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Sonya Hartnett Sonya Hartnett i(A4540 works by) (a.k.a. S. L. Hartnett)
Also writes as: Cameron S. Redfern
Born: Established: 1968 Box Hill, Box Hill - Burwood area, Melbourne - Inner South, Melbourne, Victoria, ;
Gender: Female
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1 y separately published work icon Go Home, Cat! Sonya Hartnett , Lucia Masciullo (illustrator), Melbourne : Puffin , 2022 23428841 2022 single work picture book children's

'A delightful story about the special bond between a boy and his cat, from the award-winning team, Sonya Hartnett and Lucia Masciullo, celebrating friendship, courage and the value of those we love.

'A delightful story from the award-winning team who brought us Come Down, Cat! that celebrates friendship, courage and the value of those we love.

'When Nicholas finds a silver coin in the garden, he tells his cat,
'I can buy liquorice with this!'
Nicholas loves liquorice more than almost anything.
'Stay home, cat,' he says, and sets out for the shop.
But as Nicholas walks down the street he hears a voice he knows . . .' (Publication summary)

1 y separately published work icon Blue Flower Sonya Hartnett , Gabriel Evans (illustrator), Melbourne : Penguin , 2021 23485139 2021 single work picture book children's

'A gentle exploration of a child’s realisation that it is her individual differences and creativity that make her special, with stunning illustrations by the talented Gabriel Evans that delicately and sensitively convey the child’s emotional journey.

'A young child describes her qualms about going to school and how hard she finds asking the teacher for help, how she feels shy about making friends, not being funny or a fast runner. But through her love of art, a conversation with her mother and her observations about nature she comes to see that being different might not be a bad thing after all.

'I lay down and put my nose in the grass. The grass was dotted with yellow flowers, but blue ones grew there too. I rolled over and looked at the trees and the clouds, and thought about things for a while.

'‘Not all clouds are white,’ I said, and Piccolo looked at me.

'‘Not all trees are tall. Not all birds are brown. Not all cats are tabby like you, Piccolo. Some are black. Some are orange. Some are calico.’

'Piccolo swished his stripy tail. I plucked a flower and showed it to him. ‘This flower isn’t yellow, but it isn’t wrong. It is what it’s supposed to be. No one would want it to be yellow. Everyone would say it’s lovely just the way it is.’

'A beautifully told story about being happy in yourself for who you are from one of Australia's finest writers.' (Publication summary)

1 Hello, Stranger Sonya Hartnett , 2017 single work essay
— Appears in: The Best Australian Essays 2017 2017; (p. 25-34)

'This place doesn't look the way I've expected it to. It's much flatter: in every direction, you can see for miles. It's as flat as a pan, and as dry. The paddocks are yellow and mostly empty, although there is the occasional herd of cows and some sheep. The open ground that hems the road is greener and more densely treed than I'd imagined, with massive silver-trunked eucalypts that have stood here a hundred years and more. The dirt they grow in is rocky, coloured ochre. The sky is huge, brilliantly blue, and uncrossed by birds. It is bakingly hot, and, at midday, shadowless. I don't see any roadkill on the rubbly verge. The train line snakes alongside the farm fences, a scalding, greasy, burgundy vein. The pale grass growing beside it stands as high as the paddock posts.' (Introduction)
 

1 The Missing Novels Debra Adelaide , Bernadette Brennan , Geraldine Brooks , Gregory Day , Ian Donaldson , Anna Funder , Andrea Goldsmith , Rodney Hall , Sonya Hartnett , Gail Jones , Susan Lever , Brian Matthews , Peter Rose , Susan Sheridan , Geordie Williamson , 2015 single work column
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , September no. 374 2015; (p. 41-43)
'Early success is no guarantee of a book’s continued availability or circulation. Some major and/or once-fashionable authors recede from public consciousness, and in some cases go out of print. We invited some writers and critics to identity novelists who they feel should be better known.'
1 Miles Franklin : Sonya Harnett's Extract from Golden Boys –'It's about the Secretive Silences of the Suburbs' Sonya Hartnett , 2015 extract novel (Golden Boys)
— Appears in: The Guardian Australia , 20 June 2015;
1 Fiction from the Inside Sonya Hartnett , Sofie Laguna , Joan London , Christine Piper , Craig Sherborne , 2015 single work column
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 20-21 June 2015; (p. 26-27) The Age , 20 June 2015; (p. 26)
1 3 y separately published work icon The Wild One Sonya Hartnett , Lucia Masciullo (illustrator), Melbourne : Penguin Books , 2014 7450204 2014 single work picture book children's

'From acclaimed Australian children's picture-book partnership Sonya Hartnett and Lucia Masciullo comes a celebration of the wonders of childhood, the beauty of nature and the wild one who lives in us all. Here is a story about growing up that will stay with readers forever.

'Charlie met the wild one when he was young. Together they caught tadpoles, chased butterflies, and watched spiders weave their webs. But as the sun rose and fell, and the moon circle the earth, Charlie began to forget about the magic of the wild one - until it was almost too late to remember...' (Publication summary)

4 13 y separately published work icon Golden Boys Sonya Hartnett , Melbourne : Penguin , 2014 7190850 2014 single work novel young adult

'Sonya Hartnett's third novel for adults is perfectly formed and utterly compelling, an unflinching and disquieting work from one of Australia's finest writers.

'Colt Jenson and his younger brother Bastian live in a world of shiny, new things – skateboards, slot cars, train sets and even the latest BMX. Their affluent father, Rex, has made sure that they'll be the envy of the new, working-class suburb they've moved to. But underneath the surface of the perfect family, is there something unsettling about the Jensons? To the local kids, Rex becomes a kind of hero, but Colt senses there's something in his father that could destroy their fragile new lives.' (Publication summary)

1 Books of the Year Stephen Romei , Graeme Blundell , James Bradley , Geraldine Brooks , Gabrielle Carey , Peter Carey , Stella Clarke , Miriam Cosic , Peter Craven , Tegan Bennett Daylight , Michelle De Kretser , Delia Falconer , Tim Flannery , David Free , Peter Goldsworthy , Andy Griffiths , Gideon Haigh , Helen Garner , Sonya Hartnett , Ashley Hay , Evelyn Juers , Thomas Keneally , Richard King , Ramona Koval , David Malouf , Alex Miller , Louis Nowra , Peter Pierce , Felicity Plunkett , Nicolas Rothwell , Jaya Savige , Kirsten Tranter , Geordie Williamson , Tim Winton , Ed Wright , Fiona Wright , 2013 single work review
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 21-22 December 2013; (p. 14-18)
1 1 y separately published work icon Life in Ten Houses Sonya Hartnett , Melbourne : Penguin , 2013 5994729 2013 single work autobiography

'The internationally celebrated writer Sonya Hartnett is firmly Melburnian but has restlessly moved from suburb to suburb in her search for the 'Last House' – that special corner of the world in which to settle and find contentment. Viewing her life and work through the lens of real estate, she vividly recalls the places she has passed through on her way to finding home.

Expanding on her 2010 Redmond Barry lecture, this short memoir is a beautifully atmospheric exploration of the idea of home and what it means to be a writer in a City of Literature.' (Publisher's blurb)

1 3 y separately published work icon The Best Australian Stories 2012 Sonya Hartnett (editor), Collingwood : Black Inc. , 2012 Z1904012 2012 anthology short story 'The country's premier annual collection of short fiction. This year sees Sonya Hartnett select thirty-two remarkable stories that roam widely in subject and style, but share 'a delicate complexity and a vibrant cleverness.' (Publisher's blurb)
1 Frequent Flyer : Sonya Hartnett Sonya Hartnett , 2012 single work column
— Appears in: The Saturday Age , 21 April 2012; (p. 5) The Sydney Morning Herald , 21-22 April 2012; (p. 5)
1 'Dark Waves of Feeling' : Brotherly Themes in Martin Boyd's A Difficult Young Man Sonya Hartnett , 2012 single work criticism
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , March no. 339 2012; (p. 33-34)
4 21 y separately published work icon The Children of the King Sonya Hartnett , Camberwell : Penguin , 2012 Z1836171 2012 single work children's fiction children's 'Three children have been sent to live in the countryside, safe from the war in London. When they find two boys hiding in a castle, the past and future come together to make an extraordinary adventure.

A hauntingly beautiful story from one of Australia's most acclaimed writers for adults and children.' (Publisher's blurb)
1 Introduction Sonya Hartnett , 2012 essay
— Appears in: A Difficult Young Man 2012;
1 CBCA Awards - Acceptance Speeches : Older Readers Sonya Hartnett , 2011 single work column
— Appears in: Reading Time : The Journal of The Children's Book Council of Australia , November vol. 55 no. 4 2011; (p. 6)
1 Three Boys Sonya Hartnett , 2011-2012 single work short story
— Appears in: The Monthly , December - January no. 74 2011-2012; (p. 58-60)
1 Artful Dodgers Lurk in the False Forest Sonya Hartnett , 2011 single work column
— Appears in: The Saturday Age , 23-24 December 2011; (p. 20)
1 Beastly Travels Sonya Hartnett , 2011 single work prose travel
— Appears in: The Monthly , May no. 67 2011; (p. 54-55)
1 My Favourite Novel : Tipping My Hat to a Tale of Heads Sonya Hartnett , 2011 single work column
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 3 - 4 August 2011; (p. 22-23)
Sonya Hartnett discusses the literary influence of 1977 novel Brothers of the Head by Brian W. Aldiss.
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