Isobelle Jane Carmody (born 16 June 1958) is an Australian writer of science fiction, fantasy, children's literature, and young adult literature. She is recipient of the Aurealis Award for best children's fiction.
Biography Isobelle Carmody was born in Wangaratta on 16 June 1958, the eldest of eight children. She began work on Obernewtyn Chronicles at the age of fourteen. This was soon after the death of her father in a traffic accident.Louise Schwartzkoff, "Interview: Isobelle Carmody", The Age, 21 November 2015, Spectrum, p. 24 She continued to work on them while completing a Bachelor of Arts, majoring in literature and philosophy; she worked in public relations and journalism.
Obernewtyn, her first novel and the first book in the Obernewtyn series, was published in 1987.
She was Guest of Honour at the 2007 Australian National Science Fiction Convention, Convergence 2, held in Melbourne in June 2007.
Personal Her partner is Jan Stolba, a Czech musician and poet. She currently divides her time between her home on the Great Ocean Road in Victoria, and her travels abroad with her partner and daughter, spending a year each in her two residences.
Books
Date first published Title Publisher information Series Notes 1987 Obernewtyn Penguin Books, paperback, Obernewtyn Chronicles – Book 1 Shortlisted for 1988 Children's Book of the Year for Older Readers 1990 The Farseekers Penguin Books, paperback, Obernewtyn Chronicles – Book 2 Honour book for 1991 Children's Book of the Year for Older Readers 1991 Scatterlings 1 June 1993 The Gathering Puffin Books, paperback, February 1995 Ashling Penguin Books, paperback, Obernewtyn Chronicles – Book 3 Shortlisted for 1996 Aurealis Award for Best Young-Adult Novel 1996 Green Monkey Dreams Short story collection (see below) 1 September 1997 Greylands Puffin Books, paperback, Won the 1998 Aurealis Award for best young-adult novel 1997 Darkfall Penguin Books, paperback, Legendsong Saga – Book 1 Shortlisted 1998 Aurealis Award for Best Fantasy, shortlisted Ditmar Award for Best Long Fiction 1998 This Way Out: Five Plays With Steve Taylor 1999 The Keeping Place Penguin Books, paperback, Obernewtyn Chronicles – Book 4 2000 Billy Thunder and the Night Gate Penguin Books, paperback, Gateway Trilogy – Book 1 Also published as Night Gate 2002 Darksong Penguin Books, paperback, Legendsong Saga – Book 2 29 September 2003 The Winter Door Penguin Books, paperback, Gateway Trilogy – Book 2 Also published as Winter Door 2004 Angel Fever Lothian Books, paperback, Quentaris Chronicles 2005 The Cat Dreamer Lothian Books, paperback, Quentaris Chronicles 26 September 2005 Alyzon Whitestarr Penguin Books, paperback, Won the 2005 Aurealis Award for best young-adult novel and the 2005 Golden Aurealis for best novel 2005 Little Fur Puffin Books, paperback, The Legend of Little Fur – Book 1 2006 A Fox Called Sorrow Puffin Books, paperback, The Legend of Little Fur – Book 2 2007 A Mystery of Wolves Puffin Books, paperback, The Legend of Little Fur – Book 3 4 February 2008 The Stone Key Penguin Books, paperback, Obernewtyn Chronicles – Book 5 Published as two books, Wavesong & The Stone Key, in UK, Canada and US 1 November 2008 A Riddle of Green Puffin Books, paperback, The Legend of Little Fur – Book 4 2010 The Red Wind Puffin Books, paperback, The Kingdom of the Lost – Book 1 31 October 2011 The Sending Penguin Books, paperback, Obernewtyn Chronicles – Book 6 24 April 2013 The Cloud Road Puffin Books, paperback, The Kingdom of the Lost – Book 2 12 November 2015 The Red Queen Penguin Books, paperback, Obernewtyn Chronicles – Book 7 3 July 2017 The Ice Maze Viking, hardback, The Kingdom of the Lost – Book 3 29 October 2024 Comes the Night A&U Children's, paperback, Shortlisted CBCA Book of the Year, Older Readers, 2025. Shortlisted John Marsden Book of the Year for Older Children, Australian Book Industry Awards, 2025. Shortlisted Indie Young Adult Book Awards, 2025 Forthcoming Darkbane Legendsong Saga – Book 3 Forthcoming Firecat's Dream Gateway Trilogy – Book 3 Forthcoming The Velvet City The Kingdom of the Lost – Book 4
+ Short stories Collection Title Date first published Notes After Dark The Red Shoes 1996 pub. 2000 The Landlord 2000 Dark House A Splinter of Darkness 1995 ed. Gary Crew Dream Weavers The Keystone 1996 ed. Paul Collins Dreaming Again Perchance to Dream 2008 ed. Jack Dann Dreaming Down-Under The Man Who Lost His Shadow 1998 ed. Jack Dann, Janeen Webb Exotic Gothic The Stranger 2009 ed. Danel Olson Metro Winds 2012 Gathering the Bones The Dove Game 2003 ed. Ramsey Campbell, Jack Dann, Dennis Etchison Green Monkey Dreams Corfu 1985 pub. 1996 The Witch Seed 1992 Seek No More 1992 The Pumpkin Eater 1994 The Monster Game 1994 Green Monkey Dreams 1995 The Phoenix 1996 The Glory Days The Beast The Lemming Factor The Red Shoes Into the Future Roaches 1991 ed. Toss Gascoigne, Jo Goodman, Margot Tyrrell Kids' Night in 2 Santorini 2005 ed. Jessica Adams et al. Legends of Australian Fantasy The Dark Road: An Obernewtyn Story ed. Jack Dann, Jonathan Strahan The Lottery: Nine Science Fiction Stories Long Live the Giant! 1994 ed. Lucy Sussex The Road to Camelot Guinevere, or the Sleeping of Beauty 2002 ed. Sophie Masson Trust Me Too The Journey 2012 Under My Hat The Stone Witch 2012
Picture books Journey From the Centre of the Earth (2003), illustrated by Marc McBride Wildheart (2002), illustrated by Steven Woolman Dreamwalker (2000), a story in graphic novel form, illustrated by Steven Woolman The Wrong Thing (2006), illustrated by Declan Lee (rewritten for the US/Canada and published as Magic Night) Night School (2010), illustrated by Anne Spudvilas Evermore (2015), illustrated by Daniel Reed
Awards 2025 - Children's Book Council of Australia Awards Older Readers Book of the Year: shortlisted for Comes the Night 2011 – Children's Book Council of Australia Awards Younger Readers Book of the Year: winner for The Red Wind
2008 – Aurealis Awards Young Adult Novel: Shortlisted for The Stone Key
2007 – Aurealis Awards Children's Novel: shortlisted for A Fox Called Sorrow
2006 – ABPA Book Design Awards Fiction: winner for Little Fur: the Legend of Little Fur
2006 – Aurealis Awards Golden Aurealis novel: winner for Alyzon Whitestarr Young Adult Novel: winner for Alyzon Whitestarr Children's Long Fiction: winner for Little Fur: The Legend of Little Fur
2002 – Aurealis Awards Young Adult Short Story Award: winner for Dreamwalker
1998 – Aurealis Awards Young Adult Novel: winner for Greylands Fantasy Novel: shortlisted for "Darkfall: Book One of the Legendsong"
1998 – Ditmar Awards Australian Long Fiction: shortlisted for Darkfall
1997 – Aurealis Awards Young Adult Short Story: winner for Green Monkey Dreams
1997 – Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Horror, Stories Young Adult Division: winner for Greylands
1996 – Aurealis Awards Young Adult Novel: shortlisted for Ashling
1994 – The Children's Book Council of Australia Awards Book of the Year for Older Readers: joint winner for The Gathering
1994 – W.A. Young Readers Book Award (WAYRA) Second for The Gathering
1993 – Children's Peace Literature Award (PEACE) Best Book: joint winner for The Gathering
1992 – 3M Talking Book Award – (NSW) Talking Book: Winner for Scatterlings
1991 – The Children's Book Council of Australia Awards Book of the Year for Older Readers – Honour Book for The Farseekers: the Obernewtyn Chronicles
1988 – The Children's Book Council of Australia Awards Book of the Year for Older Readers: shortlisted for Obernewtyn: The Obernewtyn Chronicles
A more complete list of Isobelle Carmody's nominations and awards can be found on the author profile at Penguin Books
References
External links Isobelle Carmody: The Official Website
Obernewtyn.net: The Official Obernewtyn Chronicles Fansite The Slipstream: Isobelle Carmody's blog Isobelle Carmody in conversation with Susan Johnson, State Library of Queensland