Meg McKinlay is a Western Australian writer. She has written a number of books for children and young adults, including ''How to Make a Bird'' and ''A Single Stone''. She has won two
Prime Minister's Literary Awards
The Australian Prime Minister's Literary Awards (PMLA) were announced at the end of 2007 by the incoming First Rudd ministry following the 2007 election. They are administered by the Minister for the Arts.[Crystal Kite Award The Crystal Kite Award''(also known as 'Crystal Kite Members Choice Award) is given by the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) each year to recognize great books from the 70 SCBWI regions around the world. Along with the SCBW ...]
s.
Biography
Born Megan McKinlay, she spent her childhood in
Bendigo
Bendigo ( ) is a city in Victoria, Australia, located in the Bendigo Valley near the geographical centre of the state and approximately north-west of Melbourne, the state capital.
As of 2019, Bendigo had an urban population of 100,991, makin ...
, Victoria. During high school she was an exchange student in Japan.
She graduated with a PhD 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 ...
(UWA) in 2001 for her thesis "Gender and cross-cultural analysis: The novels of Tsushima Yûko 1976–1985". She subsequently lectured at UWA in Australian literature, Japanese and creative writing and, was a honorary research associate of that university.
In 2010 she won a residency in Japan and in 2020 she won a May Gibbs Children's Literature Trust Fellowship.
As well as writing for children and young adults, she has published one book of poetry, ''Cleanskin''.
As of 2021 McKinlay lives in
Fremantle
Fremantle () () is a port city in Western Australia, located at the mouth of the Swan River in the metropolitan area of Perth, the state capital. Fremantle Harbour serves as the port of Perth. The Western Australian vernacular diminutive for ...
, Western Australia.
Awards
* ''Surface Tension''
** 2012
Davitt Award
The Davitt Awards are literary awards which are presented annually by the Sisters in Crime Australia association. The awards are named in honour of Ellen Davitt (1812–1879) who wrote Australia's first mystery novel, ''Force and Fraud'' in 1865 ...
, Best Young Adult Novel winner
* ''Ten Tiny Things''
** 2013
Crystal Kite Award The Crystal Kite Award''(also known as 'Crystal Kite Members Choice Award) is given by the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) each year to recognize great books from the 70 SCBWI regions around the world. Along with the SCBW ...
, New Zealand/Australia regional winner
* ''A Single Stone''
** 2015
Aurealis Award for best children's fiction
The Aurealis Awards are presented annually by the Australia-based Chimaera Publications and WASFF to published works in order to "recognise the achievements of Australian science fiction, fantasy, horror writers". To qualify, a work must have ...
winner
** 2015
Queensland Literary Awards
The Queensland Literary Awards is an awards program established in 2012 by the Queensland literary community, funded by sponsors and administered by the State Library of Queensland. Like the former Queensland Premier's Literary Awards, the QLAs ...
, Children's Book Award winner
** 2016
Prime Minister's Literary Awards
The Australian Prime Minister's Literary Awards (PMLA) were announced at the end of 2007 by the incoming First Rudd ministry following the 2007 election. They are administered by the Minister for the Arts.[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 ...]
, winner Prize for Writing for Children
** 2020
Crystal Kite Award The Crystal Kite Award''(also known as 'Crystal Kite Members Choice Award) is given by the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) each year to recognize great books from the 70 SCBWI regions around the world. Along with the SCBW ...
New Zealand/Australia regional winner
* ''How to Make a Bird''
** 2020
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 ...
, winner Prize for Writing for Children
** 2021
Prime Minister's Literary Awards
The Australian Prime Minister's Literary Awards (PMLA) were announced at the end of 2007 by the incoming First Rudd ministry following the 2007 election. They are administered by the Minister for the Arts.[Crystal Kite Award The Crystal Kite Award''(also known as 'Crystal Kite Members Choice Award) is given by the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) each year to recognize great books from the 70 SCBWI regions around the world. Along with the SCBW ...]
, New Zealand/Australia regional winner
** 2021
Children's Book of the Year Award: Picture Book winner
Selected works
* ''The Truth about Penguins'', co-authored with Mark Jackson, 2010
* ''Surface Tension'', 2011
* ''Ten Tiny Things'', illustrated by
Kyle Hughes-Odgers, 2012
* ''A Single Stone'', 2015
* ''Duck!,'' illustrated by Nathaniel Eckstrom, 2018
* ''Catch a Falling Star'', 2019
* ''How to Make a Bird,'' illustrated by Matt Ottley, 2020
* ''Bella and the Voyaging House'', illustrated by Nicholas Schafer, 2021
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:McKinlay, Meg
Living people
Year of birth missing (living people)
Australian children's writers
21st-century Australian women writers
University of Western Australia alumni
Academic staff of the University of Western Australia