Coral Tulloch

Author, Illustrator

Coral Tulloch has worked on close to 60 books for children for both Australian and International publishers. As an author and illustrator, working in both fiction and non-fiction, Coral brings a wide range of presentations from cartooning to discussions on the environment, for a wide audience group.

Her latest book, One Small Island co-authored and co-illustrated with Alison Lester tells the story of Macquarie Island. She is currently working on two illustrated fictions, which revolve around the continent she loves so well.

Coral is the creator of a syndicated children’s page, The Tales Of Wombat Creek, which appeared for over 20 years in newspapers throughout Australia and Internationally. She has a passion for environmental education and equally, a passion to help others express their own stories through either the written or visual narrative.

Her work for more than a decade has centred on her voyages and experiences of the Antarctic, with several works produced. Antarctica The Heart Of The World won the Wilderness Societies Environment Award for Children’s Literature in 2004 and was named one of the best ten books of the year by US Science Books and Films several years later.

Coral lives in Hobart with her husband, Peter.

What other jobs have you had?

Promotion and publicity in newspapers, Advertising manager for an Australia wide supermarket chain, Art director in advertising, theatre design, production manager and art director in films.

What themes are recurring in your work?

For over a decade I have been fascinated by working on topics surrounding Antarctica, both in fiction and non-fiction. The great pleasure of working with scientists has been such an inspiration and a privilege to try to translate their findings to a wide audience.

What have been the highlights of your career?

Working in studios in both Florence, Italy, and presenting at the Bologna Book Fair in 1986, and working in lithography at the Academy of Applied Arts in Prague. My Arts Fellowship with the Australian Antarctic Division that gave me my first trip to Antarctica, leading to several more and a continued inspiration for work and knowledge.

Where have your works been published?

I had a syndicated children’s page, The Tales Of Wombat Creek that appeared in newspapers across Australia and Internationally for over 20 years. Most of my books have been published in Australia and New Zealand, with some in USA, Canada and UK.

What are you passionate about?

I am passionate about helping students to be inspired by the world around them. We all have different stories and different voices of expression and helping students to trust and be surprised by their own voice is vitally important to me.

Haven’t I seen you before?

Every now and then, in the supermarket line, someone will say to me…I saw you in that ABC series last year, Who’s Been Sleeping In My House.

Anything else you’d like to share with us?

I love drawing as much as I love researching. My journals are as full of sketches as they are of notes.