Claire Zorn

Australian writer of young adult fiction

Claire Zorn (born in Penrith, New South Wales^[1]) is an Australian writer of young adult fiction. She was awarded the CBCA Children's Book of the Year Award: Older Readers in 2015 and 2017.

Personal life

Zorn grew up in the Blue Mountains^[1] and attended St Columba's Catholic College.^[2] She holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts and a post graduate diploma in writing^[3] from University of Technology Sydney.^[4] As a writer of both fiction and non-fiction, her work has been published in literary journals including Wet Ink and the Overland Literary Journal,^[5] and she blogs.^[6] She is a Christian and has spoken publicly about how her faith influences her writing. She says she tries to view her characters with the same compassion and judgement as Christ views people.^[7]

Published works and awards

The Sky So Heavy (2013). University of Queensland Press. ISBN 9780702249761Set in the Blue Mountains, Zorn's first novel tells the story of a group of teenagers struggling to survive a nuclear winter.
- Honour Book 2014 Children's Book Council of Australia Award for Older Readers
- Shortlisted 2014 Inky Gold Award
- Shortlisted 2014 Aurealis Awards – Best Young Adult Novel
- Shortlisted 2015 REAL Children's Choice Award – Fiction for Years 7-9^[8]
The Protected (2014). University of Queensland Press. ISBN 9780702250194^[9]
- Winner, Prime Minister's Literary Awards 2015 – Young Adult Fiction
- Winner of the 2015 Victorian Premier's Literary Award for Young Adult
- Winner, 2015 CBCA Book of the Year for Older Readers
- Shortlisted, 2015 Inky Gold Award
- Selected in New Zealand Listener's Top 50 Children's Books for 2014
One Would Think the Deep (2016). University of Queensland Press. ISBN 9780702253942^[10] A novel about a 17-year-old boy learning to deal with the death of his mother and life in a small coastal town.
- Winner, 2017 CBCA Book of the Year for Older Readers^[11]
When We Are Invisible (2021). University of Queensland Press. ISBN 9780702263132. Sequel to The Sky So Heavy.
- Shortlisted, 2022 Adelaide Festival Awards for Literature – Young Adult Fiction Award^[12]

References

^ ^a ^b "Claire Zorn - Booked Out". Booked Out. Retrieved 18 August 2017.
^ Stanisic, Annabella Noussis (2016). "Year 10 Author Visit" (PDF). The Dove. St Columba's Catholic College. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 February 2017. Retrieved 18 August 2017.
^ "The Sky So Heavy Teacher's notes". University of Queensland Press. Retrieved 18 August 2017.
^ Arts, Department of Communications and the (5 August 2016). "The Protected by Claire Zorn". www.arts.gov.au. Archived from the original on 19 August 2017. Retrieved 19 August 2017.
^ "Author biography". Overland. 2011.
^ "Claire Zorn". Claire Zorn. Retrieved 18 August 2017.
^ "Sydney Writers' Festival: What's God Got to do with It?". 10 May 2019.
^ "UQP - The Sky So Heavy". www.uqp.uq.edu.au. Retrieved 18 August 2017.
^ "The Sky so heavy Teacher's notes" (PDF). University of Queensland Press.
^ "One would think the deep. Teacher's notes" (PDF). University of Queensland Press.
^ Convery, Stephanie; Harmon, Steph (17 August 2017). "Claire Zorn's grief-and-surfing story wins children's book of the year award". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 19 August 2017.
^ "2022 Adelaide Festival Awards for Literature shortlists announced". Books+Publishing. 19 January 2022. Retrieved 26 January 2022.