Jeni Mawter
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Jeni (J.A.) Mawter (born 1959) is an Australian children's author who has published over twenty books, including the best-selling series, the ''So'' series. She has published fiction and non-fiction, poetry and verse narrative for children and young adults. Her books have ranged from
picture books A picture book combines visual and verbal narratives in a book format, most often aimed at young children. With the narrative told primarily through text, they are distinct from comics, which do so primarily through sequential images. The ima ...
, to
chapter books A chapter book is a Narrative, story book intended for intermediate readers, generally age 7–10. Unlike picture books for beginning readers, a chapter book tells the story primarily through prose rather than pictures. Unlike books for advance ...
, short story collections to
young adult novels 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 ...
. Her novel, ''Team Dream'', was published in 2005.


Biography

Mawter was born in
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 ...
to parents, Nola and Garry Braude. She has a sister, Debbi and a brother, Michael. Mawter attended Willoughby Infants', Willoughby Primary and Willoughby Girls' High School where she was School Captain in 1977. She completed a
Bachelor of Applied Science A Bachelor of Applied Science (BAS or BASc) is an undergraduate academic degree of applied sciences. Usage In Canada, the Netherlands and other places the Bachelor of Applied Science (BASc) is equivalent to the Bachelor of Engineering, and is cl ...
in Speech Pathology at Cumberland College (now
Sydney University 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 ...
), graduating in 1980 and winning the Private Speech Pathology Association Prize. Mawter worked as a speech pathologist for many years at the Royal Prince Alfred, Royal North Shore and Eversleigh Hospitals, working with neurology, neurosurgery, and head and neck patients. For two years she ran the Speech Pathology Student Unit at Royal North Shore Hospital (1987–88) then worked for several years as a Case Manager for the
Commonwealth Rehabilitation Service The Commonwealth Rehabilitation Service was an Australian Government body that provided rehabilitation and employment services to Australians with a disability from 1941 until 2015. At this time, the body was abolished and replaced with the more dec ...
(1993-1996). Mawter completed a Diploma of Book Editing from
Macleay College Macleay College is an Australian accredited higher education provider located in Sydney and Melbourne. Established in 1988, the college offers two-year bachelor's degrees in advertising and media, digital media, journalism and business; and on ...
(1997) and a Master of Arts in Children's Literature from
Macquarie University Macquarie University ( ) is a Public university, public research university in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Founded in 1964 by the New South Wales Government, it was the third university to be established in the Sydney metropolitan area. ...
(1998). Since then, she has taught creative writing at Macquarie University, the NSW Writer's Centre and is a frequent speaker at schools and literary festivals throughout Australia. Mawter has run creative writing workshops for students from 5 years to 91 years. Mawter is married to David Mawter and they have three children: Hugh, Shevaughn and Tullia.


Published works


Freewheelers series

* ''Extreme!'' (2008) * ''Launched!'' (2007) * ''Unleashed!'' (2006)


Critical Thinking, Humour and Text

* ''Critical Thinking: Humour and Text Ages 5 - 8'' (2007) * ''Critical Thinking: Humour and Text Ages 8 – 10'' (2007) * ''Critical Thinking: Humour and Text Ages 10+'' (2007)


Junior fiction

* ''Team Dream'' (2005) * ''Turkey Pox'' (2005) * ''There's a Sun Fairy in Our Garden'' (2001) * ''Go, the Mobile!'' (2001) * ''The Most Unusual Pet'' (2001) * ''Maisie's Race'' (2000)


Other published works


Audio

* ''So Sick!'' (2006) * ''So Feral!'' (2005) * ''So Festy!'' (2005) * ''So Gross!'' (2004)


Classroom focus

* ''Human Body'' (2008) * ''The Changing face of Xmas in Australia'' (2004) * ''The Snowy Mountains Scheme'' (2003) * ''Food'' (2002) * ''Feelings'' (2002) * ''Homes and Families'' (2002) * ''Special Days'' (2001) * ''Natural Disasters'' (2001)


Anthologies

* "Excuse Me" in Short, Black Dog Books (2008) * "Getting into the nitty gritty" in Writing stories, Primary English Teaching Association (2006) * "Pear Legs, Hello" in Alive and Winking,
John Wiley & Sons John Wiley & Sons, Inc., commonly known as Wiley (), is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Publishing, publishing company that focuses on academic publishing and instructional materials. The company was founded in 1807 and pr ...
Publishers (2006) * "Slow Swimming" and ''The Kiss'' published in Alive and Kicking, John Wiley & Sons Publishers (2005)


Multimedia

* Along with Sue Murray, co-wrote the scripts for the interactive display The Magic Garden: MBF Foundation Healthy Kids Unit for The
Powerhouse Museum The Powerhouse Museum, formerly known as the Museum of Applied Arts & Sciences (MAAS), is a collection of 4 museums in Sydney, owned by the Government of New South Wales. Powerhouse is a contemporary museum of applied arts and sciences, explori ...
, Sydney. (2008)


Articles

* ''Humour, Literacy and Literature'', Teacher & Librarian, ASLA NSW (March 2006) * ''Thinking Skills, Humorous Texts and Literacy'', ACCESS, ASLA National (2006) * ''Mentorship'' Newswrite, NSW Writer's Centre (2005) * ''Writing Humour: Why Gross Works for Kids'', Paper given at the
Sydney Writers' Festival The Sydney Writers' Festival (SWF) is an annual literary festival held in Sydney in May, with the inaugural festival taking place in 1997. The 2020 event was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia. History The festival began in Jan ...
(2005) * ''Tell Me a Story'', Classroom Magazine, Scholastic Australia, Issue 5 (2000) * ''The Brain-Injured Child in the Classroom'', Classroom Magazine, Scholastic Australia, Issue 6 (1999)


Awards

''Unleashed!'' shortlisted for the West Australian Young Readers' Book Awards in 2009


See also


External links


Jeni Mawter's official homepage

West Australian Young Readers' Book Awards
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mawter, Jeni 1959 births Living people Australian children's writers Australian non-fiction writers Australian women children's writers