This is a complete list of the work I did as a writer for children and young adults, under the following headings:
Teen romances and other series fiction
Books For Kids
Nicky. Sugar and Snails, 1975. (Picture book)
The Three Dragons. Wren, 1975. (Picture book)
Marty Hollitt and the Amazing Game Machine. Rigby, 1979. Queensland Braille Writing Association, 1990. Dramatised version performed at the Adelaide Come Out Festival, 1981.
The Go-Cart Kids. Rigby, 1981.
Fat and Skinny. Rigby, 1982. Queensland Braille Writing Association, 1990. Dorothy Duncan Centre for the Blind and Physically Handicapped, Zimbabwe, 1993.
Hunt the Witch. Rigby, 1982. Queensland Braille Writing Association, 1990.
Can You Keep a Secret? Angus and Robertson, 1989. (Shortlisted for the Royal Blind Society of NSW Children’s Book Award; a Children’s Book Council Notable Book 1990.)
Fast Forward. Angus and Robertson, 1989. American edition, Lothrop, Shepherd and Lee, 1991; Dutch edition, Vliegens Vlug, Standaard Uitgeverij, 1993. New Australian edition by Mammoth, 1997.
The Rings. After Dark series, Lothian, 1997. (A CBC Notable Book 1998, shortlisted for the Western Australian Children’s Choice awards 1999.)
The Blake Mystery Series.
Time to Go. Reed, 1998. Hodder Headline, 1999. (Finalist in the 1999 NSW Children’s Choice KOALA Awards.)
Wall of Fire. Reed, 1998. Hodder Headline, 1999.
One Way Street. Reed, 1998. Hodder Headline, 1999.
House of Shadows. Hodder Headline, 1999.
Over the Hills. Hodder Headline, 1999.
With the Lot. Hodder Headline, 1999.
Down and Out. Hodder Headline, 1999.
On the Edge. Hodder Headline, 1999.
Truth or Dare. Hodder Headline, 1999.
Fly Away Home. Hodder Headline, 1999.
An Hour Shower. Longman Australia; Scholastic Canada; Sundance USA, 2000. Included in Just Kids Audio Sets 1 – 3, Pearson Longman, 2003.
Big Bren. Longman Australia; Scholastic Canada; Sundance USA, 2000.
A Tale of Two Families: The Diary of Jan Packard. Scholastic, My Story series, 2000. (A CBC Notable Book 2001; commended in the Australian Family Therapists’ Award for Children’s Literature 2001; Australian Council for Youth Literature’s list of ‘150 notable Victorian Books’, 2004.) Republished as Sisterhood and Secrets, Scholastic, 2012.
The Freedom Fighters series:
Mindfire. Pearson, 2001.
Starfight. Pearson, 2001.
Endgame. Pearson, 2001.
Looking for Blondie. Lothian, Crime Wave series, 2001. (Shortlisted for the Sisters in Crime Davitt Award for junior fiction 2002.) Dutch edition, Het Blondie-Mysterie, Facet, 2003.
Scam. Lothian, Crime Wave series, 2001. (Shortlisted for the children’s section of the Ned Kelly crime fiction awards 2002 and the Sisters in Crime Davitt Award for junior fiction 2002.) Dutch edition De Struisvogel-Zwendel, Facet, 2003.
Tank. Nelson Thompson, Chill Out series, 2002.
Real Guts. Nelson Thompson, Chill Out series, 2002.
The Perfect Princess. Lothian, Quentaris series, 2003.
Death by Water. Lothian, Crime Waves series, 2003. (Shortlisted for the Sisters in Crime Davitt Award for junior fiction 2003.)
Crime Seen. Lothian, 2007. (One of The Age’s top three children’s books of 2007.)
Books for Young Adults
What Are Ya? Angus and Robertson, 1987. (Angus and Robertson Junior Writers Fellowship 1985; shortlisted for the National Children’s Book Award of the South Australian Festival for Literature 1988; shortlisted for the Alan Marshall Children’s Literature Award in the Victorian Premier’s Literary Awards 1988; included in the children’s book exhibit Titles by Noteworthy Authors and Illustrators of Boston and Melbourne 1988.) German edition, Was bist du? Alibaba, 1990; UK edition, Get a Life, Livewire, 1990. New Australian edition by Reed for Kids, 1995.
Mr Enigmatic. Reed for Kids,1994. (Winner of the Ethel Turner Prize for children’s literature in the NSW Premier’s Literary Awards for 1995; shortlisted for the 1995 Australian Children’s Multicultural Award; a Children’s Book Council Notable Book 1995; Australian Council for Youth Literature’s list of ‘150 notable Victorian Books’, 2004.) Dutch edition, Het Vroege Werk van Rhett Foley, Gottmer, 1997. New Australian edition by Hodder Headline, 2000.
Getting Somewhere. Reed for Kids, 1995. (Shortlisted for the Older Readers section of the Children’s Book Council Awards 1996.) UK edition, Livewire, 1999.
Sundogs. Hodder Headline, 2001. (A CBC Notable Book 2002.)
Dancing on Knives. Lothian, 2004. (Shortlisted for the Patricia Wrightson Prize for Children’s Literature in the New South Wales Premier’s Awards 2005.)
Teen Romances and other Series Fiction
I published these books under a variety of names – Jaye Francis, Mary Forrest, Jane Carlson, Rosa Tomaselli and Jenny Pausacker.
As Jaye Francis:
My Type of Writer. Greenhouse, 1988.
First Impressions. Greenhouse, 1988.
Designs on You. Greenhouse, 1989.
Nobody’s Perfect. Greenhouse, 1989.
Love or Money. Greenhouse, 1990.
Something to Prove. With Antonia Slovacek. Australian Consolidated Publishing, 1990.
Heartbreak City. Pan, 1991.
With a Little Help. Pan Macmillan, 1992.
Hot Pursuit 1: Melissa. Penguin, 1991.
Hot Pursuit 4: Rebecca. Penguin, 1991.
Hot Pursuit 5: Troy. Penguin, 1993.
Hot Pursuit 8: Belle. Penguin, 1993.
As Mary Forrest:
I’ve Got a Secret. Greenhouse, 1988.
She’s a Rebel. Greenhouse, 1988.
My Sister’s Boyfriend. Greenhouse, 1988.
Christmas Carole. Greenhouse, 1989.
Bigger and Better. Australian Consolidated Publishing, 1990.
As Jane Carlson:
Change of Heart. Greenhouse, 1989.
As Rosa Tomaselli:
Looking After Lacey. Greenhouse, 1990.
As Jenny Pausacker:
The Home Grrrls Series. (Family Therapy Associations of Australia recommended list 1999.)
1: How to Tell Your Parents that You’re Straight. Random, 1998. (A remix of Love or Money.)
2: Low Fat. Random House, 1998. (A remix of Bigger and Better.)
3: It’s Not Over Till You’re Over It. Random House, 1998. (A remix of Heartbreak City.)
4: Mix and Match. Random House, 1998. (A remix of Designs on You.)
As Mary Forrest, I also wrote for Emily Rodda’s Teen Power series:
The Cry of the Cat. With Emily Rodda. Ashton Scholastic, 1994.
The Disappearing TV Star. With Emily Rodda. Ashton Scholastic, 1994.
Poison Pen. With Emily Rodda. Ashton Scholastic, 1994.
The Bad Dog Mystery. With Emily Rodda. Ashton Scholastic, 1994.
Fear in Fashion. With Emily Rodda. Ashton Scholastic, 1995.
Danger in Rhyme. With Emily Rodda. Ashton Scholastic, 1995.
And under the pseudonym of Jade Forrester, I wrote two adult romances – A Shoulder to Lean On and Block Buster, both published by McPhee/Gribble in 1994.
Short Stories
‘A Quarrel in the Streets.’ Crazy Hearts. Hodja, 1985, edited by Frank Willmott and Robyn Jackson. Revised version in The Champion and other Stories. Phoenix Education, 1996, edited by Helen Sykes.
‘Making Waves.’ Written with Nancy Peck. Winner of the children’s fiction prize in the Circular Heads Arts Festival 1989. Published in Top Drawer, Phoenix Education, 1992.
‘Waiting for the Publisher.’ Cargo, Issue 6, 1989. Also published in Falling for Grace: an anthology of Australian Lesbian Fiction. Blackwattle Press, 1993, edited by Roberta Snowe and Jill Taylor.
‘Graffiti.’ The Exploding Frangipani. New Women’s Press, 1990, edited by Cathie Dunsford and Susan Hawthorne. Also published in The Oxford Book of Lesbian and Gay Writing. Oxford University Press, 1993, edited by Robert Dessaix.
‘Dress Code.’ The Blue Dress. Mammoth, 1991, edited by Libby Hathorn.
‘Off the Wall.’ Landmarks. Turton and Chambers, 1991, edited by Nadia Wheatley. Extract in Heinemann Contemporary Issues: Attitude, Heinemann, 1996.
‘Cartoon Characters.’ Bittersweet. Penguin, 1991, edited by Toss Gascoigne.
‘About Zan.’ Family. Mammoth, 1994, edited by Agnes Nieuwenhuizen. Not the Only One. Alyson, 1995, edited by Tony Grima.
‘Julie and the Moorhen.’ Out of the Box. Phoenix Education, 1994, edited by Helen Sykes.
‘The Princess in the Tower.’ The Dark House. Mammoth, 1995 and Hodder Headline, 1999, edited by Gary Crew.
‘Crossed Wires.’ The Phone Book. Random House, 1995, edited by Mark Macleod.
‘Another Day in Hell.’ Shadow Alley. Omnibus, 1995, edited by Lucy Sussex.
‘Playing with Fire.’ Hide and Seek: Stories about being Young and Gay/Lesbian. Mandarin, 1996, edited by Jenny Pausacker.
‘A Date for Dillon.’ Ready or Not. Random House, 1996, edited by Mark Macleod.
‘Four Horsemen.’ The Girl Who Married a Fly. Australian Association for the Teaching of English, 1997, edited by Michael Hyde. Also published in Idiom vol xxxi, no 2, October 1996.
‘Over the Hills and Faraway.’ Heroic Feats. Longman Spinouts, 1999, edited by Paul Collins and Meredith Costain.
‘The Experiment.’ Tales from the Wasteland. Hodder Headline, 1999, edited by Paul Collins.
‘Murphy’s Law.’ Space Mates. Longman Spinouts, 2000, edited by Paul Collins and Meredith Costain.
‘Top Cop.’ Paul Collins and Meredith Costain (ed.) Crimestoppers. Longman Thrillogy, 2001.
‘Survivor.’ Survivor and Other Stories. Walker, 2002, edited by Vivian French.
‘Tags.’ Time Warps. Longman Thrillogy, 2002, edited by Paul Collins and Meredith Costain.
‘Niemoller, Yeah.’ Ten Out of Ten. Phoenix Education, 2003.
‘The Size of the Sky.’ Hunger and Other Stories. Australian Association for the Teaching of English, 2003, edited by Michael Hyde and Val Kent. (CBC Notable Book 2003.)
I also edited two short story collections:
Friday Night, and other stories from the West. Western Region Education Centre, 1983.
Hide and Seek: Stories about being Young and Gay/Lesbian. Mandarin, 1996. (A CBC Notable Australian Children’s Book 1997.)
Non-Fiction
Sugar and Snails: a Countersexist Booklist. Sugar and Snails, 1975.
Role Your Own. Sugar and Snails, 1976.
Women in Maths and Science. Transition Education Girls Project, 1982.
Participation of Girls in Maths and Science. Equal Opportunity Unit, Victorian Education Department, 1983.
That’s One of My Talents. Vocational Orientation Centre, 1984.
Hands On: Trade and Technical Careers for Girls and Women. Spiral, 1985.
Articles
‘Creating Non-Sexist Books.’ Primary Education, Vol. 5, No. 1, 1974.
‘Women’s Liberation and Children’s Literature.’ With Jan Harper. Readings in Children’s Literature. Frankston State College, 1975, edited by Moira Robinson.
‘Ursula Le Guin – the Earthsea Trilogy.’ Society for Mass Media and Resource Technology Journal, No. 2, 1978. Also in School Library Bulletin, Vol. 10, No. 2, 1978.
‘The Function of Criticism.’ With Felicity Hughes. Readings in Children’s Literature. Frankston State College, 1978, edited by Brian Murphy.
‘Adolescent Homosexuality: a Novel Problem.’ Gay Information. Winter, 1981.
‘Genre in Children’s Fiction.’ Looking at Literature. Deakin University, 1986.
‘Tales of Snails and Doll’s House Children.’ Editions, June/July 1991.
‘Not Under Glass: the Novels of Ivan Southall.’ Meanjin, Vol. 51, No. 3, 1992.
‘Ivan Southall.’ Twentieth Century Young Adult Writers. St James Press, 1993, edited by Laura Standley Berger.
‘I Was a Teenage Romance Writer.’ Viewpoint, Vol. 1, No. 2, 1993. Expanded version in Sex in Public. Allen and Unwin, 1997, edited by Jill Julius Matthews.
‘Who Reviews the Reviewers? A Survey of Young Adult Fiction Reviewing in Australia during 1992.’ The Written World. D.W. Thorpe, 1994, edited by Agnes Nieuwenhuizen.
‘Views on Reviews: a Patchwork.’ Signal, No 73, January 1994. By Nancy Chambers, with a contribution from Jenny Pausacker.
‘Rolling Column – on horror.’ Australian Book Review, No 168, February/March 1995.
‘Genre fiction, genre faction.’ Australian Book Review, No 171, June 1995.
‘In Praise of Narrative.’ Australian Book Review, No 177, December 1995/January 1996.
‘Beyond the Invisible Barrier: Australian women writing young adult science fiction and fantasy.’ Viewpoint, Vol 5, No 1, 1997. Also published in Eidolon 24, Autumn 1997.
‘The More Things Change, the More They Stay the Same.’ English in Australia, October, 1997.
Other
Writers don’t earn all their money by publishing books. In fact, the extra bits and pieces often bring in more money than the books themselves – or at least they do so more regularly. I wrote an uncountable number of book reviews, starting with one-off reviews in the Adelaide Advertiser, the Age, the Australian, Australian Book Review, National Times, Outrage, Viewpoint and various education magazines. After that I was the teenage fiction reviewer for the Herald in 1989, the paperback reviewer for the Age in 1997, the young adult fiction reviewer for the Australian from 1999 to 2004 and the junior fiction and picture book reviewer for the Australian in 2002 and 2003. I also wrote reader’s reports on children’s fiction for the Literature Board from 1986 to 1989 and reader’s reports for the Victorian Writers’ Centre from 1998 to 2002, along with freelance editing for various Melbourne publishing companies in the early 1980s.
Between 1996 and 2012, I worked as a mentor, including two years as a Royal Literary Fund Writing Fellow for the Faculty of Arts at Bristol University. I mentored 37 beginner writers, 10 of whose projects became published books. I judged or was a member of the judging panel for 14 awards, including the South Australian Festival Award for Fiction in 1980; the Judah Waten Story Writing Competition at the Box Hill / Doncaster Library from 1986 to 1988; the Alan Marshall Children’s Literature Award in 1991 and 1992 and the Kath Manzie Youth Literary Award in the Northern Territory Literary Awards in 1999. I participated in panels at over 30 writers’ festivals and conferences, beginning with Adelaide Writers Week in 1976 and ending with the Somerset Literary Festival in 2003. I gave occasional readings at festivals, taught the occasional one-off creative writing class and did a few schools visits every year. And I was on the Adelaide Festival of Arts Writers Week Committee from 1981 to 1982; the Board of Directors of Melbourne Writers’ Festival from 1993 to 1996 and the Programming Committee of Melbourne Writers’ Festival from 1994 to 1997.
As well as writing for children and young adults, I have a PhD in children’s literature from Flinders University, awarded in 1981 for a thesis titled More than Forty Years on: a Historical Study of the School Story, supervised by Felicity Hughes. I worked as a part-time tutor in children’s literature at universities in South Australia and Victoria, lectured at Adelaide College of Advanced Education for a year and ran a summer school course on Contemporary Commonwealth Young Adult Literature at the University of British Columbia, Canada, in 2000.
Last but by no means least, between 1982 and 2002 I received 2 General Writing Grants, 2 Category B Fellowships, a Category A Fellowship and a Senior Writers Grant from the Literature Board of the Australia Council. My attempt to balance writing for a living with writing the books that only I could write often felt like running to stay on the same spot but the Literature Board gave me six opportunities to take the time I needed to develop my own perspective. It’s a pleasure to thank them one last time.
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