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Bren MacDibble Bren MacDibble i(A74006 works by) (a.k.a. Brenda MacDibble)
Also writes as: Cally Black
Born: Established:
c
New Zealand,
c
Pacific Region,
;
Gender: Female
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BiographyHistory

A Melbourne-based author, Bren MacDibble began writing in 1999. Writing for both adults and children, she has published a number of children's books and her (science fiction) short stories have appeared in various publications.

After spending her formative years in New Zealand, MacDibble travelled extensively and has spent time living in Tauranga, Frankfurt, London, Auckland and Sydney before settling in Melbourne.

In 2017, she released her first book for a young-adult readership, In the Dark Places, under the writing name Cally Black; the novel had previously won the 2015 Ampersand Award.

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, 1992-2003).

Personal Awards

2019 shortlisted Ditmar Awards Best New Talent
2017 recipient The Neilma Sidney Literary Travel Fund

$2,999 awarded for a research trip through rural New South Wales and Victoria to inform her dystopian, climate-focused novel, which explores the extinction of grass.

Awards for Works

y separately published work icon The Raven's Song Crows Nest : Allen and Unwin , 2022 24795290 2022 single work children's fiction children's

'A wonderful children's novel by two stellar writers featuring Shelby and Phoenix, living 100 years apart yet unexpectedly joined across time - and each make the discovery of a lifetime that has the potential to upend their worlds.

'We've been told over and over we're the generation that waits for the world to recover. We endure the heat. We endure the storms, the wrecking floods, the long droughts, the days of smoke as fire burns, coz this is what the honoured earth does when she's trying to recover.

'Shelby and her best friend Davy live quiet low-tech lives in a closed community that is made up of exactly three hundred and fifty kind, ethical people living on exactly seven hundred hectares.

'When they climb through a hole in the perimeter fence to venture into the surrounding jungle, what they find is more astonishing than anything they could have imagined.

'And when Shelby realises the terrible danger that is unfolding, it will take all of her daring and determination to ensure the past does not repeat itself.

'Intriguing, absorbing and spine-tinglingly good, The Raven's Song is a brilliant novel by two esteemed writers at the height of their powers.(Publication summary)

2023 shortlisted Western Australian Premier's Book Awards Premier's Prize for Writing for Children
2023 honour book CBCA Book of the Year Awards Book of the Year: Younger Readers
2022 shortlisted Aurealis Awards for Excellence in Australian Speculative Fiction Children's Division
2023 CBCA Book of the Year Awards Notable Book Younger Readers
y separately published work icon Across the Risen Sea Crows Nest : Allen and Unwin , 2020 19098153 2020 single work children's fiction children's fantasy

''It's one of them days when everything is off. A hot sweaty night in Rusty Bus means we kids is all grouchy-tired. Me and my best friend, Jaguar, is trying to cool down by taking turns at dipping in the sea pool. Him standing on the sea wall made from car frames and rocks on lookout for crocs, me swimming, then we'll swap places. We's always doing things as a team, him and me. We's gonna be the best fisher people and the best salvagers on the whole of the inland sea one day.'

'Neoma and Jag and their small community are 'living gentle lives' on high ground surrounded by the risen sea that has caused widespread devastation. When strangers from the Valley of the Sun arrive unannounced, the friends find themselves drawn into a web of secrecy and lies that endangers the way of life of their entire community. Soon daring, loyal Neoma must set off on a solo mission across the risen sea, determined to rescue her best friend and find the truth that will save her village.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

2021 shortlisted Speech Pathology Australia Book of the Year Awards Eight to 10 Years
2020 shortlisted Western Australian Premier's Book Awards Premier's Prize for Writing for Children
2021 finalist New Zealand Book Awards New Zealand Post Book Awards Ockham New Zealand Book Awards Wright Family Foundation Esther Glen Junior Fiction Award
2021 finalist Sir Julius Vogel Awards Best Youth Novel
2020 finalist Aurealis Awards for Excellence in Australian Speculative Fiction Children's Division
2021 shortlisted New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards Patricia Wrightson Prize for Children's Books
2021 CBCA Book of the Year Awards Notable Book Younger Readers
2021 shortlisted APA Book Design Awards Best Designed Children’s Fiction Book designed by Joanna Hunt
2021 nominated Yoto Carnegies Library Association Awards (UK) CILIP (Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals) Awards Yoto Carnegie Medal for Writing
y separately published work icon The Dog Runner Crows Nest : Allen and Unwin , 2019 14967867 2019 single work children's fiction children's

'Ella and her brother Emery are alone in a city that's starving to death. If they are going to survive, they must get away, upcountry, to find Emery's mum. But how can two kids travel such big distances across a dry, barren and dangerous landscape? Well, when you've got a few big doggos, the answer is you go mushing. When Emery is injured, Ella finds herself suddenly responsible for safely navigating the wheeled dog-sled through rough terrain, and even rougher encounters with desperate people.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

2023 honour book KOALA Awards Fiction for Years 7-9
2020 shortlisted CBCA Book of the Year Awards Book of the Year: Younger Readers
2019 winner Aurealis Awards for Excellence in Australian Speculative Fiction Children's Division
2020 CBCA Book of the Year Awards Notable Book Younger Readers
2020 shortlisted APA Book Design Awards Best Designed Children’s Fiction Book designed by Joanna Hunt
2020 shortlisted Readings Prizes The Readings Children’s Book Prize
2020 shortlisted West Australian Young Readers' Book Award Older Readers
2020 nominated Yoto Carnegies Library Association Awards (UK) CILIP (Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals) Awards Yoto Carnegie Medal for Writing
Last amended 10 Jun 2019 13:18:08
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