Sally Murphy is an Australian children's author and poet. Her works include

verse novel A verse novel is a type of narrative poetry in which a novel-length narrative is told through the medium of poetry rather than prose. Either simple or complex stanzaic verse-forms may be used, but there is usually a large cast, multiple voices, ...

picture book 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 ...

s, and educational titles.

Early life and education

Sally Murphy was born 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 ...

Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

, the youngest of six children, and grew up in the southwest town of

Collie Collies form a distinctive type of herding dogs, including many related landraces and standardized breeds. The type originated in Scotland and Northern England. Collies are medium-sized, fairly lightly-built dogs, with pointed snouts. Many type ...

. She started writing stories at a young age, entering local writing competitions throughout her childhood. After leaving school she completed a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

degree at the

University of Western Australia University of Western Australia (UWA) is a public research university in the Australian state of Western Australia. The university's main campus is in Crawley, Western Australia, Crawley, a suburb in the City of Perth local government area. UW ...

and a Teaching Diploma at

Edith Cowan University Edith Cowan University (ECU) is a public research university in Western Australia. It is named in honour of the first woman to be elected to an Parliaments of the Australian states and territories, Australian parliament, Edith Cowan, and is, , t ...

Career

Writing

Her first book, a book of printable educational activities, ''Speak Out'', was published by Ready Ed Publications in 1997. Since then she has had many books published, including verse novels ''Pearl Verses the World'' (2009) and ''Toppling'' (2010), picture books, junior novels, and educational titles. she had published over 50 books.

Academia

Murphy has undertaken research in creative writing; early childhood education; education; English and literacy curriculum and pedagogy; and literary studies. From 2012 to 2013, she was sessional lecturer and learning advisor at

. From 2017 to 2019, she was a sessional lecturer at

Curtin University Curtin University (previously Curtin University of Technology and Western Australian Institute of Technology) is an Australian public university, public research university based in Bentley, Western Australia, Bentley, Perth, Western Australia. ...

, becoming a lecturer in literacy and early childhood in the School of Education in 2019, and course coordinator in early childhood education in 2020.

Other activities

In 2001, Murphy founded the Aussie Reviews website. Since 2005 she has been a member of the Australia and New Zealand Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators.

Recognition and awards

* 2018:

Asialink Asialink is a think-tank that promotes better relations between Australia and Asian economies. Asialink works alongside several philanthropic organizations to engage in civic and cultural relations that lead to business ties. History Asialink w ...

Arts Residency,

Hanoi Hanoi ( ; ; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Vietnam, second-most populous city of Vietnam. The name "Hanoi" translates to "inside the river" (Hanoi is bordered by the Red River (Asia), Red and Black River (Asia), Black Riv ...

, Vietnam * 2019: Creative Time Fellowship, May Gibbs Children's Literature Trust *2022:

Medal of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an Australian honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of then ...

(OAM) in the

2022 Queen's Birthday Honours The 2022 Queen's Birthday Honours are appointments by some of the 15 Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The Birthday Honours are awarded as pa ...

''Pearl Verses the World''

*Winner, Children's Book category,

Indie Book Award The Next Generation Indie Book Awards, also known as the Indie Book Awards, is a literary awards program that recognizes and honors authors and publishers of exceptional independently published books in 70 different categories. "Indies" include ...

, 2009The Indie Award
/ref> *Winner, Family Therapist Literary Award, 2010 *Winner, Hoffmann Award (for the highest ranked West Australian author), West Australian Young Readers' Book Award, 2010 *Winner,

Western Australian Premier's Book Awards The Western Australian Premier's Book Awards is an annual book award provided by the Government of Western Australia, and managed by the State Library of Western Australia. History and format Annual literary awards were inaugurated by the Wes ...

(Children's Book Category) *Shortlisted for the Indie Book of the Year Award, 2009 *Shortlisted for Mary Ryan's Award,

Queensland Premier's Literary Awards The Queensland Premier's Literary Awards were an Australian suite of literary awards inaugurated in 1999 and disestablished in 2012. It was one of the most generous suites of literary awards within Australia, with $225,000 in prize money across ...

, 2009 *Shortlisted for Junior Category, Red Dot Book Award 2009-2010 (International School Libraries Network, Singapore) *Honour Book, Children's Book of the Year Award: Younger Readers, 2010 (called one of "two outstanding verse novels" by the judges)

Other book awards

* 2010: Winner, Mary Ryan's Award, Queensland Premier's Literary Awards, for ''Toppling'' * 2016: Notable Book, Children's Book of the Year Award: Younger Readers, for ''Roses are Blue'' * 2018: Notable Book, Children's Book of the Year (Younger Readers), for ''Looking Up'' * 2021: Honour Book, Children's Book of the Year Award: Younger Readers

Selected works

Verse novels

*''Pearl Verses the world'' *''Toppling'', illustrated by Rhian Nest James (2010) *''Worse Things''

Picture books

*''Snowy’s Christmas'', illustrated by David Murphy (2009) *''Pemberthy Bear'', illustrated by Jacqui Grantford (2006) *''The Floatingest Frog'', illustrated by Simon Bosch (2004)

Chapter books

*''The Big Blowie'', illustrated by Craig Longmuir (2008) *''R is for Rolf'', illustrated by Trevor Pye (2006) *''Bugged'', illustrated by Stephen Axelsen (2006) *''Stuck'', illustrated by Stephen Axelsen (2006) *''Doggy Duo'', illustrated by Teresa Culkin-Lawrence (2003)

Educational titles

*''Two Tricky Tales'' *''Marty’s Birthday'' *''Buzzy Fly'' *''Be Careful'' *''Remember Me'' *''Over the Fence'' *''Sonoran Desert Animals'' *''The Extraordinary House'' *''Icecream'' *''Who Wants to Be a Millionaire'' *''Desert critters'' *''Frogs: Awesome Amphibians'' *''Aussie Authors'' *''Aussie Authors 2'' *''Writing the News'' *''Speak Out'' *''Speak Up'' *''Spellbound'' *''The Book Book'' *''Assembly: Poems to perform''

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Murphy, Sally Living people 21st-century Australian novelists Australian children's writers Australian women novelists 21st-century Australian women writers Recipients of the Medal of the Order of Australia Writers from Western Australia Year of birth missing (living people)