Amelia - Softcover

Having grown up in Galway and Donegal, Siobhan Parkinson has lived most of her adult life in her native Dublin. She studied English literature and German at Trinity, and went on to take her doctorate in English literature. She has worked for many years as an editor, a profession that very closely resembles that of writing. She concentrates more on her writing these days, but is also a very active member of the writers-in-schools scheme, and she gives workshops in creative writing and talks on her work in all sorts of situations. She has held various writing residencies and has been editor of, Inis -- The Children's Books Ireland Magazine, and Bookbird, the IbBy International magazine. Her books have won numerous awards and been translated into lots of languages, her favourites being Latvian, because it is so different, and Japanese, because it is back to front. Her husband, Roger Bennett, is a woodturner and teacher, and her son Matthew is almost grown up. Being her son didn't do him too much harm, he claims, but time will tell. Her book Sisters ... no way! won the Bisto Book of the Year award. Four Kids, Three Cats, Two Cows, One Witch (maybe) won a Bisto Merit Award. Siobhan's next book, The Moon King, also won a Bisto Merit Award and was on the iBbY Honour List 2000, in Ireland's first year as a member of iBbY. Siobhan was Ireland's first Laureate na nOg (Children's Laureate) from 2010-2012.

'Parkinson's greatest achievement ... other than her ability to create credible characters and to tell a well paced story ... is to provide, as backcloth, a portrait of an era in Irish social life when all former certainties are under threat.' -- Children's Books in Ireland * Children's Books in Ireland * 'A very substantial novel set in the Dublin south of 1914, encompassing the place of the Quakers in the society of the time, the imminence of war, the manner in which people can be dropped when their fortunes diminish, and the resoluteness of the main character, young Amelia Pim, in the face of adversity.' -- Sunday Press 'Amelia gives a tremendous insight into the way things were for the well off and the not quite so well off. It presents clearly the difficulties that arise when one is suddenly thrown into a new situation. But Amelia learns fast. A well-written and sensitive story.' -- Books Ireland * Books Ireland *