Sherryl Clark

Author

Sherryl Clark writes stories for all ages – from picture books to verse novels and novels for middle/older readers. She loves inventing characters and doing research, and then weaving the amazing things she discovers into all kinds of stories.

Where were you born?

I was born in New Zealand and spent the first 16 years of my life on a farm. I always wanted to get away from it and travel!

What other jobs have you had?

I started my working life as a librarian, but since then I’ve been a waitress, a secretary, a typesetter, a community arts worker and a writing teacher. Most jobs seem to have been about books and writing in some way.

What themes are recurring in your work?

I write a lot about characters who start out being powerless and then find a way to change their lives. I guess I believe in the possibility of transformation and change, and I like to write stories where that happens to my characters. I also have discovered a love of research, and using it in all kinds of historical stories (like pirates).

What have been the highlights of your career?

In 2005, my book Farm Kid won the NSW Premier’s Literary Award – Patricia Wrightson Prize, and it was a wonderful surprise to receive a letter from her afterwards. Sixth Grade Style Queen (Not!) was a CBCA Honour Book in 2008, and that was very special, too.

Where have your works been published?

Most of my children’s books have been published in Australia, but some have also been published in the UK and the USA. My YA novel Bone Song was published in the UK. I’ve also had a lot of poems and some short stories published in journals.

What are you passionate about?

I’m passionate about getting kids to read. It’s not just that I have always been an avid reader myself, and love that sense of entering another world, it’s also that I see reading as fundamental to nearly everything we do or can achieve.