Occupation Writer Name John Larkin Children 3 | Genre Young-adult fiction Period 1993–present Role Writer | |
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Notable awards The Victorian Premier's Award2012 Books The Shadow Girl, Nostradamus and Instant Noodles, Ghost Byte, Lasagne Brain, Growing Payne |
John Brendan Larkin (born 20 April 1963) is an Australian writer. He is best known for The Shadow Girl and The Pause, both published by Penguin Random House. The Pause was released in April 2015. The Shadow Girl won the 2012 Victorian Premier's Award for young adult fiction.
Life and career
Larkin was born in the South Yorkshire mining town of Maltby, Yorkshire, England. His mother, Pat, was also from Maltby and his father Brendan is originally from Ireland. The family emigrated to Australia in the late 1960s landing in Sydney on Christmas Eve 1969. John is the middle child of three. He has an older sister Trish and a younger brother Paul who currently lives in Western Australia, although John currently lives in Sydney. Larkin attended Toongabbie Public School and Pendle Hill High School. He studied English Literature at Macquarie University, and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts, a Bachelor of Education and a Master's in Creative Writing. He is now still writing books and also teaches at schools such as Knox Grammar Preparatory School.