Elaine Forrestal (born 1941)
is a Western Australian writer of books for children and young adults, including her 1996 book, ''
Someone Like Me
"Someone like Me" is a song by British girl group Atomic Kitten. Released on 29 March 2004 as the third and final single from their third studio album, '' Ladies Night'' (2003), the piano-driven track was issued as a double A-side with "Right ...
''.
Career
Elaine Forrestal was born in
Perth
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...
, Western Australia in 1941.
She graduated with a Bachelor of Education and Diploma of Teaching from
Edith Cowan University.
She worked as a school teacher prior to taking up full-time writing in 1999.
She also holds a higher degree in creative writing from the
University of Western Australia
The University of Western Australia (UWA) is a public research university in the Australian state of Western Australia. The university's main campus is in Perth, the state capital, with a secondary campus in Albany, Western Australia, Albany an ...
.
Forrestal began publishing short stories in 1983. ''The Watching Lake'', published in 1991, was her first novel
and was shortlisted for the 1992
Western Australian Premier's Book Awards
The Western Australian Premier's Book Awards is an annual book award provided by the Government of Western Australia, and managed by the State Library of Western Australia.
History and format
Annual literary awards were inaugurated by the Wes ...
.
In 2012 Forrestal was presented with the Muriel Barwell Award for Distinguished Service to Children's Literature by the Western Australian branch of the
Children's Book Council of Australia
The Children's Book Council of Australia (CBCA) is a not for profit organisation which aims to engage the community with literature for young Australians. The CBCA presents the annual Children's Book of the Year Awards to books of literary merit ...
.
Her papers, including manuscripts and correspondence, are held in the
State Library of Western Australia.
Awards and recognition
''Someone Like Me''
* Winner, West Australian Young Readers' Book Award – Hoffman Award, 1997
* Winner, CBCA
Children's Book of the Year Award: Younger Readers, 1998
* Shortlisted, YABBA – Fiction for Older Readers, 1999
Selected works
* ''The Watching Lake'', Puffin, 1991
* ''Someone Like Me'', Puffin, 1996
* ''Leaving No Footprints'', Puffin, 2001
* ''Miss Llewellyn Jones'', Fremantle Press, 2008
* ''Black Jack Anderson'', Penguin, 2008
*''Goldfields Girl'', Fremantle Press, 2020
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Forrestal, Elaine
1941 births
Living people
Australian children's writers
Edith Cowan University alumni
University of Western Australia alumni