](/source/East_End_of_London).{{cite book |last=Wilde |first=William |author2=Joy Hooton |author3=Barry Andrews |title=The Oxford Companion to Australian Literature |year=1995 |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=Melbourne |isbn=0-19-553381-X }} He joined the [British Army](/source/British_Army) where he served with the [British Forces Broadcasting Service](/source/British_Forces_Broadcasting_Service) in Germany. Denton emigrated to Australia in the late 1940s, and worked as a gold miner in [Kalgoorlie](/source/Kalgoorlie), Western Australia. ==Broadcasting and writing career in Australia== From 1951 until 1965, Denton worked for the [Australian Broadcasting Commission](/source/Australian_Broadcasting_Corporation) as an announcer, and eventually moved on to screenwriting, producing and directing television. In the 1970s, an anonymous television critic for ''[The Australian](/source/The_Australian)'' newspaper was revealed to be Kit Denton, writing under the [pseudonym](/source/pseudonym) "Janus".[Debus, Bob](/source/Bob_Debus): [http://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/prod/parlment/hansart.nsf/V3Key/LA19970422025 Private Members' Statements: Death of Mr Kit Denton] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929083331/http://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/prod/parlment/hansart.nsf/V3Key/LA19970422025 |date=29 September 2007 }}, [New South Wales Legislative Assembly](/source/New_South_Wales_Legislative_Assembly) ''[Hansard](/source/Hansard)'', 22 April 1997 Denton had an abiding interest in military history, and is best known for his novel ''The Breaker'' (1973), based on the story of [Breaker Morant](/source/Breaker_Morant). Although it was widely assumed that the film ''[Breaker Morant](/source/Breaker_Morant_(film))'' was based on Denton's book, it was in fact based on a play by [Kenneth G. Ross](/source/Kenneth_G._Ross), who successfully sued publisher [Angus & Robertson](/source/Angus_%26_Robertson) when they publicised Denton's novel as the source for the film. Denton also wrote ''For Queen and Commonwealth'', about British military forces in the late 19th century, and ''Gallipoli: One Long Grave'' (1986), a book about the [Battle of Gallipoli](/source/Battle_of_Gallipoli). ==Death== Denton died in April 1997 at his home in the [Blue Mountains](/source/Blue_Mountains_(New_South_Wales)), [New South Wales](/source/New_South_Wales). ==Legacy== In August 2006, Denton's son [Andrew](/source/Andrew_Denton) announced a new A$25,000 writing scholarship in his father's name: the [Kit Denton Fellowship](/source/Kit_Denton_Fellowship), which would be presented to members of the [Australian Writers' Guild](/source/Australian_Writers'_Guild) from 2007 onwards.[http://www.awg.com.au/artman/publish/article_340.shtml Kit Denton Scholarship Announced at the 2006 AWGIE Awards] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090808033731/http://www.awg.com.au/artman/publish/article_340.shtml |date= 8 August 2009 }}, [Australian Writers' Guild](/source/Australian_Writers'_Guild), 28 August 2006. ==Bibliography== * ''[http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn1795431 A Walk Around My Cluttered Mind]'' (1968) * ''[http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn1176348 The Breaker: a novel]'' (1973, {{ISBN|0-207-14344-7}}) * ''[https://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn3035165 The Thinkable Man]'' (1976, {{ISBN|0-207-13279-8}}) * ''[http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn2881113 The Breaker: a novel, with a selection of the verse of Harry (the Breaker) Morant]'' / Kit Denton (1980, revised edition {{ISBN|0-207-14268-8}}) * ''[http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn1510747 Gallipoli illustrated]'' / compiled and written by Kit Denton (1981, {{ISBN|0-7270-1462-5}}) * ''[http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn332472 Closed File: The True Story Behind the Execution of Breaker Morant and Peter Handcock]'' (1983, {{ISBN|0-7270-1739-X}}) * ''[http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn127098 Fiddlers Bridge]'' (1986, {{ISBN|0-949118-10-9}}) * ''[http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn2276347 Gallipoli, One Long Grave]'' (1986, {{ISBN|0-949118-04-4}}) * ''[http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn1503779 For Queen and Commonwealth]'' (1987, {{ISBN|0-949118-08-7}}) * ''[http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn1716332 Burning Spear]'' (1990, {{ISBN|0-947245-06-5}} (hbk) and {{ISBN|0-947245-07-3}} (pbk)) * ''[https://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn537387 Red on White]'' (1991, {{ISBN|0-330272-19-5}}) ==Credits== * ''[Demonstrator](/source/Demonstrator_(film))'' (1971) – screenplay ==References== {{reflist}} ==External links== * [http://nla.gov.au/nla.pic-an22703285 Kit and Betty Denton, Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, 1953] – photography by Terence and Margaret Spencer * [http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn981777 Address delivered by Kit Denton, to the ''Canberra Times'' literary luncheon, 12 October 1983] (sound recording) – introduction by Graham Wilkinson and Peter Fuller * [http://www.sbs.com.au/shows/whodoyouthinkyouare/episodes/detail/episode/4836/season/6 "Andrew Denton"], episode on ''[Who Do you think you Are](/source/Who_Do_You_Think_You_Are%3F_(Australian_TV_series))'' {{Authority control}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Denton, Kit}} Category:1928 births Category:1997 deaths Category:20th-century Australian novelists Category:Australian male novelists Category:20th-century Australian non-fiction writers Category:British Army soldiers Category:People from the Blue Mountains (New South Wales) Category:People from Stepney Category:English emigrants to Australia Category:Australian people of Polish-Jewish descent Category:20th-century Australian male writers --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Kit Denton](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kit_Denton) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kit_Denton?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.