John Marsden is Australia's best selling author for teenagers and a highly acclaimed picture book writer. His first book, So Much to Tell You was published in 1987. It was very well-received, won many awards and sold in record number. This book has been followed by many more, including the hugely popular Tomorrow series of 7 books and the sequel trilogy The Ellie Chronicles, all of which feature Ellie Linton, the heroine and narrator.
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JOHN MARSDEN'S Tomorrow Series and Ellie Chronicles - click here
FICTION
So Much To Tell You (1987)
The Great Gatenby
The Journey
Staying Alive In Year 5
Out Of Time (1990)
Letters From The Inside (1991)
Take My Word For It (1992)
Looking For Trouble (1993)
Cool School (1996)
Creep Street (1996)
Checkers (1996)
Dear Miffy (1997)
Norton's Hut (1998)
Winter (2000)
The Rabbits - click here to buy
A Day in the Life of Me - click here to buy
Millie
A Roomful of Magic
Home and Away - click here to buy
NON-FICTION
Everything I Know About Writing (1993)
This I Believe (1996) (editor)
For Weddings and a Funeral (1996) (editor)
Secret Men's Business (1998)
The Head Book
The Boy You Brought Home
THE
TOMORROW SERIES
Tomorrow, When the War Began (1994)
The Dead Of The Night (1994)
The Third Day, The Frost (1995)
Darkness, Be My Friend (1996)
Burning For Revenge' (1997)
The Night Is For Hunting (1998)
The Other Side Of Dawn (1999)
THE ELLIE CHRONICLES
While I Live (2003)
Incurable (2005)
Circle of Flight (2006)
Buy JOHN MARSDEN books - click here
More about John Marsden
Marsden was born in Melbourne, in 1950, the third of four
children. He spent much of his childhood in rural Australia, moving first to
Kyneton in Victoria, then to Devonport in Tasmania. At the age of ten, Marsden's
family moved to Sydney and he enrolled at The King's School, Parramatta, which
was renowned for its overbearing military style of education. Upon completion of
his high schooling, Marsden began a Law/Arts degree at the University of Sydney,
and worked at a mortuary, in a sideshow and as a security guard, before finally
becoming an English teacher.
He taught for nine years at Geelong Grammar School, and became Head of English
at the school's Timbertop campus. In 1982, he was arrested while on the blockade
attempting to stop construction of the Franklin Dam. As all the prisons in the
region were full due to the number of people arrested, Marsden was placed in the
high-security Risdon Prison for a night. He later wrote that he used the
experience to help him write scenes in Letters From The Inside and parts of the
Tomorrow series.
His first book, So Much To Tell You was published in 1987. His landmark Tomorrow
Series is recognised as the most popular book series for young adults ever
written in Australia. The first book of this series, Tomorrow When The War
Began, has been reprinted 26 times in Australia. Free copies of Tomorrow When
the War Began were distributed to hundreds of thousands of Swedish teenagers,
after it was selected by their peers as the book reluctant readers would be most
likely to enjoy. While I Live is the first sequel of a new series of books, The Ellie
Chronicles, featuring Ellie
Linton from the Tomorrow
Series. It was published in 2003,
with the second and third novels, Incurable and Circle of Flight, released in November 2005 and November
2006 respectively. In Australia alone, John has sold over two and a half million
books.
Marsden's current project is making an alternative setting school on his bush
property, the Tye Estate near Romsey, Victoria. The school, named Candlebark,
opened on January 31, 2006 with 52 students ranging from Prep (5 years old) to
Year 8.
Marsden currently holds writers conferences and writers weekends, both for
people with completed scripts and for teenagers wishing to learn to write. He
personally takes the workshops and mixes his writing skills with drama and his
ability as an English teacher. He recently won the Lloyd O'Neill Award, becoming
one of only five authors to be honoured for lifelong services to the Australian
book industry.
He has also been nominated for the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award - the world's largest children's and youth literature award, and the second largest literature prize in the world. The winner was announced in March 2008. John didn't win, but the prize went to another Australian author, Sonya Hartnett. Past winners include Philip Pullman and Maurice Sendak, so this nomination is an extraordinary and fitting recognition of John's fantastic contribution to children's literature.