Sandy Fussell is the best-selling author of books and short stories for young people.
Polar Boy was shortlisted for Children’s Book Council of Australia (CBCA) Book of the Year and Jaguar Warrior was a CBCA Notable.
The Samurai Kids series garnered an International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY) award for Outstanding Books for Readers with Disabilities three CBCA Book of the Year Notables, the Sakura Medal (Japan), Listener Top 50 Books (NZ) and was a Junior Library Guild selection in the US.
Her picture book, Sad, the Dog, was recommended in a New York Times review and listed in the Sydney Morning Herald Children’s Books of the Year.
She is an ICT consultant (who probably wrote the software that mailed out your Uni results), in-schools Literary Festival Co-ordinator at The Story Crowd, children’s book reviewer for the Sunday Telegraph Funday supplement and one subject short of an Industrial Maths and Computing degree.
Sandy loves to talk and has presented at writers’ festivals from Perth to Sydney, from Melbourne to Mackay. Enthusiastic about school visits, cultural diversity in literature and ICT in education, Sandy is often found in a school library waving her practice sword or teaching a Minecraft-based writing workshop. She presented a master class for children at the Sydney Writers Festival and moonlights in the office at the South Coast Writers Centre.
Her biggest claim to fame is a star in the main street of Grenfell, as guest of Honour of the Henry Lawson Festival of the Arts, along with legitimately famous literary people like Patrick White and Thomas Keneally.
Having survived three life-threatening illnesses in the last seven years, she knows for certain the glass is always half–full.
Contact me here.
12 things about me….
1. I giggle when I run. I try not to but the only way I can stop is not to run.
2. I once picked a snake out of the bathroom drawer thinking it was a toothbrush.
3. I like frogs. I had two tree frogs called Fat Boy Slim and Green Guy.
4. I love sushi, chocolate and ice-cream. In that order.
5. My favourite book is The Eye of the Sheep by Sofie Laguna.
6. My favourite book is The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo
7. You can’t trust me when I tell you my favourite book. I keep changing my mind.
8. At University I studied Industrial Mathematics and Computing
9. I almost died twice. I am too busy to die.
10. My favourite words are snizzle, screak and fusty (look them up, I dare you!)
11. I am interested in de-extinction. I want to see the thylacine live again.
12. I have one sister and she is my best friend.
12 more things about me….
13. My favourite series is Brotherband by John Flanagan.
14. My favourite series is Duncton Wood by William Horwood
15. You cannot trust me when I tell you my favourite series. I keep changing my mind.
16. I can play the violin abysmally and I’m even worse on the shakuhachi flute
17. I am afraid of samurai swords, polar bears, grizzly bears and lava flows.
18. I think numbers are fun because you can make patterns out of them.
19. I think words are fun because you can make patterns out of them
20. I went to Egypt to touch the pyramids.
21. I collect Pokemon cards and I love Lego. Especially Ninjago
22. I am interested in family history even though all my ancestors were very ordinary.
23. I am very ordinary.
24. But I am a little bit famous. In the streets of Grenfell there are stars in the pavement, embossed with the names of Nobel prize writers, international films stars, national heroes and… me. It’s true. You can read the story here…
and that’s more than enough about me.
