AustLit logo
Jessica Miller Jessica Miller i(A145626 works by)
Born: Established: London,
c
England,
c
c
United Kingdom (UK),
c
Western Europe, Europe,
;
Gender: Female
The material on this page is available to AustLit subscribers. If you are a subscriber or are from a subscribing organisation, please log in to gain full access. To explore options for subscribing to this unique teaching, research, and publishing resource for Australian culture and storytelling, please contact us or find out more.

BiographyHistory

Jessica Miller was born in London but grew up in Brisbane's inner western suburbs. She has studied professional and creative writing at the University of Queensland and is particularly interested in children's and young adult literature.

Most Referenced Works

Personal Awards

2012 highly commended ASA Mentorship

Awards for Works

y separately published work icon The Hotel Witch Melbourne : Text Publishing , 2023 25274322 2023 single work novel young adult fantasy

'Sometimes the simplest spells are the most powerful.

'Sibyl is the apprentice hotel witch at the splendid Grand Mirror Hotel.

'She is busy each day drawing useful spell patterns to keep the hotel guests happy: spells to shine shoes, spells to remove dust and spells to return lost belongings like hats and gloves to their owners.

'But Sibyl dreams of other possibilities – wonderful possibilities like her mother returning from the Black Mountains, and like Grandma letting her draw spell patterns from the Book of Advanced and Dangerous Magic.

'When Grandma gets stuck in last Tuesday, somewhere on the hotel’s thirteenth floor, Sibyl is left to take charge of all the hotel magic – and to solve a mysterious and perplexing problem.

'Can she find a way to open the Book of Advanced and Dangerous Magic?

'And will it contain the spell she needs?

'The Hotel Witch is a magical tale of courage, love and the power of imagining possibilities.' (Publication summary)

2023 finalist Aurealis Awards for Excellence in Australian Speculative Fiction Children's Division
2024 longlisted APA Book Design Awards Best Designed Children's/Young Adult Cover designed by Imogen Stubbs.
y separately published work icon The Republic of Birds Melbourne : Text Publishing , 2020 17066876 2020 single work children's fiction children's fantasy

'OLGA loves the stories of the old cartographers and pores over their ancient books and maps, trying to unlock their secrets. Sometimes, she can even feel through the maps—almost see into them—as if by magic.

'But magic is banned in Tsaretsvo, ever since the war with the birds. Now, any girl who shows signs of being magical is whisked away to Bleak Steppe—to a life, so the story goes, of unspeakable horror.

'When the bird army kidnaps Olga’s sister, Mira, Olga knows that only she can venture into the Republic of Birds to rescue her. But first, she must unlock her magical ability.

'As her journey takes her into the hidden world of the Iagas and the wilds of the Unmappable Blank, Olga discovers the truth about the war with the birds— and learns just how much is at stake in her quest to save her sister.

'Inspired by Russian folklore, The Republic of Birds is a rich and spellbinding middle-grade fantasy adventure.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

2022 shortlisted Festival Awards for Literature (SA) Adelaide Festival Awards for Literature South Australian Literary Awards Children's Literature Award
2022 shortlisted Ena Noël Award
2021 shortlisted Speech Pathology Australia Book of the Year Awards Eight to 10 Years
y separately published work icon Elizabeth and Zenobia Melbourne : Text Publishing , 2016 9663303 2016 single work children's fiction children's

'Timid Elizabeth and her unusual and fearless friend Zenobia arrive at Witheringe House, the old manor where Elizabeth's father and his beloved sister Tourmaline lived as children. Zenobia loves it – she's convinced it's haunted and is eager to make contact with a spirit presence. Elizabeth is relieved when her efforts seem to come to nothing.

'But strange things begin to happen at Witheringe House, especially in the East Wing, where Elizabeth and Zenobia have been forbidden to explore.

'Why do the flowers and vines on the wallpaper in the nursery seem to be alive? Could it have something to do with the strange book that tells a different story after midnight? And what really happened to Tourmaline all those years ago?

'Elizabeth and Zenobia is a wonderfully mysterious middle-grade adventure story about friendship and courage and the power of imagination.' (Publication summary)

2017 shortlisted Davitt Award Best Debut
2017 shortlisted Davitt Award Best Children's Novel
2017 shortlisted Readings Prizes The Readings Children’s Book Prize
2017 CBCA Book of the Year Awards Notable Book Younger Readers
Last amended 7 Jan 2015 16:45:35
Other mentions of "" in AustLit:
    X