Children’s author, speaker, storyteller
Lian Tanner has worked as a teacher, a tourist bus driver, a juggler, an editor and a professional actor. She has been dynamited while scuba diving and arrested while busking. She once spent a week in the jungles of Papua New Guinea, hunting for a Japanese soldier left over from the Second World War. It took her a while to realise that all this was preparation for becoming a writer.
Lian’s books include the best-selling Keepers trilogy, the Hidden series, the Rogues trilogy, A Clue for Clara, Rita’s Revenge, and picture book Ella and the Ocean (illustrated by Jonathan Bentley). Her books have been translated into eleven languages and won many awards, including two Aurealis Awards for Best Australian Children’s Fantasy.
New releases in 2023 are Spellhound, a whimsical fantasy for 7-11 year olds, and When the Lights Went Out, a picture book illustrated by Jonathan Bentley.
Lian is a captivating speaker for both children and adults, and delights in encouraging creativity and imagination. She has been an ambassador for the National Year of Reading, and Books in Homes.
Most recent awards:
- 2022 Minister for the Arts Prize for Children’s Books (Tasmanian Literary Awards), Ella and the Ocean
- 2021 Sister’s-in-Crime Davitt Award for Best Children’s Crime Novel, A Clue for Clara
- 2020 Patricia Wrightson Prize for Children’s Literature (NSW Premier’s Literary Awards), Ella and the Ocean
