Richard Yaxley Richard Yaxley i(A994 works by) (a.k.a. R. W. Yaxley)
Born: Established: 1962 Devonport, Devonport area, Northwest Tasmania, Tasmania, ;
Gender: Male
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BiographyHistory

Richard Yaxley spent his childhood in Devonport, Cooee and Hobart. He attended Rose Bay State High School and Rosney College and attained his BA from the University of Tasmania in 1981. Yaxley also has a Master of Letters (Cultural Studies) from the University of Central Queensland. He has lived in Hervey Bay since 1986, and has taught at various secondary schools including Urangan State High School, where he was head of the English Department, and has also written, directed and produced several school musicals.

Yaxley has published widely, including fiction in periodicals such as Island and LINQ, and has written plays for Z-PAC Community Theatre, including 'Jellybeans', which was commended by the 2002 Queensland Premier's Drama Awards. His 2004 play, 'Heart', was runner-up in the 2004 Queensland Theatre Company's Expressions Program. In addition, he has published numerous texts for secondary schools. His first novel, The Rose Leopard, was published by University of Queensland Press in 2003

Yaxley has been the recipient of an Australia Council grant.

Most Referenced Works

Awards for Works

y separately published work icon Harmony Lindfield : Omnibus Books , 2021 20771211 2021 single work novel young adult

'In 1914, Tom Stott falls in love with Gracie O’Donnell, but their love is thwarted by circumstance and war. Tom finds himself part of the blood-soaked landings at Gallipoli, while Gracie marries another. A deception, born in a place and time on the brink of war, traverses the world as successive generations seek freedom in a century of change. It isn’t until American teen Noah Clifford joins his mother Deborah, his grandfather Will and his great-grandmother Gracie in Australia that the secrets of the past are revealed, secrets that will take them back to the beaches of Gallipoli… From multi-award winning author, Richard Yaxley, comes a story of connectedness, family and the power of truth.'

Source : publisher's blurb

2022 longlisted APA Book Design Awards Best Designed Young Adult Book designed by Elly Whiley.
2021 longlisted HNSA Historical Novel Prize Children and Young Adult
y separately published work icon The Happiness Quest Gosford : Omnibus Books , 2018 14411706 2018 single work novel young adult

'Tillie Bassett is sad, and she doesn’t understand why. Her parents and friends suggest very different, allegedly helpful, remedies. But it is the suggestion of her counsellor, Gilbert the Goldfish, that the answer may lie in finding the nature of happiness.

'As Tillie embarks upon her project she discovers that, when it comes to family and friends, nothing is quite as it seems. Secrets are uncovered, old tensions resurface, relationships tangle and untangle, and Tillie realises that everyone struggles balancing sadness and happiness, and living truthfully.'  (Publication summary)

2019 CBCA Book of the Year Awards Notable Book Older Readers
y separately published work icon This Is My Song Lindfield : Scholastic Australia , 2017 10723867 2017 single work novel young adult historical fiction

'This is my blood, this is my song. In the early 1940s in Czechoslovakia, Rafael Ullmann and his family are sent to Terezin, the so-called model ghetto for Jewish artists. In the 1970s in Canada, Annie Ullmann lives a predictable, lonely life on a prairie with her reclusive father and deaf-dumb mother. Thirty years later, in Australia, Joe Hawker is uncertain about himself and his future. Told across three continents and time-lines, This Is My Song is a symphony encouraging us to find our own music.' (Publication summary)

2018 winner Prime Minister's Literary Awards Young Adults' Fiction
2017 shortlisted Queensland Literary Awards Griffith University Young Adult Book Award
Last amended 19 Feb 2020 10:19:17
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