Corinne Fenton
Corinne Fenton has a passion for picture books, especially those that have a connection with history. Her picture books are read by four to ninety-four year olds.
Meet the Speaker
What other jobs have you had?
I loved books from a very young age and began writing poetry at primary school. Before I became a writer I worked as a Secretary, Chamber-maid, Waitress, Nanny and Executive Assistant. For a while I also cooked chicken for Kentucky Fried, but I don’t tell many people that.
What themes are recurring in your work?
My stories have an element of social history and their characters are usually animals.
What have been the highlights of your career?
Holding my first picture book Queenie: One Elephant’s Story in my hands. Receiving CBCA Awards for Queenie, The Dog on the Tuckerbox, Bob the Railway Dog and My Friend Tertius. Attending the Bologna Book Fair in Italy in March 2010 and seeing my picture books showcased there. Having my books Little Dog and the Christmas Wish and One Christmas Eve chosen as the themes for the Myer Christmas Windows in 2015 and 2016. Seeing my words become beautiful illustrations is one thing but also seeing them come to life in the Myer windows was a humbling experience. In 2017 the Eltham Library held an exhibition of my works 'Words and Windows' and the works of the illustrators I've worked with. In Melbourne's Block Arcade there is a small likeness of myself which was part of the characters in the 2015 windows. It resides in a glass case as this is where I started writing Little Dog and the Christmas Wish, at a table at the Hopetoun Tea Rooms in the Block Arcade.
Where have your works been published?
Many of my picture books have been published in my home city of Melbourne by wonderful Melbourne publisher, Black Dog Books which later became an imprint of Walker Books Australia. I have also had books published by Allen and Unwin in Melbourne, Ford Street Publishing in Melbourne, Candlewick USA and The Five Mile Press in Melbourne. Around 20 education titles have been published by different educational publishers and many of these appear in other languages around the world. I have a title coming out in October 2019 with New Frontier, which will be released in Australia and the UK simultaneously.
What are you passionate about?
Producing beautiful picture books and making sure that every word has the right to be there.
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