Mardi McConnochie

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Mardi McConnochie (born 2 February 1971) is an Australian author and playwright. She is the author of three novels, Coldwater (2001), The Snow Queen (2003), Fivestar (2005), several plays and two books for children, Melissa, Queen of Evil (2006) and Melissa, Queen of Evil (2007).

Born in Armidale, New South Wales, McConnochie was raised in Adelaide, South Australia. She has a PhD in English Literature from the University of Sydney.

McConnochie's novels, which have been praised for their vigorous plotting, vivid characterisation and humour, have consistently grappled with questions about celebrity and the possibilities open to women and women artists. The first, Coldwater, which was one of The Washington Post's Books of the Year and was shortlisted for the Commonwealth Writers Prize for Best First Book (SE Asia and Pacific Region) transplants the Brontë sisters to a penal colony off the New South Wales Coast, using the plight of the three to explore different approaches to art, life and love. The second, The Snow Queen is set in Adelaide and tells the story of a former Russian ballerina stranded in post-war Australia, sensitively exploring the obstacles artists trapped far from the centre face in trying to find voices of their own. It saw her voted one of The Sydney Morning Herald's Best Young Australian Novelists. The third, Fivestar focuses on contemporary notions of celebrity, charting the rise and fall of an antipodean girl group more than a little reminiscent of The Spice Girls. Melissa, Queen of Evil, her first novel for children, won the 2006 Aurealis Award for Best Children's Novel.

As well as novels, McConnochie has written for the stage and for television. Her television credits include Home and Away, Always Greener, McLeod's Daughters and Pacific Drive.

McConnochie lives in Sydney with her partner, the novelist, James Bradley.