Kierin Meehan
Encyclopedia
Kierin Meehan is an Australian children's book author
, teacher
and choreographer.
and was afraid of animals. Meehan studied at the University of Queensland
, where she received a degree in German
and Japanese
. She later obtained a graduate degree in performing arts (dance) from the Queensland University of Technology
, and worked as a dance teacher and choreographer for ten years. Meehan also taught German and Japanese language lessons, and lived in Japan for several years.
, a town on the west coast of Hokkaidō
, Japan
, when she was asked to write a monthly column for the town's magazine. To date, she has written three books: Hannah's Winter (2001), Night Singing (2003) and In the Monkey Forest (2005). Hannah's Winter was a notable book in the 2002 CBC Awards, and Night Singing and In the Monkey Forest both received the Patricia Wrightson Prize. She is currently working on a fourth novel, Ten Rules for Detectives, due to be published in 2008.
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
, teacher
Teacher
A teacher or schoolteacher is a person who provides education for pupils and students . The role of teacher is often formal and ongoing, carried out at a school or other place of formal education. In many countries, a person who wishes to become a teacher must first obtain specified professional...
and choreographer.
History
As a child, Meehan wanted to be a ballet dancer or a veterinarian, but her life took a different path when she discovered she did not like wearing pointe shoesPointe shoes
A pointe shoe is a type of shoe worn by ballet dancers when performing pointework. Pointe shoes developed from the desire for dancers to appear weightless and sylph-like and have evolved to enable dancers to dance on the tips of their toes for extended periods of time...
and was afraid of animals. Meehan studied at the University of Queensland
University of Queensland
The University of Queensland, also known as UQ, is a public university located in state of Queensland, Australia. Founded in 1909, it is the oldest and largest university in Queensland and the fifth oldest in the nation...
, where she received a degree in German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
and Japanese
Japanese language
is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...
. She later obtained a graduate degree in performing arts (dance) from the Queensland University of Technology
Queensland University of Technology
Queensland University of Technology is an Australian university with an applied emphasis in courses and research. Based in Brisbane, it has 40,000 students, including 6,000 international students, over 4,000 staff members, and an annual budget of more than A$750 million.QUT is marketed as "A...
, and worked as a dance teacher and choreographer for ten years. Meehan also taught German and Japanese language lessons, and lived in Japan for several years.
Books
Meehan began writing in EsashiEsashi, Hokkaido (Hiyama)
is a town in Hiyama District, Hiyama Subprefecture, Hokkaidō, Japan. It is the capital of the subprefecture.One of the oldest towns in Hokkaidō, the name Esashi comes from the Ainu word for konbu, a type of edible kelp well known in Japan...
, a town on the west coast of Hokkaidō
Hokkaido
, formerly known as Ezo, Yezo, Yeso, or Yesso, is Japan's second largest island; it is also the largest and northernmost of Japan's 47 prefectural-level subdivisions. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaido from Honshu, although the two islands are connected by the underwater railway Seikan Tunnel...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, when she was asked to write a monthly column for the town's magazine. To date, she has written three books: Hannah's Winter (2001), Night Singing (2003) and In the Monkey Forest (2005). Hannah's Winter was a notable book in the 2002 CBC Awards, and Night Singing and In the Monkey Forest both received the Patricia Wrightson Prize. She is currently working on a fourth novel, Ten Rules for Detectives, due to be published in 2008.