External links
- Jessica Townsend at Hachette Australia
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Jessica Townsend | |
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| Born | Jessica Townsend April 18, 1985 Caloundra, Queensland, Australia |
| Language | English |
| Nationality | Australian |
| Genre | |
| Years active | 2017–present |
| Notable works | |
Jessica Townsend (born 18 April 1985 in Caloundra, Queensland) is an Australian author known for the children's fantasy novel series, The Nevermoor series . [1] [2]
Her debut novel Nevermoor: The Trials of Morrigan Crow won the Book of the Year Award at the Australian Book Industry Awards, [3] and was shortlisted for the 2019 NSW Premier's Literary Awards' Patricia Wrightson Prize for Children's Literature. [4] At the Adelaide Festival Awards for Literature, Nevermoor won both the Premier's Award for best overall published work and the Children's Award. [5] It also won the 2018 Waterstones Children's Book Prize for Younger Fiction. [6] Film rights to Nevermoor were sold to 20th Century Fox in 2016. Screenwriter Drew Goddard has been selected to adapt the screenplay. [7]
Jessica Townsend grew up in Queensland, Australia. She wrote her first story at the age of 7, and it was published in a local library newsletter. [8] Townsend began writing what would become the first Nevermoor book the year she left high school. [1] She worked as a copywriter for 8 years [9] and at Steve Irwin's Australia Zoo for 5 years, including as an editor of its children's magazine Crikey! [8] She moved to London at age 22 and has lived off and on in Queensland and London for the last 10 years. [8] The sale of the Nevermoor books has allowed Townsend to become a full-time writer. [1]
Nevermoor: The Trials of Morrigan Crow was Townsend's first novel. [9] Interest in the publishing rights began at the 2016 Frankfurt Book Fair, and the rights were bid on by eight different publishing companies. [8] Townsend chose to sell the rights to Hachette as part of a six-figure three-book contract. [1] In 2019 the contract with Hachette was expanded for three more books. [10] Townsend has stated that she has written plots for nine books in the series. [8]
Jessica Townsend has referenced several literary influences for her writing. Written influences include Little Women , which she's called her favorite book, The Baby-Sitters Club , His Dark Materials , Wicked, Tomorrow When the War Began, [8] No Gun for Asmir, [11] and the Harry Potter series. [1] Her work has been compared to that of J. K. Rowling, [12] and she has cited Rowling as a major influence. [8] Film influences include Willow and Return to Oz . [1]
Critics have also noted similarities between the world of Nevermoor and contemporary London. [8] In particular, Courage Square in the novels is inspired by Trafalgar Square [8] and the Wunderground is inspired by the London Underground. [1]
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