Ivan Southall

Ivan Southall (born June 8, 1921) is a celebrated Australian writer, particularly of children's books. Some of his well-known books include "Hills End", "Ash Road", "Josh", and "Let the Balloon Go". Also notable is "Fly West", a book of true stories based on his experiences flying in Short Sunderland seaplanes during the Second World War.

A retrospective exhibition "Southall A-Z: Ash Road to Ziggurat" was held in the State Library of Victoria in 1998 and is available online. It includes an interview conducted in 1997, a biography, bibliography and exhibition of covers with information about the books. [ [http://www.det.wa.edu.au/education/cmis/eval/fiction/authors/at19.htm#isouthall CMIS Focus on Fiction] ]

Awards

Ivan Southall won the 1971 Carnegie Medal for "Josh", the first Australian novel to win the award. [ [http://www.ilab.org/db/book37_14548.html "Josh" at ILAB] ]

"Ash Road", "To the Wild Sky", "Bread and Honey" and "Fly West" won the CBCA Australian Children's Book of the Year. "The Long Night Watch" was belatedly recognized by the Phoenix Award in 2003.

Ivan Southall was appointed to the Order of Australia in 1981. [ [http://www.chapters.indigo.ca/books/Ziggurat-A-Masterpiece-Ivan-Southall/9780670877706-item.html Information from Penguin Australia] ] In 2003 he was awarded the Dromkeen Medal, further recognizing his part in advancing children's literature in Australia.cite web |title= Dromkeen Medal |publisher= Scholastic |url= http://www.scholastic.com.au/common/dromkeen/medal.asp |accessdate= 2007-07-15]

elected bibliography

Non-fiction
*"They Shall Not Pass Unseen" (1956)
*"Journey into Mystery" (1961)
*"Indonesia Face to Face" (1964)
*"Lawrence Hargrave" in the "Six Great Australians" series (1964)
*"Rockets in the Desert: The Story of Woomera" (1965)
*"The Challenge: Is the Church Obsolete?" (1966)
*"Parson on the Track" (1961)
*"Fly West" (1976)Fiction
*"Meet Simon Black" (1950)
*"Hills End" (1962)
*"Ash Road" (1966)
*"Let the Balloon Go" (1968)
*"To the Wild Sky" (1968)
*"Sly Old Wardrobe" (1969) (pictures by Ted Greenwood)
*"Josh" (1971)
*"Bread and Honey" (1971)
*"The Long Night Watch" (1983)
*"Blackbird" (1988)
*"Ziggurat" (1997)

Notes

External links

* [http://pandora.nla.gov.au/pan/44356/20040907-0000/www.statelibrary.vic.gov.au/slv/exhibitions/southall/index.html Retrospective: "Southall A-Z: Ash Road to Ziggurat"]