Isobelle Jane Carmody (born 16 June 1958) is an Australian writer of science fiction, fantasy, children's literature, and young adult literature. She is recipient of the Aurealis Award for best children's fiction.
Biography
Isobelle Carmody was born in Wangaratta on 16 June 1958, the eldest of eight children. She continued to work on them while completing a Bachelor of Arts, majoring in literature and philosophy; she worked in public relations and journalism.
Obernewtyn, her first novel and the first book in the Obernewtyn series, was published in 1987.
She was Guest of Honour at the 2007 Australian National Science Fiction Convention, Convergence 2, held in Melbourne in June 2007.
Personal
Her partner is Jan Stolba, a Czech musician and poet.
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| 1990 || The Farseekers || Penguin Books, paperback, || Obernewtyn Chronicles – Book 2 || Honour book for 1991 Children's Book of the Year for Older Readers
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| 1991 || Scatterlings || || ||
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| 1 June 1993 || The Gathering || Puffin Books, paperback, || ||
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| February 1995 || Ashling || Penguin Books, paperback, || Obernewtyn Chronicles – Book 3 || Shortlisted for 1996 Aurealis Award for Best Young-Adult Novel
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| 1996 || Green Monkey Dreams || || || Short story collection (see below)
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| 1 September 1997 || Greylands || Puffin Books, paperback, || || Won the 1998 Aurealis Award for best young-adult novel
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| 1997 || Darkfall || Penguin Books, paperback, || Legendsong Saga – Book 1 || Shortlisted 1998 Aurealis Award for Best Fantasy, shortlisted Ditmar Award for Best Long Fiction
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| 1998 || This Way Out: Five Plays || || || With Steve Taylor
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| 1999 || The Keeping Place || Penguin Books, paperback, || Obernewtyn Chronicles – Book 4 ||
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| 2000 || Billy Thunder and the Night Gate || Penguin Books, paperback, || Gateway Trilogy – Book 1 || Also published as Night Gate
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| 2002 || Darksong || Penguin Books, paperback, || Legendsong Saga – Book 2 ||
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| 29 September 2003 || The Winter Door || Penguin Books, paperback, || Gateway Trilogy – Book 2 || Also published as Winter Door
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| 2004 || Angel Fever || Lothian Books, paperback, || Quentaris Chronicles ||
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| 2005 || The Cat Dreamer || Lothian Books, paperback, || Quentaris Chronicles ||
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| 26 September 2005 || Alyzon Whitestarr || Penguin Books, paperback, || || Won the 2005 Aurealis Award for best young-adult novel and the 2005 Golden Aurealis for best novel
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| 2005 || Little Fur || Puffin Books, paperback, || The Legend of Little Fur – Book 1 ||
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| 2006 || A Fox Called Sorrow || Puffin Books, paperback, || The Legend of Little Fur – Book 2 ||
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| 2007 || A Mystery of Wolves || Puffin Books, paperback, || The Legend of Little Fur – Book 3 ||
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| 4 February 2008 || The Stone Key || Penguin Books, paperback, || Obernewtyn Chronicles – Book 5 || Published as two books, Wavesong & The Stone Key, in UK, Canada and US
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| 1 November 2008 || A Riddle of Green || Puffin Books, paperback, || The Legend of Little Fur – Book 4 ||
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| 2010 || The Red Wind || Puffin Books, paperback, || The Kingdom of the Lost – Book 1 ||
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| 31 October 2011 || The Sending || Penguin Books, paperback, || Obernewtyn Chronicles – Book 6 ||
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| 24 April 2013 || The Cloud Road || Puffin Books, paperback, || The Kingdom of the Lost – Book 2 ||
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| 12 November 2015 || The Red Queen || Penguin Books, paperback, || Obernewtyn Chronicles – Book 7 ||
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| 3 July 2017 || The Ice Maze || Viking, hardback, || The Kingdom of the Lost – Book 3 ||
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| 29 October 2024 || Comes the Night || A&U Children's, paperback, |||| Shortlisted CBCA Book of the Year, Older Readers, 2025. Shortlisted John Marsden Book of the Year for Older Children, Australian Book Industry Awards, 2025. Shortlisted Indie Young Adult Book Awards, 2025 ||
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| Forthcoming || Darkbane || || Legendsong Saga – Book 3 ||
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| Forthcoming || Firecat's Dream || || Gateway Trilogy – Book 3 ||
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| Forthcoming || The Velvet City || || The Kingdom of the Lost – Book 4 ||
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{| class="wikitable"
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|+ Short stories
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! Collection !! Title !! Date first published !! Notes
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| rowspan="2"| After Dark || The Red Shoes || 1996 || rowspan="2"| pub. 2000
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| The Landlord || 2000
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| Dark House || A Splinter of Darkness || 1995 || ed. Gary Crew
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| Dream Weavers || The Keystone || 1996 || ed. Paul Collins
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| Dreaming Again || Perchance to Dream || 2008 || ed. Jack Dann
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| Dreaming Down-Under || The Man Who Lost His Shadow || 1998 || ed. Jack Dann, Janeen Webb
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| rowspan="2"| Exotic Gothic || The Stranger || 2009 || rowspan="2"| ed. Danel Olson
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| Metro Winds || 2012
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| Gathering the Bones || The Dove Game || 2003 || ed. Ramsey Campbell, Jack Dann, Dennis Etchison
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| rowspan="11"| Green Monkey Dreams || Corfu || 1985 || rowspan="11"| pub. 1996
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| The Witch Seed || 1992
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| Seek No More || 1992
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| The Pumpkin Eater || 1994
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| The Monster Game || 1994
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| Green Monkey Dreams || 1995
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| The Phoenix || rowspan="5"| 1996
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| The Glory Days
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| The Beast
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| The Lemming Factor
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| The Red Shoes
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| Into the Future || Roaches || 1991 || ed. Toss Gascoigne, Jo Goodman, Margot Tyrrell
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| Kids' Night in 2 || Santorini || 2005 || ed. Jessica Adams et al.
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| Legends of Australian Fantasy || The Dark Road: An Obernewtyn Story || || ed. Jack Dann, Jonathan Strahan
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| The Lottery: Nine Science Fiction Stories || Long Live the Giant! || 1994 || ed. Lucy Sussex
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| The Road to Camelot || Guinevere, or the Sleeping of Beauty || 2002 || ed. Sophie Masson
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| Trust Me Too || The Journey || 2012 ||
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| Under My Hat || The Stone Witch || 2012 ||
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Picture books
- Journey From the Centre of the Earth (2003), illustrated by Marc McBride
- Wildheart (2002), illustrated by Steven Woolman
- Dreamwalker (2000), a story in graphic novel form, illustrated by Steven Woolman
- The Wrong Thing (2006), illustrated by Declan Lee (rewritten for the US/Canada and published as Magic Night)
- Night School (2010), illustrated by Anne Spudvilas
- Evermore (2015), illustrated by Daniel Reed
Awards
2025 - Children's Book Council of Australia Awards
::* Older Readers Book of the Year: shortlisted for Comes the Night
2011 – Children's Book Council of Australia Awards
::* Younger Readers Book of the Year: winner for The Red Wind
2008 – Aurealis Awards
::* Young Adult Novel: Shortlisted for The Stone Key
2007 – Aurealis Awards
::* Children's Novel: shortlisted for A Fox Called Sorrow
2006 – ABPA Book Design Awards
::* Fiction: winner for Little Fur: the Legend of Little Fur
2006 – Aurealis Awards
::* Book of the Year for Older Readers: joint winner for The Gathering
1994 – W.A. Young Readers Book Award (WAYRA)
::* Second for The Gathering
1993 – Children's Peace Literature Award (PEACE)
::* Best Book: joint winner for The Gathering
1992 – 3M Talking Book Award – (NSW)
::* Talking Book: Winner for Scatterlings
1991 – The Children's Book Council of Australia Awards
::* Book of the Year for Older Readers: shortlisted for Obernewtyn: The Obernewtyn Chronicles
A more complete list of Isobelle Carmody's nominations and awards can be found on the author profile at Penguin Books
References
External links
- Isobelle Carmody: The Official Website
- Obernewtyn.net: The Official Obernewtyn Chronicles Fansite
- The Slipstream: Isobelle Carmody's blog
- Isobelle Carmody in conversation with Susan Johnson, State Library of Queensland