Victoria Carless

Author, Playwright

Victoria is an author and playwright with a special interest in writing and teaching magic realism. She has written books for middle grade and young adult readers, and her workshops and talks are suitable for upper primary and secondary school students.

What other jobs have you had?

I worked at Woolworths during high school and had a pretty bad scanning rate as I was always daydreaming at the checkouts. I scored well on the fruit and veg quizzes though. In recent years I’ve worked in libraries, as a communications advisor and taught creative writing.

What themes are recurring in your work?

Magic realism, that is, where a familiar world/ setting is imbued with elements of magic.  I love reading and writing stories about enchanted places, objects or moments. My characters often discover they have ‘powers’ such as seeing ghosts (Gus and the Starlight), even if they don’t really want these so called powers.

I find moments of magic realism work well when paired with a story steeped in hard-boiled realism, for example the gritty reality of a family or community experiencing socio-economic challenges. I love it when characters are released even momentarily from the difficulties of their everyday lives to experience moments of transcendence. Magic can also be a great equalizer.

Science also comes up a lot in my stories, in particular astronomy and environmental science or Green STEM. I am not an expert on any of these but I am a research nerd who loves to read about science-y topics.

Family as well as how to be a good friend are also themes I love to explore in my stories.

What have been the highlights of your career?

Messages from readers about how my books have made them feel or think in a new way about things are so lovely to receive.

And it’s always a highlight to chat with students after workshops and school visits. These students are usually the quieter ones, the secret writers who want to share their work or ask a burning question about writing. You are my tribe and it’s so wonderful to meet you and a privilege to read your work.

Where have your works been published?

Australia and New Zealand

What are you passionate about?

Stories, all kinds, I want to read them all. Learning new things, whether it be through reading or writing. All children having the opportunity to read quality books, and opportunities for regional and remote students to hear and tell their stories. 

Haven’t I seen you before?

I played a nurse once on a TV show called Blue Heelers. It was a hospital scene.  My line was: “Clear!”.  That was it.

After that, I decided to stick to writing. If you missed my TV debut, you can find me on Instagram – @victoria.carless and at my website – www.victoriacarless.com