Natalie Jane Prior

Natalie Jane Prior is an Australian writer of children's literature and young-adult fiction.

Biography

Prior was born in 1963 in Brisbane, Australia, where she also currently lives with her husband and daughter.^[1] Her first fiction book, The Amazing Adventures of Amabel, was published in 1990 and her internationally successful children's fantasy series, Lily Quench, has been published in more than twenty countries.^[2] Prior's work has been a finalist at the Children's Book Council of Australia Awards as well as being honoured and named as notable.^[2] Her work, Fireworks and Darkness, won the 2003 Davitt Awards for best young-adult novel and her work, Lily Quench and the Lighthouse of Skellig Mor won the 2003 Aurealis Award for best children's short fiction.^[3][4] She has also been nominated for an Aurealis Award on three other occasions for best short fiction, long fiction and young-adult novel.^[5]

Bibliography

Novels

• The Amazing Adventures of Amabel (1990)
• Amabel Abroad (1992)
• Tasha's Witch (1995)
• Yesterday's Heroes (1995)
• West End Shuffle (1996)
• London Calling (1997)
• The Loft (1997)
• Squish (2002)

Lily Quench

• Lily Quench And The Dragon Of Ashby (1999)
• Lily Quench and the Black Mountains (2001)
• Lily Quench and the Treasure of Mote Ely (2002)
• Lily Quench and the Lighthouse Of Skellig Mor (2003)
• Lily Quench and the Magician's Pyramid (2003)
• Lily Quench and the Hand of Manuelo (2004, aka The Secret of Manuelo in the UK)
• Lily Quench and the Search for King Dragon (2004)
• Lily Quench's Companion: And Guide to Dragons and the Art of Quenching (2007)

The Ostermark novels

• Fireworks and Darkness (2002)
• The Star Locket (2006)

The Dolls

• Fashion Follies (2005)
• Susannah's Notebook (2005)
• Horse Fever (2005)
• Kiki's Caravan (2006)

The Minivers

• Minivers On the Run (2008)
• Minivers Fight Back (2009, known as Minivers in Danger in the UK)
• Minivers and the Most Secret Room (2010, known as Minivers and the Secret Room in the UK)
• Minivers Forever (2011; forthcoming)

Picture books

The Paw (with illustrator Terry Denton)

• The Paw (1993)
• The Paw in Destination: Brazil (1995)
• The Paw in The Purple Diamond (1998)
• The Paw Collection (2007, omnibus of the three books with new b/w artwork)

Other books

• Minnie Pearl and the Undersea Bazaar (2007; illustrator Cheryl Orsini)
• Star (2008; illustrator Anna Pignataro)
• Sun (2008; illustrator Anna Pignataro)

Non fiction

• Bog Bodies, Mummies and Curious Corpses (1994)
• Mysterious Ruins, Lost Cities and Buried Treasure (1994)
• Dance Crazy: Star Turns from Ballet to Belly Dancing (1995)
• Caves, Graves, and Catacombs: Secrets from Beneath the Earth (1996)
• The Demidenko Diary (1996)
• Cleopatra: Last Queen of Egypt (1998)
• Nero: Evil Emperor of Rome (1998)
• Chewing Gum: How it Fed the Gods, Went into Space and Helped Win the War (2000)
• The Recorder: How it Changed the World, Saved the Universe and Topped the Charts (2000)
• Chocolate: How it Saved a Life, Built a City and Conquered the World (2000)
• The Encyclopedia of Preserved People: Pickled, Frozen, and Mummified Corpses from Around the World (2002)

nataliejaneprior.com,