Anna Ciddor (born January 1957) is an Australian author and illustrator. Ciddor is a patron of Oz Kids, an organisation to promote and support children's literary and artistic talents and was an ambassador for Australia Reads 2021-2023. In 2021 she won the Nance Donkin Award for Children's Literature. In 2023 she was the judge for the Boroondara Literary Awards (Young Writers' Prose). In 2024 she is Chair and judge for the ARA Historical Novel Society of Australasia CYA Award

Biography

Ciddor was born in January 1957 in Melbourne. She was brought up in a house without television, and had an inventive and creative childhood. She also had a strong interest in mathematics, and after finishing school, she obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree with a major in mathematics from the

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb n ...

and a Diploma of Education from

Melbourne State College The Melbourne Teachers' College was an Australian tertiary training institution located on Grattan Street, Carlton. It was renamed the Melbourne State College and then the Melbourne College of Advanced Education. In 1989 it became part of the U ...

. Her first career was as a senior school mathematics teacher, and it was only after marrying and having children that she began writing and illustrating. Her first book accepted for publication was a picture book,''Take Me Back'', published in 1988. This book took the reader back in time to show how people lived in Australia in the past. For the next few years, Ciddor continued to write and illustrate non-fiction books, concentrating on bringing history to life for children. In 2002

Allen and Unwin George Allen & Unwin was a British publishing company formed in 1911 when Sir Stanley Unwin purchased a controlling interest in George Allen & Co. It went on to become one of the leading publishers of the twentieth century and to establish an ...

published her first historical fantasy, ''Runestone'', book 1 of Viking Magic. This children's novel, and the other Viking Magic books that followed, use historical details and strong storylines. In 2005 Ciddor was awarded a two-year grant by the Literature Board of the

Australia Council The Australia Council for the Arts, commonly known as the Australia Council, is the country's official arts council, serving as an arts funding and advisory body for the Government of Australia. The council was announced in 1967 as the Austr ...

. Ciddor based her fantasy books on global folk, fairy tale, and myth as well as research into historic lifestyle and belief systems. At the

Melbourne Writers Festival Melbourne Writers Festival (MWF) is an annual literary festival held in the Australian city of Melbourne, a UNESCO City of Literature. The Festival runs during early September each year. Melbourne Writers Festival is part of the Word Alliance, a ...

in 2007 Ciddor appeared on a panel with Sophie Masson and Kate Forsyth discussing the historical truth behind their fantasy novels. In a study of Canadian children's fantasy, author K.V. Johansen included a chapter on Ciddor's Viking Magic books because 'Although not by a Canadian author, the Viking Magic series is noteworthy' and 'does more towards realistic historical fiction than many "time-travel to learn history" novels'. In 2016 Ciddor changed to historical fiction with the release of ''The Family with Two Front Doors,'' published by

. It won a Notable Book Award from the

Children's Book Council of Australia The Children's Book Council of Australia (CBCA) is a not for profit organisation which aims to engage the community with literature for young Australians. The CBCA presents the annual Children's Book of the Year Awards to books of literary merit ...

in March 2017. ''The Family with Two Front Doors'' is based on interviews with the author's grandmother Nomi Rabinovitch, and tells the story of Nomi's childhood as the daughter of a

rabbi A rabbi () is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi – known as ''semikha'' – following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of ...

in 1920s

Lublin Lublin is the ninth-largest city in Poland and the second-largest city of historical Lesser Poland. It is the capital and the center of Lublin Voivodeship with a population of 336,339 (December 2021). Lublin is the largest Polish city east of ...

, Poland. The writing style is inspired by ''

Little House on the Prairie The ''Little House on the Prairie'' books is a series of American children's novels written by Laura Ingalls Wilder (b. Laura Elizabeth Ingalls). The stories are based on her childhood and adolescence in the Midwestern United States, American M ...

'', presenting vignettes of the everyday life of a family. The book combines historical fact and imagination but no fantasy elements. According to a review by the Victorian Association for the Teaching of English, it is "an informative, gentle read' that "offers insight into how a Jewish household is run". Unlike most books about the Jewish past, this one does not focus on the Holocaust and "there is... no violence and no hatred... but a charming reconstruction of daily routines". Readings Bookstore, winners of the international Bookstore of the Year Award described ''The Family with Two Front Doors'' as a modern counterpart to the classic book '' Little Women''. It was published in the US by Kar-Ben, a division of Lerner Books in 2018, and chosen as a Junior Library Guild Selection. In 2019 it was translated into Polish as ''Dwoje drzwi i dziewięcioro dzieci'' and published in Poland by Mamania . Ciddor's book, ''52 Mondays'', published by

in 2019, is a fictionalised account of Ciddor's own childhood, filled with memories of

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 me ...

in the 1960s. It was shortlisted for the 2019 REAL Awards, longlisted for the inaugural Book Links Award for Children's Historical Fiction. In Ciddor's most recent book, ''A Message Through Time'', published by

in 2023, ‘the relationships between the characters … provides some rich discussion and reflection for readers ... clear themes of gender roles, wealth and privilege, resilience, ingenuity, the issues of slavery and moral compass/conscience as well as rich historical details.' It is a standalone companion to ''The Boy Who Stepped Through Time'', published by

in 2021. The historical details for both novels were provided by Tamara Lewit who is an archaeologist and historian specialising in Ancient Rome. ''The Boy Who Stepped Through Time'' was long listed for the ARA Historical Novel Prize in 2021 and shortlisted for the Aurealis Awards for Best Children's Fiction in 2022. In 2021 Ciddor won the Nance Donkin award for Children's Literature. In 2024 Ciddor is Chair and judge for the ARA Historical Novel Society of Australasia CYA Award Ciddor has written and illustrated over fifty books.

Awards

* Nance Donkin Award for Children's Literature winner 2021 *''The Boy Who Stepped Through Time'' – ARA Historical Novel Prize long list 2021 Aurealis Award for Best Children's Fiction short list *''52 Mondays'' – shortlisted for the 2019 REAL Awards, longlisted for the inaugural Book Links Award for Children's Historical Fiction *''The Family with Two Front Doors'' – Notable Book, Children's Book Council of Australia 2017, Junior Library Guild selection in America 2018 * ''Night of the Fifth Moon'' – Notable Book, Children's Book Council of Australia 2008 * Two-year New Work Grant from the Literature Board of the Australia Council 2005 * ''Runestone'' – Notable Book, Children's Book Council of Australia 2003https://annauthor.files.wordpress.com/2018/09/notable-books-2003.pdf

Books

Trade market books

* ''Have Kids, Will Travel'', 1995, Silver Gum Press, * ''Going Places: The Kids’ Own Travel Book'', 1995, Silver Gum Press, * ''Unplugged: the bare facts on toilets through the ages'', 1997, Allen and Unwin, * ''Runestone'' the first book in the Viking Magic series, 2002, Allen and Unwin, * ''Wolfspell'' the second book in the Viking Magic series, 2003, Allen and Unwin, * ''Stormriders'' the third book in the Viking Magic series, 2004, Allen and Unwin, * ''Prisoner of Quentaris'', 2006, Lothian Books an imprint of Hachette, * ''Night of the Fifth Moon'', 2007, Allen and Unwin, * ''1000 Great Places to Travel with Kids in Australia'', 2011, Explore Australia Publishing, a division of Hardie Grant, * ''The Family with Two Front Doors'', 2016, Allen and Unwin, , 2018, Kar-Ben , 2019 as ''Dwoje drzwi i dziewięcioro dzieci,'' Mamania *''52 Mondays'', 2019, Allen and Unwin, *''The Boy Who Stepped Through Time'', 2021, Allen and Unwin, *''A Message Through Time'', 2023, Allen and Unwin, ISBN 9781761180125

Educational market books (a selection)

* ''Christmas in Australia'', CIS Publishers, 1993, * ''Through Children's Eyes series,'' 1995, Macmillan Education Australia, * ''Australia in the Twentieth Century'' set of 11 volumes, 1998, Macmillan Education Australia, * ''Mountain of Gold'', 2001, Barrie Publishing, * ''Federation: Changing Australia'', 2001, Macmillan Education Australia,

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ciddor, Anna 1957 births Living people Writers from Melbourne