Eleanor Nilsson
Eleanor Nilsson
Eleanor has had twenty-four books published for children, from picture books to young adult novels. These include A Bush Birthday, Parrot Fashion and Tatty in picture books; Heffalump?, A Naughty Magpie and Pomily’s Wish for very young readers; The Black Duck, The 89th Kitten and No One for young readers; and The House Guest, Outside Permission and Graffiti Dog for young adults. She has also written one book for adults, Writing for Children.
The House Guest won three awards in 1992: Australian Children’s Book of the Year Award (Older Readers), Victorian Premier’s Literary Award (Children’s Books), and SA Festival Award for Literature (Children’s Books). It was also translated into Dutch, and in 1996 was shortlisted for The Gold and Silver Pencil Award in Holland. In 1991 The Black Duck was shortlisted for the Australian Children’s Book of the Year Award (Younger Readers).
Eleanor was born in Stirling, Scotland, but has lived in Adelaide since she was twelve. She has worked as a teacher at secondary and tertiary levels. She has two adult children and four grandchildren. The two youngest, Sam and Sofia, have already started writing their own novels.