Libby Hawthorn author page

Libby Hathorn biography

Libby Hathorn is an Australian author and poet whose published work includes picture books, novels, poetry, drama and nonfiction for children and young adults. Her books include Thunderwith, Way Home, A Soldier, A Dog and A Boy and No! Never!.

Thunderwith, her young adult novel first published in 1989, follows Lara Ritchie after she is sent to live with her father and his new family in the Australian outback. The book was adapted as the Hallmark Hall of Fame television film The Echo of Thunder.

Way Home, written by Hathorn and illustrated by Gregory Rogers, was published by Random House Australia in 1994. The picture book follows Shane and an unnamed cat through city streets at night. Rogers won the 1995 Kate Greenaway Medal for his illustrations in the book.

Hathorn’s later picture books include A Soldier, A Dog and A Boy, illustrated by Phil Lesnie, and Miss Franklin: How Miles Franklin’s Brilliant Career Began, also illustrated by Lesnie. A Soldier, A Dog and A Boy won the Asher Literary Award in 2017.

No! Never!, written by Libby Hathorn and Lisa Hathorn-Jarman and illustrated by Mel Pearce, was published by Lothian Children’s Books in 2020. It won the Children’s Book Council of Australia Book of the Year: Early Childhood award in 2021.