Narelle Oliver
Award-Winning author/illustrator of picture books:
Leaf Tail, High Above the Sea, The Best Beak in Boonaroo Bay, The Hunt, Sand Swimmers, Baby Bilby Where do you Sleep?, Mermaids Most Amazing, The Very Blue Thingamajig, Dancing the Boom-cha-cha Boogie, Home, and author of chapter book, "What a Goat!" (Solo Series), Twilight Hunt and Fox, Fine Feathers and Don't Let a Spoonbill in the Kitchen!
Many of these titles have won national awards and been distributed internationally.
Teaching Experience/Qualifications:
- Bachelor of Education degree (Primary and Special Education, majoring in Design and Print-making)
- Classroom teaching experience in primary and special education settings
- Tutoring/lecturing experience in Language and Children's Literature Courses offered by the Faculty of Education at the University of Southern Qld
- May Gibbs Fellowship based at the University of Melbourne, giving guest lectures to students of Education and Fine Arts (2001)
- Original illustrations exhibited at State Library of QLD, Illustration House, QLD, Dromkeen Children's Literature Centre, VIC, Books Illustrated, VIC, Fremantle Children's Literature Centre, WA.
- Twenty years of experience in conducting writing, illustrating workshops and residencies for primary, secondary and adult groups, commissioned by schools, libraries, and literature centres throughout Australia, Singapore, Hong Kong and Beijing.
Recent/Current Projects:
Narelle's most recent work is the picture book Don't Let a Spoonbill in the Kitchen! which won the Children's literature award in the 2013 Queensland Literary Awards.The illustrations in this highly appealing and humorous book were created using collage and photographic elements combined with Narelle's favoured linocut prints. Time for experimentation with this combination of media was assisted through a grant from the Australia Council.
Narelle's picture book, Fox and Fine Feathers was launched by the Governor-General of Australia, Ms Quentin Bryce (August 2009) and also appeared in the Governor-General's televised Australia Day address 2010. This contemporary Australian fable has been awarded Honour Book for the 2010 Children's Book Council of Australia Picture Book of the Year Awards. It was short-listed for the 2010 Qld Premier's Literary Awards.
Narelle's recent Australian picture book, Home has won multiple awards and was recently part of the first birthday celebrations of the Brisbane City Council Brisbane Square Library where it is featured as part of the interior design. Home also appears on the side of an inner-city loop bus.
AWARDS given to a selection of Narelle Oliver titles:
- Fox and Fine Feathers (2009) Honour Book: CBCA Picture Book of the Year 2010. Short-listed, Qld Premier's Literary Awards 2010.
- The Best Beak in Boonaroo Bay (1993) (Short-listed: CBC Picture Book of the Year 1994, Young Australian Best Book Awards 1997, Canberra's Own Outstanding List 1998; Finalist: Kids Own Australia Literature Awards 1999)
- The Hunt (1995) (Winner: CBC Picture Book of the Year 1996; Short-listed: Young Australians Best Book Awards 1996,1997, The Wilderness Society Environment Award for Children's Literature 1996)
- Sand Swimmers (1999) (Short-listed: CBC Eve Pownall Awards 2000, Qld Premier's Award,2000; Winner: The Wilderness Society Environment Award for Children's Lit. 2000, Royal Zoological Society of NSW Whitley Award 1999)
- Baby Bilby Where do you Sleep? (2001) (Honour Book: CBC Early Childhood Picture Book of the Year 2002, CBC Eve Pownall Awards 2002; Short-listed: The Wilderness Society Environment Award for Children's Literature 2002)
- The Very Blue Thingamajig (2003) (Winner: BILBY Children's Choice Awards Qld 2003; Short-listed: YABBA Children's Choice Awards Vic. 2004, KOALA Children's Choice Awards NSW, ACT 2004; CBC Notable Book 2004)
- Home (2006) (Winner: Patricia Wrightson Award, NSW Premier's Literary Awards, 2007; Short-listed: CBCA Picture Book of the Year 2007; Short-listed, Qld Premier's Literary Awards 2006; Short-listed, Wilderness Society Environmental Award for Children's Literature 2007)
- Don' Let a Spoonbill in the Kitchen! (2013) Winner: Children's Literature Award, Qld Literary Awards, 2013).
Workshop Presentations
Narelle offers a range of workshops and is happy to discuss a programme tailored to meet specific requirements and outcomes. Popular programme choices are as follows:
Picture Book Demonstrations
- For years 1-7 and secondary English/Art students
- Demonstration of process from inspiration to final publication, including - writing, editing, planning a storyboard, research, design and preparation of artwork (including a demonstration of the linoprinting process)
- 3 x 1-hour per day. Max group size: 50
Hands-on Workshops
- Writing (focus on narrative genre) with an emphasis on effective plot structure, word choice, and storyboard planning based on non-fiction or imaginary sources.
- Illustrating workshops featuring safe "white lino" printing - no sharp tools.
- Suitable for single classes or smaller groups of students, years 3 to 7.
Author-Illustrator in Residence
- For primary students
- A combination of picture book creation demonstrations and hands-on workshops culminating in presentation of student writing/illustrations.
Testimonials
Narelle's presentations are always exceptional. Our teachers and students learn so much from her and enjoy her workshops very much.
We are very fortunate to have such a talented artist and author available to us here in Brisbane.
Narelle Oliver - St. JosephNarelle was amazing! And her presentation was excellent. She adjusted to suit the age of the children so used a variety of resources and activities to capture the children. A very hands on, mixed media performance. She was excellent!
Narelle Oliver - St. John VianneyNarelle always exceeds expectations. Her books fit so well with the units of work that the children are doing and Narelle plans her sessions to “tick all the boxes”. Our students enjoy a great author experience and their current curriculum learning experiences are also extended. The students are engaged and fascinated by her books, her presentation and her demonstrations.
She is a gracious guest to host.
Narelle Oliver - Trinity Lutheran College, May, 2015.We greatly enjoyed Narelle’s visit last Friday. As a result of my conversation with Narelle before the visit, she was able to tailor her talks to suit the two year levels, one of which has been specifically studying picture books this term. I would definitely recommend Narelle to other schools. She has a warm, calm and engaging style. It was exciting to see her original drawings, lino cuts and objects she uses for inspiration.
Narelle Oliver - St. AndrewI would definitely book Narelle again and I would recommend her to others as she was great!
Narelle Oliver - Brisbane School of Distance Education, June, 2014.
