We’re getting close now to the Top 10 of #ausfaveauthor! Today we reveal the authors who came in at numbers 20-11.

After an Australia-wide call for nominations, a week of voting in 5 Heats, and a further week of voting in the Finals, we’ve finally collated all your votes and are ready to announce your Favourite Australian Authors for 2017!

We received thousands of votes, so thank you all for taking the time to do so. Your authors thank you, and hopefully they’ll pen another book as a sign of their gratitude.

Today we take a look at your favourite authors, 20-11. Congratulations to all the authors! In the below list, we have an amazing collection of Australian authors, from children’s author Paul Jennings to award-winning Hannah Kent, and iconic Australian author Banjo Paterson.

Every day this week we have been counting down your Favourite Australian Authors, all leading up to the big reveal tomorrow, where we’ll be announcing your Top 10 and your Favourite Australian Author!

Australia’s Favourite Australian Authors: 20-11

20. Emily Rodda

Emily Rodda’s first book, Something Special, was published in 1984. It marked the beginning of a career that has seen her become one of the most successful, prolific and versatile writers in Australia. She has won the Children’s Book Council of Australia Book of the Year Award for a record five times.

A former editor of The Women’s Weekly, Emily is also the best-selling author of adult mysteries under her own name of Jennifer Rowe. Her children’s books, for a range of ages and genres, exhibit a mastery of plot and character. She has been a full-time writer since 1994; she is well-known for her Deltora Quest series. Visit Emily’s Booktopia author page.

19. Geraldine Brooks

Australian-born Geraldine Brooks worked as a reporter for The Sydney Morning Herald for three years as a feature writer and also worked for The Wall Street Journal. She was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in fiction in 2006 for her novel March.

Her novels, Caleb’s Crossing and People of the Book, were New York Times bestsellers. Her first novel, Year of Wonders is an international bestseller, translated into more than 25 languages. She is also the author of the acclaimed non-fiction works Nine Parts of Desire, Foreign Correspondence and The Idea of Home. Her most recent title is The Secret Chord. Visit Geraldine’s Booktopia author page.

18. Hannah Kent

Hannah Kent is a Melbourne-based writer, born in Adelaide in 1985. Her first novel, Burial Rites, has been translated into over twenty languages and was shortlisted for the Baileys Women’s Prize for Fiction (formerly the Orange Prize) and the Guardian First Book Award. It won the ABIA Literary Fiction Book of the Year, the Indie Awards Debut Fiction Book of the Year and the Victorian Premier’s People’s Choice Award, and has most recently been long-listed for the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award.

Her second novel, The Good People, is set in pre-famine rural Ireland. Listen to Hannah chatting with us about The Good People. Hannah is also the co-founder and publishing director of Australian literary journal Kill Your Darlings. Visit Hannah’s Booktopia author page.

17. Jackie French

Jackie was the Australian Children’s Laureate for 2014/15 and the 2015 Senior Australian of the Year. She is also an historian, ecologist, dyslexic, and a passionate worker for literacy; she believes in the right of all children to be able to read, and the power of books.

Jackie’s writing career spans 25 years, 148 wombats, over 140 books, 36 languages, 3,721 bush rats, and over 60 awards in Australia and overseas. Her books range from provocative historical fiction such as Hitler’s Daughter to the hilarious international bestseller, Diary of a Wombat with Bruce Whatley, as well as many nonfiction titles. Visit Jackie’s Booktopia author page.

16. Graeme Base

Graeme Base is one of the world’s leading creators of picture books. His alphabet book Animalia, received international acclaim when it was first published in 1986, and has achieved classic status with worldwide sales approaching three million copies. It has now inspired an animated TV series.

In 2003, his first novel for young readers, TruckDogs, was released. It was short-listed for the Children’s Book Council of Australia Book of the Year Awards the following year. In 2009 Graeme produced the the fascinating, beautiful and challenging book Enigma. Visit Graeme’s Booktopia author page.

15. May Gibbs

May Gibbs (1877-1969) came to Australia at the age of four. Even as a child May drew and painted, encouraged by her parents. She studied art, both in Western Australia and in England, before settling in Sydney to follow a successful career as a writer and illustrator of children’s books.

Her most famous book, Tales of Snugglepot and Cuddlepie, was published in 1918. Her bestselling series featuring the Gumnut babies, their friends and their foes, established an enduring mythology of the Australian bush for generations raised firmly on traditional European fairytales. In 1955, she received an MBE for her contribution to children’s literature. Visit May’s Booktopia author page.

14. Colleen McCullough

Colleen McCullough was born in western New South Wales in 1937. In 1974 her first novel, Tim, was published in New York, followed by the bestselling The Thorn Birds in 1977 (her most well-known) and a string of successful novels, including the acclaimed Masters of Rome series.

The depth of historical research for the novels on ancient Rome led to her being awarded a Doctors of Letters degree by Macquarie University. Visit Colleen’s Booktopia author page.

13. Kate Morton

Kate Morton fell avidly in love with books very early. Her favourites were those by Enid Blyton. It was a love deeply felt, for it is still mysteries and secrets that dance around the edges of Kate’s mind, keeping her awake deep into the night, turning or typing pages.

Kate began writing in earnest and completed two full-length manuscripts (which lie deep and determinedly within a bottom drawer) before settling finally into the story that would become The House at Riverton (The Shifting Fog). The Shifting Fog won General Fiction Book of the Year at the 2007 Australian Book Industry Awards (ABIA).

Her second book, The Forgotten Garden, was a #1 bestseller in Australia and Spain, and a Sunday Times #1 bestseller in the UK in 2008. It won General Fiction Book of the Year at the 2009 Australian Book Industry Awards and was an Amazon Best of the Month pick and a New York Times bestseller in 2009.

Kate’s books are published in 39 countries and in 32 languages. She currently lives in London with her family and continues to write the sorts of books she can disappear inside. Visit Kate’s Booktopia author page.

12. Paul Jennings

The Paul Jennings phenomenon began with the publication of Unreal! in 1985. Since then, readers all around the world have devoured his books.

Paul Jennings has written over one hundred stories and has been voted ‘favourite author’ over forty times by children in Australia, winning every children’s choice award. The top rating TV series Round the Twist and Driven Crazy are based on a selection of his enormously popular short-story collections such as Unseen! which was awarded the 1999 Queensland Premier’s Literary Award for Best Children’s Book.

In 1995 he was made a Member of the Order of Australia for services to children’s literature and was awarded the prestigious Dromkeen Medal in 2001. Paul has sold more than 8 million books worldwide. Visit Paul’s Booktopia author page.

11. Banjo Paterson

Andrew Barton ‘Banjo’ Paterson (17 February 1864 – 5 February 1941) was an Australian bush journalist and author. He was popularly known as “Banjo” Paterson from his pen name, “The Banjo”. He wrote many ballads and poems about Australian life, focusing particularly on the rural and outback areas, including the district around Binalong, New South Wales where he spent much of his childhood.

He is best known for his rousing folk classics The Man from Snowy River and Waltzing Matilda and is widely acknowledged as Australia’s greatest and most popular balladist. His poems, written with great gusto and humour, celebrate all the romance and rough-and-tumble of old Australia. Visit Banjo’s Booktopia author page.

Return tomorrow for the FINALS: Australia’s Favourite Australian Authors (10-1)

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About the Contributor

Bronwyn Eley

Before entering the exciting world of books, Bronwyn served in the Royal Australian Air Force, travelled extensively and worked (still does!) as a barista on the weekends. Books are her true passion. Bronwyn's debut fantasy novel Relic is coming out in 2019 with indie publishing house Talem Press. They are to publish her entire trilogy called The Relic Trilogy. In her spare time, Bronwyn writes, reads and enjoys keeping fit (which she undoes by eating loads of chocolate) with Martial Arts and personal training. She can't answer what her favourite book is but she has a soft spot for Peter Pan (J.M Barrie), Outlander (Diana Gabaldon), Stardust (Neil Gaiman), The Illuminae Files (Jay Kristoff and Amie Kaufman) and Six of Crows (Leigh Bardugo). Fantasy, sci-fi and YA make up the majority of her bookshelves.

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