Libby Hathorn is an Australian award-winning author and poet of more than  eighty books for children and young people.

Her recent picture book No! Never! written with her daughter Lisa Hathorn-Jarman, won the CBCA Children’s Picture Book of the Year Award, Younger Readers, 2021, Hachette Australia.

Translated into several languages and adapted for stage and screen, her work has won honours in Australia, United States, Great Britain and Holland.

She is the recipient of The Lady Cutler Award 2020 for distinguished services to Australian children’s literature.

Among other awards, Libby was recipient of a Centenary Medal 2003 for her work in children’s literature. In 1994, her picture book Way Home was the winner of the Kate Greenaway Award, UK for illustrations by Greg Rogers.

In 2012 she was a National Ambassador for Reading and travelled to many country towns to talk about Australian literature as she did in her role as Australia Day Ambassador since 1994.

In 2014 she was winner of The Alice Award, a national award for ‘a woman who has made a distinguished and long term contribution to Australian literature.’

In 2017 Libby was the winner of the Asher Literary Award for A Soldier, A Dog, A Boy. This award is for a woman writer on the theme of peace, the first time the text of a picture book was awarded the prize.

She is a literary judge for children’s books and poetry. More recently Libby was Chair of the Premier’s Literary Awards for NSW – Patricia Wrightson Awards.

One of her young adult novels Thunderwith was made a movie by Hallmark Hall of Fame titled The Echo of Thunder starring Judy Davis. Two of Libby’s picture books have been adapted as operas: Grandma’s Shoes and Sky Sash So Blue, which was first performed in the United States.

A recent interest in animation has led to her producing her story What Rosie Hears, a short animation about a hearing impaired child, which is currently being distributed worldwide.

With a deep love of literature, poetry continues to inform her life and her writing.

Major Themes of Libby Hathorn’s Work

These are concerned with the rights of children and the importance of nurturing them in every way; the value of simple acts of kindness; and love and respect for the natural world, so often celebrated through the great poets.

Libby’s Agent

Fiona Inglis at Curtis Brown, Sydney.

www.curtisbrown.com.au/contact