Jaclyn Moriarty (born 1968 in

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

) is an Australian novelist, most known for her

young adult literature Young adult literature (YA) is typically written for readers aged 12 to 18 and includes most of the themes found in adult fiction, such as family dysfunction, substance abuse, alcoholism, and sexuality. It is characterized by simpler world build ...

. She is a recipient of the

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 186 ...

and the

Aurealis Award for Best Children's Fiction ''Aurealis'' is an Australian speculative fiction magazine published by Chimaera Publications, and is Australia's longest running small-press science-fiction and fantasy magazine. The magazine is based in Melbourne. History and profile ''Aureali ...

Biography

Moriarty was raised in the north-west suburbs of

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

. She has four sisters and one brother. Two of her sisters, Liane and Nicola, are also novelists. Moriarty studied English and Law at the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD) is a public university, public research university in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in both Australia and Oceania. One of Australia's six sandstone universities, it was one of the ...

upon graduating from high school. She then complete a Masters in Law at

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

and a PhD at

Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge Gonville and Caius College, commonly known as Caius ( ), is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1348 by Edmund Gonville, it is the fourth-oldest of the University of Cambridge's 31 colleges and ...

She worked as an entertainment and media lawyer for four years before becoming a full-time writer. The literary agent who picked up her first book, ''Feeling Sorry for Celia'', was Australian author

Garth Nix Garth Richard Nix (born 19 July 1963) is an Australian writer who specialises in children's and young adult fantasy novels, notably the ''The Old Kingdom, Old Kingdom'', ''The Seventh Tower, Seventh Tower'' and ''The Keys to the Kingdom, Keys t ...

. Moriarty was previously married to Canadian writer Colin McAdam, and they have one young son, Charlie. She currently lives in

The Ashbury/Brookfield series

The Ashbury/Brookfield Series is four novels that are not sequels but are linked. They all revolve around various students that attend the exclusive private school, Ashbury High, or the local comprehensive, Brookfield High. Many of the students cross over into more than one novel, but each novel is different and tells a different story. All novels are told through the various character's own writing (through letters, emails, exam papers, etc.). The Ashbury/Brookfield series of novels are (in chronological order): *'' Feeling Sorry for Celia'' (2000) *'' Finding Cassie Crazy'' (2003) (AUS/UK title) ''The Year of Secret Assignments'' (US title) *'' The Betrayal of Bindy Mackenzie'' (2006) (AUS title) also published as ''Becoming Bindy Mackenzie'' (UK title), and ''The Murder of Bindy Mackenzie'' (US title)'' *'' Dreaming of Amelia'' (2009) (AUS/UK title) also published as ''The Ghosts of Ashbury High'' (US title)

The Colours of Madeleine trilogy

This trilogy retains some familiar features of Moriarty's style, such as a loosely epistolary form (the use of alternating chapters in which characters speak in their own quite distinctive voices); a sneaky sense of humor; and a plot that keeps the reader off balance by constantly subverting the 'facts' that one thought one understood. But it also marks a departure in the direction of fantasy: the premise of the trilogy is, or at least appears to be, the existence of an almost fairyland-like parallel world, sealed off from our world but in connection with it via 'cracks,' through which letters, or even people, can travel. As usual with Moriarty, nothing is quite what it seems, and incidents and ideas that appeared incidental may turn out to be central. All three of the books in the trilogy have been released. * *. Winner: Ethel Turner Prize for Young People's Literature,

New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards The New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards, also known as the NSW Premier's Literary Awards, were first awarded in 1979. They are among the richest literary awards in Australia. Notable prizes include the Christina Stead Prize for Fiction, th ...

2015. *

Kingdoms & Empires series

* ''The Extremely Inconvenient Adventures of Bronte Mettlestone'' (2017) * ''The Slightly Alarming Tale of the Whispering Wars'' (2018) – winner of the 2019 Griffith University Children's Book Award at the

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 ...

* ''The Stolen Prince of Cloudburst'' (2020) – shortlisted for 2021 Children's Book of the Year Award: Younger Readers and for the 2021 Children's Book Award at the

* ''The Astonishing Chronicles of Oscar from Elsewhere'' (2021) * ''The Impossible Secret of Lillian Velvet'' (2023) – shortlisted for the 2024 Children's Indie Book Award and the 2024 Griffith University Children's Book Award, Queensland Literary Awards

Other novels

*''I Have a Bed Made of Buttermilk Pancakes'' (2004) *''The Spell Book of Listen Taylor'' (2007) a young adult novel that is an adaptation of ''I Have a Bed Made of Buttermilk Pancakes''. *''Gravity is the Thing'' (2019)

References

External links

Jaclyn Moriarty's Official Website

Jaclyn Moriarty's Blog
{{DEFAULTSORT:Moriarty, Jaclyn 21st-century Australian novelists 1968 births Living people Writers from Sydney Alumni of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge Australian women novelists Australian children's writers 20th-century Australian novelists University of Sydney alumni 21st-century Australian women writers 20th-century Australian women writers