Occupation Writer Name Gary Crew | Role Writer | |
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Education University of the Sunshine Coast, University of Queensland Nominations Edgar Award for Best Young Adult Books The Watertower, Strange Objects, The Viewer, Beneath the Surface, Angel's Gate Similar People Shaun Tan, Libby Hathorn, Paul Collins, Isobelle Carmody, Gregory Rogers | ||
Gary David Crew (born 23 September 1947) is an Australian writer of young adult fiction.
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Life
Gary Crew was born in Brisbane, Queensland on 23 September 1947. An illness during childhood kept him home from school but enabled him to develop an interest in reading adventure stories.
Crew first trained as a design draftsman and he worked in this field for ten years. When he decided to become a teacher, his family responsibilities prevented him from accepting an art scholarship and he trained as an English teacher instead. While teaching, he also gained a Master of Arts in Literature from Queensland University.
Crew was prompted to begin writing in order to provide relevant reading material for his school students. In 1986, he published his first novel, The Inner Circle and, by 1989, he had left teaching to write full time. Since then, he has written numerous books and won many awards. He has specialised in the areas of Teenage Fiction, Young Adult Fiction, and Children’s Picture Books.
Crew and his wife Christine have three children, Rachel, Sarah, and Joel. Their daughters both have law degrees and Joel is a professional golfer and golf club manager.
Crew and Christine live in the mountains of the Sunshine Coast Hinterland. Crew is a graduate of the University of the Sunshine Coast and is now an Associate Professor there; he lectures in Creative Writing.
Awards
Crew has won the Australian Children's Book of the Year on four occasions.
Children's Book of the Year Award: Older Readers
Children's Book of the Year Award: Picture Book
Alan Marshall Prize for Children's Literature
New South Wales Premier's Award