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Elizabeth Hutchins Elizabeth Hutchins i(A24757 works by) (birth name: Elizabeth McLean Forbes) (a.k.a. Elizabeth McLean Hutchins)
Born: Established: 1941 Adelaide, South Australia, ;
Gender: Female
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BiographyHistory

Educated at St Peter's Collegiate Girls' School, Adelaide Teachers' College and Adelaide University, Elizabeth Hutchins holds a BA, DipEd and DipT. She was a secondary school teacher at Millicent, Unley and Alice Springs. In 1965 she married John Hutchins, a fellow high school teacher at Millicent, and they had three children. It was after the birth of their third child that she began to write.

Elizabeth has written picture books, younger and older children's novels, short stories for teenagers and adults, and stories used by Channel 10's "Mulligrubs" progamme. She runs Adelaide TAFE's Writing for Children course, for which she revised the textbook in 1996. She has edited several anthologies of writing resulting from workshops, including writing on environmental issues by children (Green Stew, 1991), writing by adults with severe physical disabilities (Words on Wings) and writing by Carers (Carers' Break).

In 1997 she received the inaugural Nutcote Fellowship. She is a foundation member and life member of the Kensington and Norwood Writers' Group, a member of the SA Museum's Waterhouse Club, the Writers' Centre, Ekidnas (children's bookwriters' club) and the Australian Society of Authors. Through her youngest child's hearing difficulties she has had a long-term involvement with the Cora Barclay Centre for children with hearing impairment, and has met a wide cross-section of children with hearing disabilities. She and her husband John have written a history of the Cora Barclay Centre (1995) and of the Pembroke School Hearing Unit (1996). Her background and interests are reflected in her writing, which features recognisable South Australian settings and concerns with issues such as disabilities, the environment and aboriginality. Until 1998 she was Executive Officer for the Australian Association for the Teaching of English. In 2004 she was appointed to the Committee of Management of the Australian Society of Authors.

Most Referenced Works

Affiliation Notes

  • South Australian

Awards for Works

y separately published work icon A Matter of Cats South Melbourne : Hyland House , 1994 Z833626 1994 single work children's fiction children's A young girl with a penchant for helping injured animals faces a difficult decision when her cat invades a wildlife sanctuary.
1995 shortlisted The Wilderness Society Environment Award for Children's Literature Younger Readers section
y separately published work icon Look Them in the Eye Victoria : Hyland House , 1992 Z837416 1992 single work children's fiction children's Niki's life has been turned upside down by a car accident in which he lost his left hand. Then he meets Fred the cockatoo, Fred's owner Jozef and the children who play in Jozef's garden and his life takes off again as they outmanoeuvre a gang of unscrupulous developers who try to make Jozef sell his home.
1993 shortlisted Australian Multicultural Children's Literature Awards
y separately published work icon There's Something About Mondays Cammeray : Martin Educational , 1988 Z871028 1988 single work children's fiction children's
1989 shortlisted Children's Peace Literature Award

Known archival holdings

Lu Rees Archive University of Canberra University of Canberra Library (ACT)
Last amended 10 Jan 2005 10:56:40
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