Dianne Wolfer Dianne Wolfer i(A13219 works by)
Born: Established: 1961 ;
Gender: Female
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BiographyHistory

Dianne Wolfer grew up in Melbourne, and has lived in Thailand, Nepal and Japan. After gaining her teaching qualifications at Curtin University, she worked as a teacher with the Western Australian Education Department 1984-87 and again in 1991-92, after using her Japanese language qualifications to teach at the American School in Japan 1988-90. She also used her language proficiency to teach Japanese to airline employees. She taught in Nepal and travelled through Asia. When she returned to settle in WA, she began writing short stories and articles for magazines. Her time in Japan is reflected in her writings which show the influence of Japanese No plays and haiku (which she has also written). Dolphin Song (1995) was her first published novel. Wolfer has taught vocational English at the Denmark (WA) Agricultural College. An active branch member of the Society of Women Writers, the Fellowship of Australian Writers, the Children's Book Council and the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators, she has run workshops and addressed schools and writers festivals about children's literature and writing. Her membership of Amnesty International and the Australian Conservation Foundation is reflected in her focus on writing about the contrasting cultures of Australia and the Pacific, and her concern about human and nature interaction. She has written short stories to accompany the Southern Forest Sculpture Walk in the Northcliffe Jubilee Park in south west WA for Southern Forest Arts.

Wolfer has also written readers for the Thomson Learning PM Plus series. She won the 1995 South-West Literary Award for her one-act play Christmas Lunch, and the 1997 FAW Mary Grant Bruce unpublished short story award for 'Donkey Ears'. In 2007 she received an ArtsWA grant to enable her to work on a picture book set in Albany during World War II about a girl on Breaksea Island.

Wolfer received a PhD from University of Western Australia on Anthropomorphism in Children's Literature, which resulted in two novels The Shark Caller and The Dog with Seven Names.

Most Referenced Works

Awards for Works

y separately published work icon Scout and the Rescue Dogs Melbourne : Walker Books Australia , 2023 26048405 2023 single work children's fiction children's 'A celebration of community, adventure, kindness and, above all, dogs! The summer holidays have finally arrived and Scout can't wait for her adventure in the big rig with Dad. They're on a mission to deliver donations of dog food to animal rescue shelters right across the state. There'll be lots of music, dad-jokes and a brilliant plan that will make sure everyone's got a friend for the holidays. There might even be a special four-legged friend in it for Scout. But Scout and her dad get more than they've bargained for. It's bushfire season and it's not just the dogs who need rescuing.' 

(Publication summary)

2024 winner Western Australian Premier's Book Awards Premier's Prize for Writing for Children
2024 shortlisted CBCA Book of the Year Awards Book of the Year: Younger Readers
2024 CBCA Book of the Year Awards Notable Book Younger Readers
y separately published work icon Mia Crows Nest : Allen and Unwin , 2022 24744515 2022 single work children's fiction children's

'A powerful story of one girl's experience of 2019's Cyclone Veronica in Western Australia.

'Mia is used to cyclone build-ups, but the noise and energy of the wild rain squalls keep her awake half the night. What if the cyclone hits before Mum gets back? As wild winds batter the coast, Mia knows she must keep calm. The animals need her.

'Thirteen-year-old Mia lives on a bush block in the Pilbara, where she assists her mother's work as a vet and equine therapist. Although she is used to the seasonal cyclones that threaten the West Australian coast, nothing can prepare her for the ferocity of Cyclone Veronica when she finds herself home alone and needing to protect their property and the animals she loves.

'When her friend Nick arrives, pleading for help, and her favourite horse is injured, will Mia be able to withstand the greatest challenge of her life? As the storm intensifies, can she save her beloved animals?'  (Publication summary)

2023 shortlisted Educational Publishing Awards Australia Primary Educational Chapter Book
y separately published work icon The Last Light Horse Fremantle : Fremantle Press , 2022 23419802 2022 single work picture book children's

'There were 136,000 Australian horses sent to fight during the First World War. Just one came home. From the high country of Victoria to the desert sand of Egypt, from the waters off Gallipoli to the battlefields of France, this is the extraordinary story of Sandy, the only returning warhorse.

'The fourth and final book in the Light series, which began with Lighthouse Girl and includes the CBCA shortlisted Light Horse Boy.'

Source : publisher's blurb

2023 shortlisted Book Links Award for Historical Fiction
2023 CBCA Book of the Year Awards Notable Book Younger Readers
Last amended 6 Nov 2019 07:53:12
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