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Courtesy Reading Australia
Melina Marchetta Melina Marchetta i(A15005 works by) (a.k.a. Carmelina Marchetta)
Born: Established: 1965 ;
Gender: Female
Heritage: Italian
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BiographyHistory

Melina Marchetta was born in Sydney and left school after grade ten to work for a major Australian bank. She later worked as a consultant for a travel company and travelled to England, China, the (then) Soviet Union, and the United States of America. She then completed a teaching degree and went on to teach at a Roman Catholic high school.

While working as a bank officer, Marchetta began writing the novel Looking for Alibrandi (1992), a story of a third-generation Italian-Australian schoolgirl who experiences love, death, and the secrets of her family's past. In 1993, this novel was shortlisted for the New South Wales and South Australian State Literature Awards, and won the Children's Book Council Book of the Year Award (Book of the Year: Older Readers).

Marchetta was asked to develop a screenplay, and the resultant film, Looking for Alibrandi (1999), also won a number of awards, including both AFI Awards and FCCA Awards for best adapted screenplay and an AFI Award for Best Film.

Marchetta followed Looking for Alibrandi with Saving Francesca (2003), which won her a second Children's Book Council Book of the Year Award (Book of the Year: Older Readers), and On the Jellicoe Road (2006), which won her a Michael L. Printz Award for Excellence in Young Adult Literature in 2009, and was shortlisted for both an Australian Book Industry Award (Australian Book of the Year for Older Children) and the Queensland Premier's Literary Awards (Best Young Adult Book).

In 2010, she published an 'accompanying novel' to Saving Francesca: The Piper's Son, told through the eyes of another character from Saving Francesca. The Piper's Son was shortlisted for the New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards (Ethel Turner Prize), the Children's Book Council Book of the Year Award (Book of the Year: Older Readers), the Prime Minister's Literary Awards (Young Adult's Fiction), and the Queensland Premier's Literary Awards (Best Young Adult Book), and longlisted for the Miles Franklin Award.

In 2008, she began publishing her fantasy trilogy The Lumatere Chronicles: Finnikin of the Rock, Froi of the Exiles, and Quintana of Charyn. The first volume in this trilogy brought Marchetta her first Aurealis Award for Excellence in Australian Speculative Fiction (Young Adult Division — Best Novel).

Though Marchetta has written little in the way of film and television scripts since Looking for Alibrandi, she did contribute an episode to season two of the ABC's multi award-winning children's series Dance Academy.

She also wrote the introduction to the Text Publishing 2013 edition of The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, and has published short stories, essays, reviews, and newspaper articles.

In 2013, Marchetta was nominated for the prestigious Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award.

Exhibitions

Most Referenced Works

Awards for Works

y separately published work icon Zola and the Christmas Lights Melbourne : Puffin , 2022 24807169 2022 single work picture book children's

'Celebrate the wonder of Christmas in this heartwarming picture book from the bestselling and award-winning author of Looking for Alibrandi, Melina Marchetta, together with talented and joyous illustrator Deb Hudson.

'This year, Zola and Alessandro are going to decorate the street with Nonno Nino’s Christmas lights. Zola’s house and Boomerang Street haven’t had Christmas lights for two years. But this year, Zola and Alessandro want to continue the tradition. They’ve learned a lot about tradition lately – and how some families have different beliefs, and others celebrate Christmas differently. And with the help of their family and friends, this Christmas Boomerang Street is going to shine!' (Publication summary)

2024 longlisted The DANZ Children's Book Award Picture Books
y separately published work icon What Zola Did on Thursday Melbourne : Penguin , 2021 20356128 2021 single work children's fiction children's

'From the author of Looking for Alibrandi comes this gorgeous series to engage and entertain newly independent young readers.

'Zola loves living on Boomerang Street with her mum and her nonna. Every day of the week is an adventure. But Zola has a problem. No matter how much she tries, she can't keep out of trouble. Like on Thursday, when she and the gang form a band and upset their cranky neighbour, Mr Walton . . .Collect all seven stories in the series – one for every day of the week!

'A wonderful series celebrating community, sustainability, diversity and family. Fun, heartwarming stories full of humour and feeling, sure to charm and engage newly independent young readers.

''I don’t know about you but I am getting incredibly fond of Zola and her neighbourhood. This little series is just truly delightful and I know that little readers must love being able to make connections with their own family, friends, schools and communities . . . Your newly independent readers both boys and girls will just adore these stories and they would make fabulous read-alouds for either classroom teachers or teacher-librarians paired with some activities and action plans. Highly recommended for little readers from around six years upwards.’ Sue Warren‘Highly recommended . . . Full of humour and brimming with the close ties of family, [and] . . . community, children will love reading of Zola and her life.’ Fran Knight'

Source : publisher's blurb

2022 shortlisted REAL Awards Fiction for Younger Readers
y separately published work icon Tell The Truth, Shame The Devil Melbourne : Penguin , 2016 9186976 2016 single work novel crime

'Bashir “Bish” Ortley is a London desk cop. Almost over it. Still not dealing with the death of his son years ago, as well as the break up of his marriage.

'Across the channel, a summer bus tour, carrying a group of English teenagers is subject to a deadly bomb attack, killing four of the passengers and injuring a handful of others. Bish’s daughter is one of those on board.

'The suspect is 17 year old Violette LeBrac whose grandfather was responsible for a bombing that claimed the lives of dozens of people fourteen years ago; and whose mother, Noor, has been serving a life sentence for the part she was supposed to have played in the attack.

'As Bish is dragged into the search for the missing Violette, he finds himself reluctantly working with Noor LeBrac and her younger brother, Jimmy Sarraf.

'And the more he delves into the lives of the family he helped put away, the more Bish realizes that they may have got it wrong all those years ago, and that truth wears many colours. Especially when it comes to the teenagers on board the recent bus bombing. Including his daughter.

'Tell the truth. Shame the devil. Bish can’t get Violette LeBrac’s words out of his head. But what he may get is some sort of peace with his own past as the worlds of those involved in two bombings, years apart, collide into the journey of his life. ' (Publication summary)

2016 highly commended The Fellowship of Australian Writers Victoria Inc. National Literary Awards FAW Christina Stead Award
2017 shortlisted Davitt Award Best Debut
2017 shortlisted Davitt Award Best Adult Crime Novel
2017 longlisted Indie Awards Fiction
Last amended 27 Apr 2021 12:54:27
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