Davina Bell

Author

Davina Bell is a West Australian writer living in Melbourne, who works as an editor in the world of children’s books. Her essays and short stories have been published in various collections. Her books for Penguin’s Our Australian Girl series are her first novels.

Where were you born?

I was born in Western Australia and grew up on the edge of the Swan River.

What other jobs have you had?

I’ve packed bread in a bakery in the middle of the night; spent many happy mornings as a therapist for children with autism; watered gardens on hot afternoons; tucked a lot of rascals into beds on evenings as a nanny; and stayed up until dawn writing assignments as a pretty shoddy law student. Now I’m a children’s book editor at a publishing house.

What themes are recurring in your work?

I grew up in the worlds most isolated capital city, so maybe it’s no surprise that I tend to write about isolation and connection. And I’ve always been fascinated by big families with lots of children – who looks like who, who gets on with who, who fights a lot, who thinks alike – so family relationships usually sneak in too. My first four books are set in World War One, which was the perfect back-drop for themes of bravery, love, sacrifice and difficult decisions.

What have been the highlights of your career?

The first piece of fiction I wrote as an adult was picked up by Robert Drewe and published in Best Australian Stories. Which was so frightening, I didn’t write anything else for a very long time!

What are you passionate about?

Making, writing and talking about memorable books for children – books that are worthy of the fierce, hungry love they have for reading.

Anything else you’d like to share with us?

I’m one of the founding editors of harvest, an Australian literary journal, and early harvest, a magazine of writing for kids, written by kids, and made by kids from Melbourne’s Western suburbs.