Libby Gleeson AM (born 1950) is an Australian children's author. Born in
Young, New South Wales
Young is a town in the South Western Slopes region of New South Wales, Australia, and the largest town in the Hilltops Region. The "Lambing Flat" Post Office opened on 1 March 1861 and was renamed "Young" in 1863.
Young is marketed as the Che ...
, she is one of six children, the sister of former
ABC
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ABC or abc may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting
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* American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...
TV
Washington
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* George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States
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** A ...
Correspondent Michael Gleeson, and the mother of ''
Home and Away
''Home and Away'' (''H&A'') is an Australian television soap opera. It was created by Alan Bateman and commenced broadcast on the Seven Network on 17 January 1988. Bateman came up with the concept of the show during a trip to Kangaroo Point, N ...
'' actress
Jessica Tovey
Jessica Tovey (born 10 November 1987) is an Australian actress. Tovey graduated from the Newtown High School of the Performing Arts and has made appearances for various drama companies. She is best known for her role of Belle Taylor on the lo ...
and
Sydney Morning Herald
''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily tabloid newspaper published in Sydney, Australia, and owned by Nine Entertainment. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper in ...
journalist Josephine Tovey. Her sister, Margie Gleeson, works as the head teacher of Creative and Performing Arts at Albury High School.
She studied 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 ...
where she took history before teaching for two years in the rural town of Picton near
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 ...
. In the mid-1970s she lived for five years in
Italy
Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
where she taught English and then
London
London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
, where she began to write her first novel, ''Eleanor Elizabeth''. Once returned from overseas she taught at the University of Sydney.
In the last twenty years, she has written twenty books and taught occasional courses in creative writing. She specialises in picture books, novels for young children and also novels for slightly older readers. She's also written scripts for the ABC's ''
Bananas in Pyjamas
''Bananas in Pyjamas'' is an Australian children's television series that first aired on 20 July 1992 on ABC. It has since been syndicated in many countries and dubbed into other languages. In the United States, the " Pyjamas" in the title w ...
'' and '' Magic Mountain''. She is married to scientist Euan Tovey, has three adult daughters and lives in Sydney's inner west. She is currently a Fellow on the World Research, Advisory and Education Team o MindChamps with a focus on education.
Picture books
*''One Sunday'' Illustrated by John Winch
*''Mum Goes to Work'' Illustrated by Penny Azar
*''Where's Mum?'' Illustrated by Craig Smith
*''Sleep Time'' Illustrated by Armin Greder
*''Big Dog'' (1991) Illustrated by Armin Greder
*''The Princess and the Perfect Dish'' (1995) Illustrated by Armin Greder
*''The Great Bear'' (1999) Illustrated by Armin Greder
*''An Ordinary Day'' (2001) Illustrated by Armin Greder
*''Shutting the Chooks In'' (2003) Illustrated by Ann James
*''Cuddle Time'' (2004) Illustrated by Julie Vivas
*''Amy and Louis'' (2006) Illustrated by Freya Blackwood
*''Clancy and Millie and the Very Fine House'' (2009) Illustrated by Freya Blackwood
*''A Simply Spectacular Hat'' (2009) Illustrated by Dee Texidor
Junior fiction
*''Skating on Sand'' (1994) Illustrated by Ann James
*''Hannah Plus One'' (1996) Illustrated by Ann James
*''Queen of the Universe'' (1997) Illustrated by David Cox
*''Hannah and the Tomorrow Room'' (1999) Illustrated by Ann James
*''Dear Writer'' (2000) Illustrated by David Cox
*''My Story: The Rum Rebellion, the diary of David Bellamy'' (2001)
*''Hannah the Famous''(2004) Illustrated by Ann James
*''Ray's Olympics'' (2006) Illustrated by David Cox
*''Happy Birthday X3'' (2007) Illustrated by David Cox
*''Clancy's Long Walk'' (2007) Illustrated by Chantal Stewart
*''Red'' (2012)
Young adult fiction
*''Eleanor, Elizabeth'' (1984)
*''I am Susannah'' (1987)
*''Dodger'' (1990)
*''Love Me, Love Me Not'' (1993)
*''Refuge'' (1998)
*''Mahtab's Story'' (2008)
Awards
*1991
Children's Peace Literature Award
Children's Peace Literature Award is an Australian literary prize awarded every other year by the South Australian Psychologists for Peace, an interest group of the Australian Psychological Society.
The Children's Peace Literature Award was inau ...