Robin McMaugh Klein (born 28 February 1936) is an Australian author of books for children. She was born in Kempsey, New South Wales, Australia, and now resides near

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

Early life

Robin Klein is one of nine children. She had her first short story published at the age of 16. She worked in number of jobs before becoming an established writer, including tea lady at a warehouse, bookshop assistant, nurse, copper enamelist, and program aide at a school for disadvantaged children. In 1981, she was awarded a Literature Board grant for writing, and since then, she has had more than 20 books published. She is the poet of the poem "Amanda!". Robin Klein was educated at Newcastle Girls' High School.

Career

Several of her books have been

short-listed A short list or shortlist is a list of candidates for a job, prize, award, political position, etc., that has been reduced from a longer list of candidates (sometimes via intermediate lists known as "long lists"). The length of short lists varie ...

for the Children's Book Council of Australia (CBCA) Children's Book of the Year Award, including '' Hating Alison Ashley'' (also a film starring Delta Goodrem) and '' Halfway Across the Galaxy and Turn Left'' (filmed as a television series for the

Seven Network The Seven Network (commonly known as Channel Seven or simply Seven) is a major Australian commercial free-to-air television network. It is owned by Seven West Media Limited, and is one of five main free-to-air television networks in Australia ...

in 1992). Klein's novel ''

Came Back to Show You I Could Fly ''Came Back to Show You I Could Fly'' is a novel by Robin Klein. It tells the story of a friendship between a lonely 11-year-old boy and a drug-addicted, pregnant 20-year-old woman. It was given the designation of White Raven book at the 1990 Bol ...

'' won a human rights award for literature in 1989 and also won the 1990 CBCA Children's Book of the Year Award: Older Readers. It was filmed as ''

Say a Little Prayer ''Say a Little Prayer'' is an Australian children's film by Richard Lowenstein. It stars Sudi de Winter, Fiona Ruttelle, Rebecca Smart, Lynne Murphy and Jill Forster. The film was written by Richard Lowenstein, based on Robin Klein's novel, ''C ...

'' in 1993. Several of her other books have received awards in Australia, including the South Australian Festival Award for Literature, which she won in 1998 with ''The Listmaker''. Many others, including ''

Boss of the Pool ''Boss of the Pool'' is a children's book by Australian author Robin Klein and also is the name of a play adaptation by Scottish-Australian playwright Mary Morris. The story follows a teenage girl called Shelley, who must accompany her mother to w ...

'', have also won or been short-listed. Robin Klein suffered an

aneurysm An aneurysm is an outward bulging, likened to a bubble or balloon, caused by a localized, abnormal, weak spot on a blood vessel wall. Aneurysms may be a result of a hereditary condition or an acquired disease. Aneurysms can also be a nidus ( ...

rupture, and while she survived, since 2005, she has lived in a

nursing home A nursing home is a facility for the residential care of elderly or disabled people. Nursing homes may also be referred to as skilled nursing facility (SNF) or long-term care facilities. Often, these terms have slightly different meanings to i ...

and is no longer able to write or do significant publicity work for her books.

Awards

* Special mention – Critici in Erba Prize at

Bologna Bologna (, , ; egl, label=Emilian language, Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 1 ...

for ''The Giraffe in Pepperell Street'' (1978) * Won – CBCA Children's Book of the Year Award: Younger Readers for ''Thing'' (1983) * Won – Human Rights Literature and Awards (1989) * Won – CBCA Children's Book of the Year Award: Older Readers for ''

'' (1990) * Won – Canberra's Own Outstanding List: Fiction for Older Readers Award for ''

People Might Hear You ''People Might Hear You'' is a children's novel by Robin Klein Robin McMaugh Klein (born 28 February 1936) is an Australian author of books for children. She was born in Kempsey, New South Wales, Australia, and now resides near Melbourne. ...

'' (1991) *

Dromkeen Medal The Dromkeen Medal is a literary prize awarded annually by the Courtney Oldmeadow Children's Literature Foundation for those who have advanced children's literature in Australia. The Medal was established by bookseller, Joyce Oldmeadow in 1982, ...

(1991) * Won – Canberra's Own Outstanding List: Fiction for Older Readers Award for ''

'' (1992)

Bibliography

Collections

* ''Ratbags and Rascals : Funny Stories'' (J.M. Dent, 1984), illustrated by Alison Lester * ''Snakes and Ladders : poems about the ups and downs of life'' (J.M. Dent, 1985), illustrated by

Ann James Ann Catherine Stewart James (born 6 October 1952) is an Australian illustrator of more than 60 children's books, some of which she also wrote. She was born in Melbourne, Victoria. James has been illustrating books since the 1980s and has becom ...

* ''Tearaways'' (Viking, 1990, first published as ''Stories to Make You Think Twice'') * ''All in the Blue Unclouded Weather'' (Viking, c1991)

Penny Pollard books

''illustrated by

# ''Penny Pollard's Diary'' (Oxford University Press, 1983) # ''Penny Pollard's Letters'' (Oxford University Press, 1984) # ''Penny Pollard in Print'' (Oxford University Press, 1986) # ''Penny Pollard's Passport'' (Oxford University Press, 1988) # ''Penny Pollard's Guide to Modern Manners'' (Oxford University Press, 1989) # ''Penny Pollard's Scrapbook'' (Hodder Children's Books Australia, 1999)

''Thing'' books

# ''Thing'' (Oxford University Press, 1982) illustrated by Alison Lester # ''Thingnapped!'' (Oxford University Press, 1984) # ''Thing Finds a Job'' (Hodder Headline, 1996), illustrated by Alison Lester # ''Thing's Concert'' (Hodder Headline, 1996), illustrated by Alison Lester # ''Thing's Birthday'' (Hodder Headline, 1996), illustrated by Alison Lester # ''Thingitis'' (Hodder Headline, 1996), illustrated by Alison Lester

Miscellaneous

* ''The Giraffe in Pepperell Street'' (Hodder and Stoughton, 1978), illustrated by Gill Tomblin * ''Junk Castle'' (Oxford University Press, 1983), illustrated by

Rolf Heimann Rolf Heimann (born 9 May 1940) is an Australian author, cartoonist and illustrator. Heimann was born in Dresden, Germany, fled to the West in 1955 and migrated to Australia in 1959. Biography He is the author of over thirty books, including n ...

* ''

'' (Puffin Books, 1983) * ''Oodoolay '' (Era Publications, c1983), illustrated by Vivienne Goodman * ''Brock and the Dragon'' (Hodder & Stoughton, 1984), illustrated by Rodney McRae * '' Hating Alison Ashley'' (Puffin Books, 1984) * ''Thalia, the Failure'' (Ashton Scholastic, 1984), illustrated by Rhyll Plant * ''The Enemies'' (Angus & Robertson, 1985), illustrated by Noela Young * '' Halfway Across the Galaxy and Turn Left'' (Viking Kestrel, 1985) * ''Serve Him Right!'' (Edward Arnold (Australia), 1985), illustrated by John Burge * ''You're on Your Own!'' (Edward Arnold, 1985) * ''Good For Something'' (Edward Arnold Australia, 1985) * ''Separate Places'' (Roo Books, 1985), illustrated by Astra Lacis * ''Games'' (Viking Kestrel, 1986), illustrated by Melissa Webb * ''

'' (Omnibus in association with Penguin, 1986) * ''The Princess who Hated It'' (Omnibus Books, 1986), illustrated by Maire Smith * ''Robin Klein's Crookbook'' (Methuen Australia, 1987), illustrated by Kristen Hilliard * ''Don't Tell Lucy'' (Methuen Australia, 1987) * ''Birk, the Berserker'' (Omnibus Books, 1987), illustrated by Alison Lester * ''The Lonely Hearts Club'' (Oxford University Press, 1987), with Max Dann * ''I Shot an Arrow'' (Viking Kestrel, 1987), illustrated by Geoff Hocking * ''Christmas'' (Methuen, c1987), illustrated by Kristen Hilliard * ''Laurie Loved Me Best'' (Viking Kestrel, 1988) * ''Jane's Mansion'' (Shortland, 1988), illustrated by Melissa Webb * ''The Kidnapping of Clarissa Montgomery'' (Shortland, 1988), illustrated by Jane Wallace-Mitchell * ''Against the Odds'' (Puffin Books, 1989), illustrated by Bill Wood * ''Honoured Guest'' (Angus & Robertson, 1989) * ''

'' (Viking Penguin, 1989) * ''The Ghost in Abigail Terrace'' (Omnibus Books, 1989), illustrated by Margaret Power * ''Boris and Borsch'' (Allen & Unwin, 1990), illustrated by

Cathy Wilcox Cathy Wilcox (born 1963) is an Australian cartoonist and children's book illustrator, best known for her work as a cartoonist for ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' and ''The Age'' newspapers. She has also twice won the Australian Children's Book Cou ...

* ''Dresses of Red and Gold'' (Viking, 1992) * ''Amy's Bed'' (Omnibus Books, 1992), illustrated by Coral Tulloch * ''Seeing Things '' (Penguin Books Australia, 1993) * ''Turn Right for Zyrgon'' (Puffin, 1994) * ''The Sky in Silver Lace'' (Penguin, 1995) * ''The Listmaker'' (Viking, 1997) * ''Barney's Blues'' (Puffin, 1998), illustrated by David Cox * ''The Goddess'' (Lothian, 1998), illustrated by Anne Spudvilas * ''Gabby's Fair'' (Omnibus Books, 1998), illustrated by Michael Johnson * ''Anything Happens'' * ''Tor Atar Gu'' (Abhishek Das Books)

Adaptations

Television

* ''Thing'' * ''Penny Pollard's Diary'' * '' Halfway Across the Galaxy and Turn Left'', adapted by Michael Harvey and John Reeves (1991–1992)

Stage

* ''Hating Alison Ashley: The Play'', adapted by Richard Tulloch * ''

'', adapted by

Mary Morris Mary Lilian Agnes Morris (13 December 1915 – 14 October 1988) was a Fijian born British actress. Life and career Morris was the daughter of Herbert Stanley Morris, a botanist, and his wife, Sylvia Ena de Creft-Harford. She trained at the Ro ...

Film

* ''

'', based on ''

'', adapted and directed by

Richard Lowenstein Richard Lowenstein (born 1 March 1959) is an Australian filmmaker. He has written, produced and directed: feature films, including ''Strikebound'' (1984), ''Dogs in Space'' (1986) and ''He Died with a Felafel in His Hand'' (2001); music videos ...

(1993) * '' Hating Alison Ashley'', adapted for the screen by Chris Anastassiades and Christine Madafferi (2005)

References

External links

Penguin Books author profileFan site
for the '' Halfway Across the Galaxy and Turn Left'' television series
Sophie Masson describes Klein's illness
*
Say a Little Prayer (movie)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Klein, Robin 1936 births 20th-century Australian novelists Australian children's writers Australian women novelists Living people People from the Mid North Coast Writers from New South Wales Australian women children's writers 20th-century Australian women writers Kempsey, New South Wales