Tell us about yourself!
I am a writer of fiction for children and young adults.

What has been your involvement with Reading Australia?
I was a Board Director of Copyright Agency, representing the Australian Society of Authors, when the idea of Reading Australia was put forward by the director and former chair, Brian Johns. I was a great supporter of the idea. A number of my titles appear on the lists.

Why is Reading Australia important?
The idea was a response to media articles that Australian literature was not being taught as much as it should be in schools and tertiary institutions.The feeling was that there were limited resources available and teachers did not always have time to develop their own. Reading Australia could provide such resources and be seen to be serving the interests of both the writing community and the educational sector.

How do you see the future of Australian literature/literacy?
I see Australian literature flourishing, especially in the sector that I write for.

What’s your favourite book on the list?
One of my favourites on the list is Shaun Tan’s The Arrival: a wordless book for which I wrote the introductory essay.

Books by Libby Gleeson