James Roy (born in Trundle,

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

, 1968) is an

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Aus ...

writer. He writes primarily for young adults and children, and in addition to his native

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

, his books are published in the United States, the United Kingdom, Ireland, France, Germany and South Korea. Roy's parents were

Seventh-day Adventist The Seventh-day Adventist Church (SDA) is an Adventist Protestant Christian denomination which is distinguished by its observance of Saturday, the seventh day of the week in the Christian (Gregorian) and the Hebrew calendar, as the Sabbat ...

missionaries A missionary is a member of a religious group who is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thomas Hale 'On Being a Miss ...

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea, officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is an island country in Oceania that comprises the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and offshore islands in Melanesia, a region of the southwestern Pacific Ocean n ...

and

Fiji Fiji, officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists of an archipelago of more than 330 islands—of which about ...

. Roy has often said that growing up in such an environment was key to his development as a writer. His first novel, ''Almost Wednesday'', was published by

University of Queensland Press University of Queensland Press (UQP) is an Australian publishing house based in Brisbane, Queensland. Founded in 1948 as a traditional university press, UQP now publishes books for general readers across fiction, non-fiction, poetry, children's ...

in 1996, and since that time he has released more than 30 books, ranging from novels and

short story A short story is a piece of prose fiction. It can typically be read in a single sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the old ...

collections to chapter books for older readers. Roy is a visitor to schools and festivals throughout Australia, where he conducts author talks and

creative writing Creative writing is any writing that goes beyond the boundaries of normal professional, journalistic, academic, or technical forms of literature, typically identified by an emphasis on craft and technique, such as narrative structure, character ...

workshops across a wide range of audiences. He lives in the Blue Mountains with his wife and two daughters.

Books

*''One Thousand Hills'' (2016) *''City'' (2012) *''Miss Understood'' (2012) *''Edsel Grizzler: Ghostly Shadows'' (2011) *''Edsel Grizzler: Rescue Mission'' (2010) *''Anonymity Jones'' (2010) *''Edsel Grizzler: Voyage to Verdada'' (2009) *''Quentaris: The Gimlet Eye'' (2009) *''Hunting Elephants'' (2008) *''Queasy Rider'' (2008) *''Town. Eine Stadt'' (2007) *''Problem Child'' (2007) - published in the US as ''Max Quigley, Technically Not a Bully'' *''Broken Wings'' (2006) *''The 'S' Word - a boys' guide to sex, puberty and growing up'' (2006) *''The Legend of Big Red'' (2005) *''Billy Mack's War'' (2004) *''Wrestlefest Fever'' (2003) *''Ichabod Hart and the Lighthouse Mystery'' (2003) *''A Boat for Bridget'' (2001) *''Captain Mack'' (1999) *''Full Moon Racing'' (1999) *''Almost Wednesday'' (1996)

Awards

* In 2011 the German edition of ''Town'', titled "Town; Irgendwo in Australien" (Gerstenberg Verlag) was shortlisted for the prestigious Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis (German Youth Literature Prize) in the Young Adult category. * In 2008 ''Town'' was awarded the Ethel Turner Prize for Young People's Literature, a category of the

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 ...

. * In 2008 ''Town'' was also short-listed for the Queensland Premier's Awards; and won the Golden Inky, a readers' choice award run by the Victorian Centre for Youth Literature. * ''Anonymity Jones'' was co-winner of the 2010 Western Australian Premier's Book Awards (Young Adult category), alongside "Happy as Larry", by

Scot Gardner Scot Gardner is an Australian writer known for his young adult novels. He has worked as a counselor and youth worker Youth work is a community support activity aimed at older children and adolescents. Depending upon the culture and the commun ...

. * Two of Roy's books have named as Honour Books in the

Children's Book Council of Australia A child () is a human being between the stages of birth and puberty, or between the developmental period of infancy and puberty. The term may also refer to an unborn human being. In English-speaking countries, the legal definition of ''chi ...

"Children's Book of the Year Awards": ''Captain Mack'', in 2000; and ''Billy Mack's War'', in 2005. Several other of his titles have been named as Notable Books in the same awards.

References

External links

James Roy's website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Roy, James 1968 births Australian children's writers Writers from New South Wales Living people