Nance Clare Donkin (7 March 1915 – 18 April 2008) was an Australian children's writer and journalist.

Early life and education

Nance Clare Pender was born in Maitland on 7 March 1915, youngest daughter of Archibald Thomas and Clara Rose Pender. She had two sisters and three brothers. She was educated at

Maitland High School Maitland High School (abbreviated as MHS) is a government-funded co-educational comprehensive secondary day school, located on High Street, East Maitland, New South Wales, Australia. Established in 1884 as the boys only single-sex Maitland B ...

and was appointed secretary of the Old Girls' Union's Younger Set in 1934.

Career

Donkin had her first short story published at the age of eight and began writing on social happenings for the ''

Maitland Daily Mercury The ''Maitland Mercury'' is Australia's third oldest regional newspaper, preceded only by the ''Geelong Advertiser'' (estab. 1840) and the ''Launceston Examiner'' (estab. 1842). The ''Maitland Mercury'' was established in 1843 when it was called ...

'' at 16. From there she moved to the '' Newcastle Morning Herald'' where she was social and fashion editor and also reviewed films. Donkin married Victor E. Donkin at West Maitland on 14 January 1939 and moved to England where she worked as a freelance writer, including radio scripts. The following year her husband's company transferred him back to Australia and she began writing as Alison Clare. Nancy Shepherdson, writing in ''Twentieth-century Children's Writers'', considered Donkin's first books to have "uninspired plots and much digressive conversation". Donkin served as president of the Children's Book Council of Australia (Victoria) from 1968 to 1976. In 1984 she wrote ''Stranger and Friend'', a nonfiction book about Greek migrants to Australia. She had first visited Greece 18 years earlier and returned several times. The book aimed to improve the relationship between Greeks and Australians by describing the Greek tradition of hospitality and friendship. Donkin wrote two collections of biographies of Australian women, ''The Women Were There: Nineteen Women Who Enlivened Australia's History'' and ''Always a Lady: Courageous Women of Colonial Australia''.

Awards and recognition

Donkin was appointed a

Member of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an Australian honours and awards system, Australian honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Monarch ...

in the

1986 Australia Day Honours The 1986 Australia Day Honours were announced on 26 January 1986 by the Governor General of Australia, Sir Ninian Stephen. The Australia Day Honours are the first of the two major annual honours lists, announced on Australia Day (26 January), with ...

for "service to the community, particularly in the fields of children's literature and adult education". She received the Alice Award from the NSW branch of the Society of Women Writers in 1990.

Selected works

Fiction

*''Araluen Adventures'', (Edith B. Bowden, illustrator), 1946 * ''House by the Water'', 1969 *''A Currency Lass'', (Jane Walker, illustrator), 1969 * ''Johnny Neptune'', 1971 *''Margaret Catchpole'' (Edwina Bell, illustrator), 1974 * ''A Friend for Petros'', 1974 * ''Yellowgum Girl'', 1976 * ''Green Christmas'', 1976 * The Best of the Bunch, (Edwina Bell, illustrator), 1978 * ''Nini'', 1979 * ''Two at Sullivan Bay'', ( Margaret Senior, illustrator), 1985

Nonfiction

*''Stranger and Friend: The Greek-Australian Experience'', 1984 *''The Women Were There: Nineteen Women Who Enlivened Australia's History'', 1988 *''Always a Lady: Courageous Women of Colonial Australia'', 1990

Death

Donkin died at Faversham House in Canterbury, Victoria on 18 April 2008. She was survived by her daughter and son and their families. Her death notice in the ''

Herald Sun The ''Herald Sun'' is a Conservatism, conservative daily tabloid newspaper based in Melbourne, Australia, published by The Herald and Weekly Times, a subsidiary of News Corp Australia, itself a subsidiary of the American Rupert Murdoch, Murd ...

'' concluded, "A storyteller, a teller of tales and weaver of dreams".

Nancy Donkin Literary Award

The Nancy Donkin Literary Award was inaugurated by Donkin's family and the Society of Women Writers Victoria and has been presented biennially since 2009. Winners: * 2009 Ruth Starke * 2011 Isobel Carmody * 2013 Cassandra Golds * 2015 Roseanne Hawke * 2017 Anna Walker * 2019 Dianne Wolfer * 2021 Anna Ciddor

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Donkin, Nance 1915 births 2008 deaths 20th-century Australian women writers Australian children's writers Members of the Order of Australia