Natalie Jane Prior
Encyclopedia
Natalie Jane Prior is an Australia
n writer of children's literature
and young-adult fiction.
, Australia
, where she also currently lives with her husband and daughter. Her first fiction book, The Amazing Adventures of Amabel, was published in 1990 and her internationally successful children's fantasy series, Lily Quench, has been published in more than twenty countries. Prior's work has been a finalist at the Children's Book Council of Australia Awards as well as being honoured and named as notable. Her work, Fireworks and Darkness
, won the 2003 Davitt Awards for best young-adult novel and her work, Lily Quench and the Lighthouse of Skellig Mor won the 2003 Aurealis Award for best children's short fiction
. She has also been nominated for an Aurealis Award on three other occasions for best short fiction, long fiction and young-adult novel.
Lily Quench
The Ostermark novels
The Dolls
The Minivers
)
Other books
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Children's Book Council of Australia Awards
Davitt Awards
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n writer of children's literature
Children's literature
Children's literature is for readers and listeners up to about age twelve; it is often defined in four different ways: books written by children, books written for children, books chosen by children, or books chosen for children. It is often illustrated. The term is used in senses which sometimes...
and young-adult fiction.
Biography
Prior was born in 1963 in BrisbaneBrisbane
Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, where she also currently lives with her husband and daughter. Her first fiction book, The Amazing Adventures of Amabel, was published in 1990 and her internationally successful children's fantasy series, Lily Quench, has been published in more than twenty countries. Prior's work has been a finalist at the Children's Book Council of Australia Awards as well as being honoured and named as notable. Her work, Fireworks and Darkness
Fireworks and Darkness
Fireworks and Darkness is a 2002 young-adult novel by Natalie Jane Prior. It follows the story of Simeon Runciman who is a firework maker and former dark magician who is caught in up in murder and magic when his enemy reappears...
, won the 2003 Davitt Awards for best young-adult novel and her work, Lily Quench and the Lighthouse of Skellig Mor won the 2003 Aurealis Award for best children's short fiction
Aurealis Award for Best Children's Short Fiction
As part of the Aurealis Awards, the Aurealis Award for Best Children's Fiction is given annually to the best children's piece of fiction told primarily through words in the science fiction, fantasy or horror genre by an Australian author...
. She has also been nominated for an Aurealis Award on three other occasions for best short fiction, long fiction and young-adult novel.
Novels
- The Amazing Adventures of Amabel (1990)
- Amabel Abroad (1992)
- Tasha's Witch (1995)
- Yesterday's Heroes (1995)
- West End Shuffle (1996)
- London Calling (1997)
- The Loft (1997)
- Squish (2002)
Lily Quench
- Lily Quench And The Dragon Of Ashby (1999)
- Lily Quench and the Black Mountains (2001)
- Lily Quench and the Treasure of Mote Ely (2002)
- Lily Quench and the Lighthouse Of Skellig Mor (2003)
- Lily Quench and the Magician's Pyramid (2003)
- Lily Quench and the Hand of Manuelo (2004, aka The Secret of Manuelo in the UK)
- Lily Quench and the Search for King Dragon (2004)
- Lily Quench's Companion: And Guide to Dragons and the Art of Quenching (2007)
The Ostermark novels
- Fireworks and DarknessFireworks and DarknessFireworks and Darkness is a 2002 young-adult novel by Natalie Jane Prior. It follows the story of Simeon Runciman who is a firework maker and former dark magician who is caught in up in murder and magic when his enemy reappears...
(2002) - The Star Locket (2006)
The Dolls
- Fashion Follies (2005)
- Susannah's Notebook (2005)
- Horse Fever (2005)
- Kiki's Caravan (2006)
The Minivers
- Minivers On the Run (2008)
- Minivers Fight Back (2009, known as Minivers in Danger in the UK)
- Minivers and the Most Secret Room (2010, known as Minivers and the Secret Room in the UK)
- Minivers Forever (2011; forthcoming)
Picture books
The Paw (with illustrator Terry DentonTerry Denton
Terry Denton is an Australian illustrator and author. The second youngest of five boys, he was born and grew up in Melbourne, Victoria....
)
- The Paw (1993)
- The Paw in Destination: Brazil (1995)
- The Paw in The Purple Diamond (1998)
- The Paw Collection (2007, omnibus of the three books with new b/w artwork)
Other books
- Minnie Pearl and the Undersea Bazaar (2007; illustrator Cheryl Orsini)
- Star (2008; illustrator Anna Pignataro)
- Sun (2008; illustrator Anna Pignataro)
Non fiction
- Bog Bodies, Mummies and Curious Corpses (1994)
- Mysterious Ruins, Lost Cities and Buried Treasure (1994)
- Dance Crazy: Star Turns from Ballet to Belly Dancing (1995)
- Caves, Graves, and Catacombs: Secrets from Beneath the Earth (1996)
- The Demidenko Diary (1996)
- Cleopatra: Last Queen of Egypt (1998)
- Nero: Evil Emperor of Rome (1998)
- Chewing Gum: How it Fed the Gods, Went into Space and Helped Win the War (2000)
- The Recorder: How it Changed the World, Saved the Universe and Topped the Charts (2000)
- Chocolate: How it Saved a Life, Built a City and Conquered the World (2000)
- The Encyclopedia of Preserved People: Pickled, Frozen, and Mummified Corpses from Around the World (2002)
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Nominations and awards
Aurealis Awards- Best children's long fictionAurealis Award for Best Children's Long FictionThe Aurealis Awards are presented annually by the Australia-based Chimaera Publications and SpecFaction NSW to published works in order to "recognise the achievements of Australian science fiction, fantasy, horror writers"...
- 2002: Nomination: Lily Quench and the Treasure of Mote Ely
- Best children's short fictionAurealis Award for Best Children's Short FictionAs part of the Aurealis Awards, the Aurealis Award for Best Children's Fiction is given annually to the best children's piece of fiction told primarily through words in the science fiction, fantasy or horror genre by an Australian author...
- 2003: Win: Lily Quench and the Lighthouse of Skellig Mor
- 2003: Nomination: Lily Quench and the Magicians' Pyramid
- Best young-adult novel
- 2002: Nomination: Fireworks and Darkness
Children's Book Council of Australia Awards
- Picture Book of the YearChildren's Book of the Year Award: Picture BookThe Children's Book of the Year Award: Picture Book has been presented annually since 1955 by the Children's Book Council of Australia .The Award "will be made to outstanding books of the Picture Book genre in which the author and illustrator achieve artistic and literary unity, or, in wordless...
- 1994: Honour: The Paw
- Eve Pownall Award for Information BooksChildren's Book of the Year Award: Eve Pownall Award for Information BooksThe Children's Book of the Year Award: Eve Pownall Award for Information Books was first presented in 1988, when the award was financed by Eve Pownall's family...
- 1995: Nominated: Bog Bodies, Mummies and Curious Corpses
Davitt Awards
- Best young-adult novel
- 2003: Won: Fireworks and Darkness