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Maureen McCarthy Maureen McCarthy i(A10265 works by) (a.k.a. Maureen Claire McCarthy)
Born: Established: 1953 Melbourne, Victoria, ;
Gender: Female
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BiographyHistory

Novelist and script writer Maureen McCarthy trained as a teacher and taught in Victorian secondary schools before becoming a full-time writer.

McCarthy has written screenplays for television and for educational films. Her scripts include the documentary Eating Your Heart Out (1984), scripts for the children's television series Lift Off, the ABC television comedy series C/O The Bartons, and the SBS mini-series In Between. She has also written novels for young adults, some of them adapted for television, and some based on television series. Her books have been widely translated, particularly into German.

McCarthy has said of her work, 'I am interested in the emerging adult from sixteen to the early twenties - the wild time when relationships are shifting, sexual identity is fiercely sought and life is imbued with conflicting desires and emotions.'

Most Referenced Works

Notes

  • For information about this author's works for children not included in AustLit, see Australian Children's Books by Marcie Muir and Kerry White (Melbourne: Melbourne University Press, 1992-2004).

Personal Awards

2013 recipient Australia Council Grants, Awards and Fellowships New Work - Established Writers Young adult literature (for 12 to 18 years)
2010 Australia Council Literature Board Grants Grants for Established Writers $50,000 for young adult literature writing.

Awards for Works

y separately published work icon Stay with Me Crows Nest : Allen and Unwin , 2015 8348470 2015 single work novel young adult

'Try to leave and I'll find you...

'Tess is trapped in a desperate situation - her violent partner now threatening not just Tess, but their daughter as well.

'A chance meeting offers a way out, and a road trip back to the heart of Tess's past, and the family she's left behind. But can she ever trust again?

'An electrifying story from the bestselling author of The Convent... '

2016 shortlisted Davitt Award Best Young Adult Book
2015 highly commended The Fellowship of Australian Writers Victoria Inc. National Literary Awards FAW Christina Stead Award
y separately published work icon The Convent Crows Nest : Allen and Unwin , 2012 Z1886536 2012 single work novel young adult

'"I woke up with a feeling about today," Stella says dreamily. "Something truly amazing is going to happen." "To us or to the world?" I say. "To you." "To me?" I laugh. "Nothing ever happens to me, Stella." "But today it will." "Will it be good?" She looks thoughtful and then frowns. "I ... I don't know."

'Peach is nineteen and pretty happy with the way things are. She has her university work, two wildly different best friends, her sister, Stella, to look after and a broken heart to mend. But when she takes a summer job at a cafe in the old convent, her idea of who she is takes a sharp turn into the past.

'Where once there were nuns, young girls and women who had fallen on hard times, Peach discovers secrets from three generations of her family. As their stories are revealed, Peach is jolted out of her comfort zone. But does she really want to know who she is?

'Warm and real, intense and provocative, Maureen McCarthy's The Convent shows in vivid detail how fate and the choices we make ripple and reverberate through time.

'A novel to fall in love with.' (From the publisher's website.)

2013 shortlisted Queensland Literary Awards Griffith University Young Adult Book Award
2013 CBCA Book of the Year Awards Notable Book Older Readers
2013 shortlisted Indie Awards Children's
y separately published work icon Rose By Any Other Name East Melbourne : Allen and Unwin , 2006 Z1324309 2006 single work novel young adult

'Don'tcha just hate the way you get caught up in stuff without really wanting to? Then it goes a bit further, and suddenly you're one of those jerks you hate because . . . you can't be trusted. ROSE WANTS NOTHING MORE THAN TO GET AWAY. Last year she'd had it all: pre-law in the fall, a budding romance, and her best friend, Zoe. Now Zoe will never forgive her, her family is crumbling, and the secret that's been boiling up inside her is bubbling a little too close to the surface. All Rose needs to escape are an old van, her surfboard, the road, the ocean, and . . . mom? When Rose's mother jumps in the passenger seat right as Rose is about to set off, her trip takes an unexpected turn, filled with nagging memories of last year, and the looming scandal that refuses to be ignored. A twisting plot that keeps you guessing, told from the viewpoint of a realistically flawed yet snarky main character, makes this a book that just can't be put down.' (Publication summary)

2007 shortlisted Australian Book Industry Awards (ABIA) Australian Book of the Year for Older Children
Last amended 25 Feb 2015 16:26:55
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