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Karen Foxlee Karen Foxlee i(A96770 works by)
Born: Established: 1971 Mount Isa, Far North Queensland, Queensland, ;
Gender: Female
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BiographyHistory

The granddaughter of Finnish immigrants, Foxlee grew up in Mount Isa but came to Brisbane when she was seventeen. She has worked most of her life as a Registered Nurse.

She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree with a major in creative writing, and has written for children and adults. Her first novel, The Anatomy of Wings, was published in 2007 and won the Commonwealth Writers Prize for Best First Book. Her second novel The Midnight Dress, won the Sisters in Crime Best Young Adult Debut Crime Novel.

Karen is based in South-East Queensland.

Most Referenced Works

Personal Awards

2017 recipient Australia Council Grants, Awards and Fellowships Literature Board Fellowship Literature Arts Projects For Individuals and Groups $17,590.00
2015 winner Queensland Literary Awards Queensland Writers Fellowship
2006 winner One Book One Brisbane for 'May Girl and the River'.

Awards for Works

y separately published work icon Dragon Skin Crows Nest : Allen and Unwin , 2021 22584140 2021 single work children's fiction children's

'From the bestselling and multi-award-winning author of Lenny's Book of Everything comes a magical tale about a girl who saves a dragon and rescues her family.

How to save a dragon:
1) Assemble equipment. Water, Weet-Bix, sugar, syringe, sticky tape, scissors.
2) Believe in everything.

'Pip never wants to go home. She likes to sit at the waterhole at dusk and remember Mika, her best friend. At home her mother's not the same since her boyfriend moved in. They don't laugh anymore and Pip has to go to bed early, turn off her light and pretend she doesn't exist. When she finds a half-dead creature at the waterhole, everything changes. She knows she has to save this small dragon and return it to where it comes from. But how?

'A story about surviving and saving those you love, by the multi-award-winning author of Lenny's Book of Everything.

''I'm in love with this book. Dragon Skin is surprising, beautiful, unique. The characters are wonderfully drawn - tough but vulnerable, hurt but hopeful, damaged but strong. They've lodged themselves in my heart forever.' Katrina Nannestad, award-winning author of We Are Wolves' (Publication summary)

2022 longlisted Indie Awards Children's
y separately published work icon Lenny's Book of Everything Sydney : Allen and Unwin , 2018 14228021 2018 single work children's fiction children's

'“I knew my brother. I knew when he talked too much about Timothy his imaginary pet eagle. He was scared. 'Whatever you do,' I said to Davey on the walk to school, 'Do not tell people about your eagle. Do not tell Miss Schweitzer about your eagle.' He looked crestfallen. His shoulders slumped. He looked to make sure Timothy hadn't fallen off.”

'Lenny, small and sharp, has a younger brother Davey who won't stop growing—and at seven is as tall as a man. Raised by their single mother, who works two jobs and is made almost entirely out of worries, they have food and a roof over their heads, but not much else. The bright spot every week is the arrival of the latest issue of Burrell's Build-It-at-Home Encyclopedia. Through the encyclopedia, Lenny and Davey experience the wonders of the world—beetles, birds, quasars, quartz—and dream about a life of freedom and adventure, visiting places like Saskatchewan and Yellowknife, and the gleaming lakes of the Northwest Territories. But as her brother's health deteriorates, Lenny comes to accept the inevitable truth; Davey will never make it to Great Bear Lake. An outstanding novel about heartbreak and healing by an award-winning author.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

2020 shortlisted REAL Awards Fiction for Years 7-9
2020 winner New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards Ethel Turner Prize for Young People's Literature
2020 nominated Carnegie Medal (UK)
2019 winner Queensland Literary Awards Young Adult Book Award
2019 shortlisted Prime Minister's Literary Awards Young Adults' Fiction
2019 shortlisted APA Book Design Awards Best Designed Young Adult Book
2019 shortlisted CBCA Book of the Year Awards Book of the Year: Older Readers
2019 shortlisted Australian Book Industry Awards (ABIA) Australian Book of the Year for Younger Children
2019 CBCA Book of the Year Awards Notable Book
2019 winner Indie Awards Children's
y separately published work icon A Most Magical Girl Crows Nest : Allen and Unwin , 2016 9771490 2016 single work children's fiction children's fantasy

'Magical machines, wizards, witches, mysterious underworlds, a race against time - and two most magical girls on an unforgettable adventure.

'Annabel Grey has been brought up to be a very proper Victorian young lady. But being 'proper' isn't always easy - especially when you can sometimes see marvellous (as well as terrifying) things in puddles. But parlour tricks such as these are nothing compared to the world that Annabel is about to enter...

'After the rather sudden departure of her mother, Annabel is sent to live with her aunts. They claim to be Shoreditch witches, and from a very old family line of them too. They're keen to introduce Annabel to their world of transformation, potions and flying broomsticks (which seem to have strong personalities of their own) but are horrified when Annabel announces not only does she not know any magic, young ladies shouldn't believe in such things. But before Annabel has time to decide whether she does or not, she is swept into an urgent quest.

'The trees of Highgate have been whispering to Kitty - an extraordinary urchin of a girl, who Annabel's aunts seem very fond of - and so have the fairies. They talk of a terrible, dark magic that wants to devour all of London. And of a most magical girl who might be able to stop it...

'This sparkling and enchanting story is sure to bewitch you, so curl up in front of the fire, and prepare to be swept away...' (Publication summary)

2020 shortlisted REAL Awards Fiction for Older Readers
2017 winner CBCA Book of the Year Awards Book of the Year: Younger Readers
2017 winner The Readings Children’s Book Prize
2017 CBCA Book of the Year Awards Notable Book
Last amended 6 Aug 2020 13:40:59
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