Steven Herrick Steven Herrick i(A11793 works by)
Born: Established: 1958 Brisbane, Queensland, ;
Gender: Male
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BiographyHistory

Author of children's fiction and poetry.

Steven Herrick attended Coopers Plains State School and Acacia Ridge hihg School. After leaving school in year ten, he worked as a fruit picker, a storeman and a clerk, before completing high school as an adult and earning a Bachelor of Arts from The University of Queensland.

Herrick's earliest published works, which appeared in the 1980s, were poetry, which he has contributed to numerous journals and magazines, including Arena, Hermes, Overland, Poetry Australia and Poetry USA. He published four collections of poetry before 1990.

In 1996, Herrick published Love, Ghosts and Nose Hair, the first of what would be a number of verse novels aimed at young-adult readers. Herrick's other verse novels include Cold Skin and Another Night in Mullet Town. He has also written children's and young-adult fiction in prose, including Bleakboy and Hunter Stand Out In the Rain.

Since 1996, Herrick has won a range of awards for his fiction, including the Patricia Wrightson Prize (NSW Premier's Literary Awards) and the Western Australian Premier's Book award (children's books), and has been shortlisted and nominated for many more. Both Do-Wrong Ron and By the River have been named as Children's Book Council honour books.

Most Referenced Works

Personal Awards

2020 recipient Australia Council Grants, Awards and Fellowships 2020 Resilience Fund: Survive     $2,000 
2019 recipient Australia Council Grants, Awards and Fellowships Literature Career Development Grants for Individuals and Groups $6,395
2007 Australia Council Literature Board Grants Grants for Established Writers $40,000 for young adult literature writing.

Awards for Works

y separately published work icon How to Repaint a Life St Lucia : University of Queensland Press , 2021 21864610 2021 single work novel young adult

'Isaac is running from his old life when he steps off the bus in a small town. He doesn’t plan on sticking around and has nowhere to stay, but a local café owner's kindness offers him a chance to change his story. Then Isaac meets Sophie and learns he’s not the only one wanting to repaint his life.

'As he did so masterfully with The Simple Gift, Steven Herrick delves into the universal themes of rising above the past and taking control of your future.' (Publication summary)

2022 honour book CBCA Book of the Year Awards Book of the Year: Older Readers
2022 CBCA Book of the Year Awards Notable Book Older Readers
y separately published work icon Zoe, Max and the Bicycle Bus St Lucia : University of Queensland Press , 2020 18883863 2020 single work novel young adult

'With their new teacher’s help, the kids in Class 5D ride to school together in a bicycle bus. Olivia can fix a puncture in two minutes and Max can ride on one wheel. Lily wishes she wasn’t quite so wobbly and Jordi’s been waiting forever to ride on the road. Dylan has a speedy getaway from alley cats, Dabir’s glad to be part of a group and Zoe’s bike even has a name (Esmeralda). Everyone loves their new way of getting to school.

'But there’s a narrow stretch on Fishers Road with no white line to separate the cyclists from the local traffic, so Zoe and Max decide they need to make it right (even if that means breaking a few rules).'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

2021 CBCA Book of the Year Awards Notable Book Younger Readers
y separately published work icon The Bogan Mondrian St Lucia : University of Queensland Press , 2018 14870840 2018 single work novel young adult

'There are worse things than school.'

'Luke sleepwalks through his days wagging school, swimming at the reservoir and eating takeaway pizza.

'That is until Charlotte shows up.

'Rumour is she got expelled from her city school and her family moved to the Blue Mountains for a fresh start.

'But when Luke's invited to her house, he discovers there's a lot more going on than meets the eye.' (Publication summary)

2019 shortlisted Queensland Literary Awards Griffith University Young Adult Book Award
2019 shortlisted APA Book Design Awards Best Designed Young Adult Book
2019 shortlisted CBCA Book of the Year Awards Book of the Year: Older Readers
2019 CBCA Book of the Year Awards Notable Book Older Readers

Known archival holdings

University of New South Wales Australian Defence Force Academy Australian Defence Force Academy Library (ACT)
Last amended 11 Mar 2022 10:12:38
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