Libby Hathorn is an Australian writer. She has received many awards for her books, some of which have been translated into several languages. In 2003 she was awarded a Centenary Medal for her contribution to children’s literature.
Hathorn was born in Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia and is an award-winning writer for children. Her stories have been translated into several languages and adapted for stage and screen.[1] Her work has won honours in Australia as well as in the United States, United Kingdom and Holland. She was awarded a Centenary Medal in 2003.
Hallmark Hall of Fame has made a movie of her best-selling young adult novel, Thunderwith, re-titled The Echo of Thunder. It starred Judy Davis, who was nominated for an Emmy Award in the US for her performance as Gladwyn.[2] In 2004, Libby’s children’s picture storybook, Sky Sash So Blue, published in the United States, was performed as an opera in Birmingham, Alabama. Previously, Grandma’s Shoes was performed as an opera by Opera Australia and Theatre of Image. Libby was awarded an AWGIE for the libretto based on this picture storybook, in 2001. More recently, her CDROM series "Weirdstop" won the Australian Interactive Media Industry Awards (AIMIA), 2004 as Best Children’s Product; and in 2005 the New South Wales Society of Women Writers’ Bi-annual Award for Older Readers. "Wonderstop" won the Energy Australia National trust Heritage Award (Education) 2007.
Libby lectures part-time in Creative Writing at Sydney University. As an Australia Day Ambassador, she travels to country towns each year where she talks about the importance of Australian literature. Libby’s novel, Letters to a Princess, (ABC) was released September, 2007. Her recently completed historical novel, Georgiana: Woman of Flower's (Hachette Livre) as well as the play based on her picture storybook, The Tram to Bondi Beach (Currency Press) were all released in 2008.
Libby is currently working on an arts project entitled "100 Views" in several schools, both in Australia and internationally. "100 Views" celebrates community through poetry, artwork and a festival.