Reading lists and articles featuring Jackie French

Jackie French Biography

Early Life

Jacqueline Anne French AM, professionally known as Jackie French, was born as Jacqueline Anne Ffrench on November 29, 1953, in Sydney, Australia. She grew up in Brisbane, attending Brisbane State High School.

Career

Jackie French started her writing career at the age of 30 when she needed money to register her car. Her debut book for children, “Rain Stones,” marked the beginning of her prolific career. French has authored various genres, including fictional, factional, and non-fictional accounts of Australian history. Notable works include “Nanberry: Black Brother White,” “Diary of a Wombat,” “The Girl from Snowy River,” and more.

She has contributed to the Australian Curriculum with several recommended books. French’s royalties from “The Hairy-Nosed Wombats Find a New Home” are dedicated to wombat preservation and research.

Jackie French’s books, such as “Hitler’s Daughter” and “Pete the Sheep,” have been adapted for the stage by Monkey BAA Theatre Company. She is also a regular contributor to the Australian Women’s Weekly and the Canberra Times, and she presented gardening segments on the TV series Burke’s Backyard.

Awards and Recognition

Jackie French has received more than 60 awards in Australia and overseas. Several of her books have been shortlisted for Australian and United States awards. In 2014, she was honored with the Queensland Literary Awards Griffith University Children’s Book Award and the Children’s Book Council of Australia Book of the Year Notable Award for “Refuge.”

She served as the Australian Children’s Laureate for 2014-15 and was named the Senior Australian of the Year in 2015. In 2016, French was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia for her significant service to literature and advocacy for improved youth literacy. She also received the Australian Book Industry Awards Pixie O’Harris award in 2016.

Personal Life

Jackie French lives in Braidwood, New South Wales, with her second husband, Bryan Sullivan. Together, they have transformed their property into a conservation refuge for the area’s rare and endangered species.

Jackie French, dyslexic herself, studied the behavior and ecology of wombats for 40 years. She is the ambassador and former director of The Wombat Foundation, advocating for wombat preservation. French is actively involved in various literary and dyslexia-related organizations, serving as an ambassador and patron.