Australia, the time has come. This has been a huge month for Aussie authors and for you, our voters! This month we asked you to nominate your favourite Australian authors and we had over 1000 authors nominated – incredible! Next came the voting rounds over three weeks in the Heats and Finals. We’ve collated all your votes and are ready to announce your Top 50 Favourite Australian Authors for 2018.
We received thousands of votes, so thank you all for taking the time to do so. Your authors thank you, and hopefully they’ll pen another book as a sign of their gratitude.
Today we take a look at your favourite authors, 50-41. Congratulations to all the authors below! We’ve got an eclectic mix of Australian talent this year, everything from bestselling author Zoe Foster-Blake, to much-loved children’s author John Flanagan, and Donna Hay, whose cookbooks grace so many Aussie kitchens. Scroll down to see them all.
This week we’ll be counting down your Favourite Australian Authors, all leading up to the big reveal on Thursday, where we’ll be announcing your Top 10 and… your #1 Favourite Australian Author!
Check out the authors ranked 40-31 here.
Check out the authors ranked 30-21 here.
Check out the authors ranked 20-11 here.
So without further ado, meet the authors ranked 50-41:
Australia’s Favourite Australian Authors: 50-41
50. Juliet Marillier
Juliet Marillier was born in New Zealand and holds advanced degrees in music and languages. She has had a life-long passion for both Celtic music and Irish folklore, working for several years as a music teacher. Daughter of the Forest is the first book in her award-winning Sevenwaters Trilogy. Her latest book is Den of Wolves (2017).
Juliet lives in a hundred-and-ten-year-old cottage near the river in Perth, Western Australia, where she writes full time. She is a member of the druid order OBOD. Juliet shares her home with a small pack of waifs and strays. Juliet’s historical fantasy novels are published internationally and have won a number of awards.
Visit Juliet’s Booktopia author page.
49. Ruth Park
Another in a long line of writers born elsewhere yet able to capture Australian life so beautifully, Scottish-born Ruth Park’s writing has had a lasting effect on both adults and children for over 60 years. Ruth moved to Australia in 1942.
Her first novel was The Harp in the South, a graphic story of Irish slum life in Sydney, which has been translated into 37 languages. Even though it was acclaimed by literary critics, the book proved controversial with sections of the public due to its candour. It remains her most popular novel and has never been out of print.
Between 1946 and 2004, she received numerous awards for her contributions to literature in both Australia and internationally including the Miles Franklin Award for Swords and Crowns and Rings in 1977. She was made a Member of the Order of Australia in 1987.
Ruth Park died in December 2010. Visit Ruth’s Booktopia author page.
48. Fleur McDonald
Fleur McDonald has lived and worked on farms for much of her life. After growing up in the small town of Orroroo in South Australia, she went to Jillarooing, eventually co-owning an 8000-acre property in regional Western Australia.
Fleur writes about strong women overcoming adversity, drawing inspiration from her own experiences in rural Australia. She is the best-selling author of Red Dust, Blue Skies, Purple Roads, Silver Clouds and Crimson Dawn. She has two children and a Jack Russell terrier.
Her most recent novel is Suddenly One Summer, released in 2017. Listen to her podcast with us. Visit Fleur’s Booktopia author page.
47. Donna Hay
At the age of eight, Donna Hay skipped into a kitchen, picked up a mixing bowl and never looked back.
Donna Hay is Australia’s leading food editor and best-selling cookbook author. Her food, recipes and styling focuses on basic ingredients, simply prepared and beautifully photographed are hallmarks of her work which have set the benchmark for food publishing worldwide and inspired a whole new generation of cooks.
Her most recent cookbooks are Basics to Brilliance and Basics to Brilliance Kids, to go alongside her new TV tie-in show. Visit Donna’s Booktopia author page.
46. Zoë Foster-Blake
Zoë Foster Blake has done a decade of journalism writing for titles such as Cosmopolitan, Harper’s BAZAAR and Sunday Style, as well as being the founder of all-natural Australian skin care line, Go-To.
Zoë has published four novels, Air Kisses, Playing the Field, The Younger Man and The Wrong Girl, as well as the dating and relationship book, Textbook Romance written in conjunction with Hamish Blake; and Amazinger Face, a collection of her best beauty tips and tricks.
Listen to Zoë’s podcast with us about her latest hilarious children’s book, No One Likes a Fart.
Visit Zoë’s Booktopia author page.
45. Fiona Palmer
Fiona Palmer lives in the tiny rural town of Pingaring in Western Australia, three and a half hours south-east of Perth. She has attended romance writers’ groups and received an Australian Society of Authors mentorship for her first novel, The Family Farm.
She has followed on from its success with many more novels, all bestsellers. She has extensive farming experience, does the local mail run, and was a speedway-racing driver for seven years. Her latest book is Secrets Between Friends. Visit Fiona’s Booktopia author page.
44. Fiona McCallum
Fiona McCallum spent her childhood years on the family cereal and wool farm outside a small town on South Australia’s Eyre Peninsula. An avid reader and writer, she decided at the age of nine that she wanted to be the next Enid Blyton.
She completed her final years of schooling at a private boarding school in Adelaide. Fiona maintained her literary interests by writing poetry and short stories, and studying at TAFE via correspondence. In 2001 she realised her true passion lay in writing full-length fiction, and in 2002 completed her first manuscript.
Fiona writes “heart-warming journey of self-discovery stories”. Finding Hannah is her latest book. Visit Fiona’s Booktopia author page.
43. Rachael Treasure
Tasmanian-born Rachael Treasure gets as excited about dung beetle activity in the soil as she does by beautiful writing. Rachael sparked a publishing boom in 2002 when her first novel Jillaroo woke the world up to contemporary women’s stories beyond the city lights.
She has been dubbed an agricultural activist, farm feminist and literary pioneer and has worked as a rural journalist, radio broadcaster, truffle sniffer dog handler, professional wool classer, stock camp cook, drover, farm manager and working dog trainer.
Some of her novels include The Stockman, The Rouseabout and The Cattleman’s Daughter. Her latest novel is Down the Dirt Roads. Visit Rachael’s Booktopia author page.
42. John Flanagan
John Flanagan’s bestselling Ranger’s Apprentice adventure series originally comprised twenty short stories, which John wrote to encourage his twelve-year-old son, Michael, to enjoy reading. The series has come a long way since then. Now sold to more than twenty countries, the series regularly appears on the New York Times Bestseller List and has been shortlisted in children’s book awards in Australia and overseas.
John, a former television and advertising writer, lives with his wife, Leonie, in the Sydney.
Listen to John’s latest podcast with us about his book, The Caldera, book 7 in The Brotherband Series. Visit John’s Booktopia author page.
41. Tara Moss
Tara Moss is an author, journalist, TV presenter and human rights advocate. Her bestselling books include the acclaimed Mak Vanderwall crime fiction series and the Pandora English series.
Her first non-fiction book, the critically acclaimed The Fictional Woman, was published in 2014 and became a number one national non-fiction bestseller, and her iconic cover design, featuring her face labeled with ‘fictions’ or stereotypes about women won Best Non-Fiction Book Design at the Australia Book Design Awards in 2015 with HarperCollins Publishers.
Tara chats about her latest book Speaking Out on the Booktopia podcast. Visit Tara’s Booktopia author page.
Check out the authors ranked 40-31 here.
Check out the authors ranked 30-21 here.
Check out the authors ranked 20-11 here.
About the Contributor
Bronwyn Eley
Before entering the exciting world of books, Bronwyn served in the Royal Australian Air Force, travelled extensively and worked (still does!) as a barista on the weekends. Books are her true passion. Bronwyn's debut fantasy novel Relic is coming out in 2019 with indie publishing house Talem Press. They are to publish her entire trilogy called The Relic Trilogy. In her spare time, Bronwyn writes, reads and enjoys keeping fit (which she undoes by eating loads of chocolate) with Martial Arts and personal training. She can't answer what her favourite book is but she has a soft spot for Peter Pan (J.M Barrie), Outlander (Diana Gabaldon), Stardust (Neil Gaiman), The Illuminae Files (Jay Kristoff and Amie Kaufman) and Six of Crows (Leigh Bardugo). Fantasy, sci-fi and YA make up the majority of her bookshelves.
Follow Bronwyn: Twitter
Comments
January 30, 2018 at 4:52 pm
Some of my favourite authors in that group. so leased they made the list,
April 26, 2021 at 8:29 am
Where is Terry Hayes? “I Am Pilgrim” is a modern classic.