J. C. Burke (born 1965 in Sydney) is an Australian author, currently living in Sydney. Jane Burke was born in 1965 in Sydney, where she was the fourth of five sisters; her parents were writers. Burke did not start publishing stories until 1999. Her mother died after suffering from cancer for 10 years, just after Burke's 19th birthday.

Early life and education

Burke trained as a nurse at the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital and later specialised in oncology. In 2000, she took a creative writing course. After doing her course, she went to

Sydney University The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's six ...

with fellow Australian writer

Libby Gleeson Libby Gleeson AM (born 1950) is an Australian children's author. Born in Young, New South Wales, she is one of six children, the sister of former ABC TV Washington Correspondent Michael Gleeson, and the mother of ''Home and Away'' actress Jess ...

to take another writing course. Her first novel was ''White Lies'', which was published in 2002 with her mentor as

Gary Crew Gary David Crew (born 23 September 1947) is an Australian writer of young adult fiction. Awards Crew has won the Australian Children's Book of the Year on four occasions. Children's Book of the Year Award: Older Readers * 1991 '' Strange ...

. This book was made CBCA Notable Book for 2003. ''The Red Cardigan'' published 2004 was also a CBCA Notable Book as well as translated into Dutch and Swedish editions. ''Nine Letters Long'', the sequel to ''The Red Cardigan'' was highly commended for the 2005 Aurealis Award for best horror novel, and ''

The Story of Tom Brennan ''The Story of Tom Brennan'' is a 2005 Australian young adult novel written by J. C. Burke. It was named as book of the year for older readers by the Children's Book Council of Australia The Children's Book Council of Australia (CBCA) is a ...

'' was awarded the 2006 Book of the Year for Older Readers by 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 ...

,CBCA Book of the Year: Winners and Short Lists 2000–2006
and shortlisted for The Children's Peace Prize for Literature. It is on the current NSW Higher School Certificate prescriptions list as well as studied widely throughout Australia. ''Pig Boy'' was made a CBCA Notable Book for 2012 as well as an inclusion in the White Ravens Catalogue for Outstanding International Books. Burke's 11th novel ''The Things We Promise'' has been released in Australia, NZ and in the UK in 2017.

Bibliography

* ''The Things We Promise'' (2017) * '' Pretty Girl'' (2013) * ''

Pig Boy ''Pig Boy'' (2011) is a crime novel by Australian author J. C. Burke. It won the 2012 Ned Kelly Award. Plot summary Damon Styles is expelled from school on his eighteenth birthday. He gets himself a firearms licence and intends to get a job s ...

'' (2011) * ''Ocean Pearl'' (2008) * ''Starfish Sisters'' (2007) * ''Faking Sweet'' (2006) * ''

'' (2005) * ''Nine Letters Long'' (2005) * ''The Red Cardigan'' (2004) * ''White Lies'' (2002)

References

External links

J. C. Burke's website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Burke, J. C. 1965 births Australian children's writers Australian nurses Living people Australian women children's writers Australian women novelists