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 of 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 and Rita’s Revenge, picture book Ella and the Ocean (illustrated by Jonathan Bentley), and the whimsical fantasy Spellhound. Her books have been translated into eleven languages and won many awards, including two Aurealis Awards, a NSW Premier’s Literary Award, a Tasmanian Literary Award, a Davitt Award for Best Children’s Crime Novel, and the State Library of NSW’s Russell Prize for Humour Writing for Young People.

New releases in 2024 are Fledgewitch, the sequel to Spellhound, and When the Lights Went Out, a picture book illustrated by Jonathan Bentley.

Lian's books: 

Fledgewitch: Dragons of Hallow #2 (2024)

There are no witches, no dragons and no secrets in Quill, so how can Brim be trapped in the School for Prevention of Witches with a dragon with an injured foot, and an enormous secret to untangle? A bewitching tale of bravery, betrayal and one very forgettable horned glob.

Spellhound: Dragons of Hallow # 1 (2023)

What do a minch-wiggin, a Queen, and a large magical pup have in common? They need to find the dragon that has turned their worlds upside-down … even if it means revealing all they want to keep hidden.

A fascinating tale filled with falsehoods, fortitude and friendship (and just the right number of green jellybabies).

Rita's Revenge (2022)

* Winner of the State Library of NSW’s Russell Prize for Humour Writing for Young People*

The ducks of Little Dismal are angry. A scruffy chicken called Clara has been telling lies about them. They need revenge.

Enter Rita – a duck with the soul of a poet. After an embarrassing talent night, Rita sees revenge on Clara as a chance to restore her reputation.

The thrilling sequel to A Clue for Clara.

A Clue for Clara (2020)

Clara wants to be a famous detective with her own TV show. She can read claw marks, find missing feathers and knows morse code and semaphore.
There's just one problem. She's a small scruffy chook, and no one takes her seriously.
But when she teams up with Olive, the daughter of the local policeman, they might just be able to solve the crimes that have been troubling the town of Little Dismal.
A puzzling and hilarious mystery from bestselling author, Lian Tanner.

Ella and the Ocean – a picture book (2019)

Ella lived in the red-dirt country
where the earth was as dry as old bones
and it hadn’t rained
for years
and years
and years.

One night, Ella dreamt of the ocean…
A very Australian story of drought and renewal, of family, of imagination and of the power of hope. Illustrated by Jonathan Bentley, the CBCA Notable illustrator of Where is Bear?

The Rogues Trilogy: Accidental Heroes (2017), Secret Guardians (2018), & Haunted Warriors (2019)

A talking cat, a girl who trusts no one and a boy who trusts everyone are caught up in a plot to kill the Heir to the Faithful Throne. If they want to survive, and save the life of the Young Margrave, they must learn to use the magic that no one else believes in.

A thrilling fantasy adventure for 9-13 year olds, set in the same world as The Keepers trilogy.

The Hidden series: Ice Breaker (2014), Sunker’s Deep (2015), & Fetcher’s Song (2016)

Twelve-year-old Petrel is an outcast, the lowest of the low on an ancient icebreaker that has been following the same course for three hundred years. When she finds a boy frozen on an iceberg, she hides him away in the forgotten corners of the ship, hoping he will be her friend.

But the ship is guarding a secret. A secret that could change the world. A secret that the boy has been sent to destroy, along with the ship and everyone on it.

The Keepers Trilogy: Museum of Thieves (2010), City of Lies (2011) & Path of Beasts (2012)

Have you ever met a brizzlehound? Or a slaughterbird? Have you ever wondered what it would be like to spend the first twelve years of your life in chains?

Goldie Roth lives in the city of Jewel, where impatience is a sin, and boldness is a crime. When she runs away to the mysterious Museum of Dunt, she meets a boy named Toadspit and discovers dangerous secrets.
Goldie and Toadspit have a talent for thieving. Which is just as well, because the treacherous Fugleman has his own plans for the museum – plans that threaten the lives of everyone Goldie loves. And it will take a very bold thief to stop him.