Natalie Jane Prior is an Australian writer of

children's literature Children's literature or juvenile literature includes stories, books, magazines, and poems that are created for children. Modern children's literature is classified in two different ways: genre or the intended age of the reader. Children's ...

and

young adult fiction Young adult fiction (YA) is a category of fiction written for readers from 12 to 18 years of age. While the genre is primarily targeted at adolescents, approximately half of YA readers are adults. The subject matter and genres of YA correlate ...

Biography

Prior was born in 1963 in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

, where she also currently lives with her husband and daughter. She is best known for her internationally successful children's fantasy series, ''Lily Quench'', which has been published in more than twenty countries. Her first fiction book, ''The Amazing Adventures of Amabel'', was published in 1990. She is also the author of ''The Minivers'' series and many other books including the picture book ''PomPom'', illustrated by long-time collaborator, Cheryl Orsini, and three picture books about ''The Paw'', illustrated by

Terry Denton Terry Denton (born 26 July 1950) is an Australian illustrator and author. He is married and has three children. He is the second youngest of five boys and was born and grew up in Melbourne, Victoria. Denton now lives in Mornington, Victoria. Den ...

. Her most recent book is ''The Fairy Dancers'', also illustrated by Cheryl Orsini. 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 book, '' Fireworks and Darkness'', won the 2003

Davitt Awards 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 ...

for best young-adult novel and ''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 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 ...

on three other occasions for best short fiction, long fiction and young-adult novel.

Bibliography

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 Darkness'' (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)

Picture books

The Paw (with illustrator

) *''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) *''PomPom'' (2012; illustrator Cheryl Orsini) *''The Fairy Dancers'' (2015; illustrator Cheryl Orsini) *''Tales of Mrs Mancini'' (Forthcoming November 2016; illustrator Cheryl Orsini) *"Lucy's Book" (2017; Illustrator Cheryl Orsini)

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)

Nominations and awards

Aurealis Awards * Best children's long fiction **2002: Nomination: ''Lily Quench and the Treasure of Mote Ely'' * Best children's short fiction **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 Year **1994: Honour: ''The Paw'' * Eve Pownall Award for Information Books **1995: Nominated: ''Bog Bodies, Mummies and Curious Corpses'' Davitt Awards * Best young-adult novel **2003: Won: ''Fireworks and Darkness''

References

External links

Official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Prior, Natalie Jane 1963 births Australian children's writers Living people Writers from Brisbane Australian women children's writers