Mardi McConnochie (born 1971) is an Australian author and playwright. She is the author of three novels, ''Coldwater'' (2001), ''The Snow Queen'' (2003), ''Fivestar'' (2005), several plays and two books for children, ''Melissa, Queen of Evil'' (2006) and ''Dangerous Games'' (2007). McConnochie's novels have grappled with questions about celebrity and the possibilities open to women and women artists. As well as novels, McConnochie has written for the stage and for television. Her television credits include ''

Home and Away ''Home and Away'' (often abbreviated as ''H&A'') is an Australian television soap opera. It was created by Alan Bateman and commenced broadcast on the Seven Network on 17 January 1988. Bateman came up with the concept of the show during a trip ...

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Always Greener ''Always Greener'' was an Australian television drama/comedy series that aired on the Seven Network which followed the fortunes of two families, one from the city and the other from the country, when they decide to switch homes and start a new d ...

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McLeod's Daughters ''McLeod's Daughters'' is an Australian drama television series created by Posie Graeme-Evans and Caroline Stanton for the Nine Network, which aired from 8 August 2001, to 31 January 2009, lasting eight seasons. It stars Lisa Chappell and Brid ...

'' and ''

Pacific Drive ''Pacific Drive'' is an Australian television series made by Village Roadshow in association with New World International for the Nine Network which screened for 390 episodes from 29 January 1996 to December 1997, when it concluded it was show ...

''. McConnochie lives in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

with her partner, the novelist,

James Bradley James Bradley (1692–1762) was an English astronomer and priest who served as the third Astronomer Royal from 1742. He is best known for two fundamental discoveries in astronomy, the aberration of light (1725–1728), and the nutation of the ...

Life and work

McConnochie was born in

Armidale Armidale is a city in the Northern Tablelands, New South Wales, Australia. Armidale had a population of 24,504 as of June 2018. Estimated resident population, 30 June 2018. It is the administrative centre for the Northern Tablelands region. It ...

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

and raised in

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

. She has a

PhD PHD or PhD may refer to: * Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), an academic qualification Entertainment * '' PhD: Phantasy Degree'', a Korean comic series * ''Piled Higher and Deeper'', a web comic * Ph.D. (band), a 1980s British group ** Ph.D. (Ph.D. albu ...

in English Literature from the

University of Sydney 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 si ...

. McConnochie's novels have grappled with questions about celebrity and the possibilities open to women and women artists. The first, ''Coldwater'', transplants the Brontë sisters to a penal colony off the coast of New South Wales, using their plight to explore different approaches to art, life and love. It was shortlisted in the "Best First Book (SE Asia and Pacific Region)" category for the

Commonwealth Writers Prize Commonwealth Foundation presented a number of prizes between 1987 and 2011. The main award was called the Commonwealth Writers' Prize and was composed of two prizes: the Best Book Prize (overall and regional) was awarded from 1987 to 2011; the Best ...

, and was named by ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'' as one of the Books of the Year. Her second novel, ''The Snow Queen'' is set in

and tells the story of a former Russian ballerina stranded in post-war Australia. It saw McConnochie voted one of the Best Young Australian Novelists by ''

The Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily compact newspaper published in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, and owned by Nine. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper ...

in 2004.'' Her third novel, ''Fivestar'' focuses on contemporary notions of celebrity, charting the rise and fall of an antipodean girl group reminiscent of

The Spice Girls The Spice Girls are a British girl group formed in 1994, consisting of Melanie Brown, also known as Mel B ("Scary Spice"); Melanie Chisholm, or Melanie C ("Sporty Spice"); Emma Bunton ("Baby Spice"); Geri Halliwell ("Ginger Spice"); and Victor ...

. ''Melissa, Queen of Evil'', her first novel for children, won the 2006

Aurealis Award The Aurealis Award for Excellence in Speculative Fiction is an annual literary award for Australian science fiction, fantasy and horror fiction. Only Australians are eligible for the award. History The Aurealis Award was established in 1995 by ...

for Best Children's Novel. ''The Flooded Earth'' (Also known as "Quest of the Sunfish") won the Best Children's Fiction prize at the US 2019 Green Earth Book Awards.

Novels

* ''Coldwater'' (2001) * ''The Snow Queen'' (2003) * ''Fivestar'' (2005) * ''The Voyagers'' (2011) * '' Quest of the Sunfish: Escape to the Moon Islands '' (2016) * ''Quest of the Sunfish: The Castle in the Sea'' (2017) * '' Quest of the Sunfish: The Skeleton Coast'' (2017)

References

*Baum, Caroline
Under the covers
''

'', July 24, 2004. *Selinger-Morris, Samantha
Every plot a drama
''

'', July 2, 2005. *Griffin, Michelle
Free-floating stars
''

The Age ''The Age'' is a daily newspaper in Melbourne, Australia, that has been published since 1854. Owned and published by Nine Entertainment, ''The Age'' primarily serves Victoria (Australia), Victoria, but copies also sell in Tasmania, the Austral ...

'', August 14, 2005. ;Specific

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:McConnochie, Mardi 1971 births 21st-century Australian novelists Australian women novelists Australian screenwriters Australian children's writers Living people Writers from Adelaide Writers from Sydney Australian women children's writers 21st-century Australian women writers 21st-century Australian screenwriters