Christine Harris Christine Harris i(A2364 works by)
Born: Established: 1955 Mile End, West Torrens area, Adelaide - South West, Adelaide, South Australia, ;
Gender: Female
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BiographyHistory

Christine Harris was the eldest of five children, with two brothers and two sisters. Her father was born in Australia, and her mother in Glasgow, Scotland. Harris grew up in the Adelaide suburb of Warradale, then moved to Port Lincoln for twelve years, to Warooka (on the Yorke Peninsula) for two years and then to Mount Barker in the Adelaide Hills.

Before becoming a published writer, Harris worked in a book shop, knitted jumpers for craft shops, baked cakes for a gourmet cafe, did food promotions in supermarkets and taught conversational English in China. She spent several months in China, but the student massacre in September 1989 brought her and her husband home to Australia early.

Writing has been both her job and her hobby. She began her career as a writer by enrolling in a writing class, then sent articles and short stories to magazines and newspapers, and to publishers. She has contributed to a number of journals both as a writer and a photographer, has written a number of books for children, and has edited three school anthologies. Her work has been published in Australia, New Zealand, United Kingdom, Russia, United States, Sweden, France and Korea. Harris has also conducted workshops for schools and writers' groups. She has travelled extensively and this is reflected in her writing. She has written several skits for the programme Write Now on Radio, 2SER 1990. Outlet Dance adapted several of her stories into a dance performance, Second Hand, which toured South Australian schools in 1995 and was performed at the Space, Festival Theatre. In 1993 she co-wrote and performed in, with David Harris, a play for Year 1 and 2, 'The Magic Forest'. She has been guest speaker at Writers' Festivals in Sydney, Adelaide, Brisbane and Melbourne.

In 2006, Harris won the Carclew Fellowship as part of the South Australian Festival Awards for Literature.

Most Referenced Works

Affiliation Notes

  • South Australian

Awards for Works

y separately published work icon It's a Miroocool Neutral Bay : Little Hare Books , 2012 Z1832605 2012 single work picture book children's 'Audrey lives in the outback, so when she loses her first tooth, she's worried the tooth fairy will never find her! How will she let the tooth fairy know where she lives... and what will the tooth fairy leave her?' (From the publisher's website.)
2013 CBCA Book of the Year Awards Notable Book Early Childhood
2013 CBCA Book of the Year Awards Notable Book Picture Book
2013 shortlisted CBCA Book of the Year Awards Book of the Year: Early Childhood
y separately published work icon Audrey's Big Secret Surry Hills : Little Hare Books , 2009 Z1634251 2009 single work children's fiction children's

'The opening scene sets the tone for this satisfying story set in the outback in the 1920s. Audrey pulls back the hessian curtains, glad her parents can’t afford glass, and leans out to whisper to Stumpy, ‘we’re going to find out the swagman’s secret’. Audrey is a feisty young heroine, the middle child in a struggling family living an isolated bush life. Audrey decides to try being, in turn, a swaggie (for the freedom), a man (because they claim to know everything and can use words girls can’t) and a teacher as all she will have to do is tell people what to do. Her adventures, including being around when her brother accidentally blows up the dunny, are very entertaining, but it is also a touching story about facing hardships and growing up in one’s own time.' (Publication summary)

2009 shortlisted Western Australian Premier's Book Awards Premier's Prize for Writing for Children
2010 shortlisted Festival Awards for Literature (SA) Adelaide Festival Awards for Literature South Australian Literary Awards Children's Literature Award
y separately published work icon Audrey Goes to Town Australia : Little Hare Books , 2008 Z1546805 2008 single work children's fiction children's Audrey and her younger brother are left with a strict old lady when her father has to go off dingo hunting and and her mother is in hospital. Through the townsfolk she meets she learns about life and relationships in a rural outback town in the 1930s.
2009 joint winner Children's Peace Literature Award Joint winner with 'Winter of Grace' by Kate Constable.
Last amended 12 Oct 2009 08:57:53
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