About Alison Lloyd

Alison Lloyd is an Australian writer. She writes fiction and non-fiction. Her children's books have been shortlisted for several awards, and in 2019 her Upside-down History of Downunder won the NSW Premier's History Prize. All of her books have been about the past.

NEWS! Alison is now writing for adults as well. Have a look at alisonlloydauthor.com.

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Alison grew up in Canberra. She was also lucky to live in Europe and Asia when she was a kid. She studied in China for two years - she was in that country when army tanks rolled onto the city streets, to put down the student movement in 1989.

Before she wrote books, Alison worked for the Australian Government, in the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. But she has sworn, under the Official Secrets Act, not to tell everything that went on then...

Alison now lives in Melbourne with her family and hundreds of books.

Likes:

reading (of course)
the bush, the beach, mountains
walking and cycling
church
making things
cake

Dislikes:

books and movies with a weak plot
live snakes (they taste alright cooked)
pig's liver (which tastes awful)

History Bytes podcast

Munch on sound-bites of history! Listen to bits of Alison Lloyd's books and more.

Email Me

I really like to hear what readers think about my books. You are welcome to email me using the form on this page.

If you are interested in having me talk at your school, please contact Nexus Arts.

Find me on Facebook

Here

Why do I write?

All of us love stories. I love telling stories. Stories have meanings and I think we all want those too.

I once read that our lives are like an embroidery, or inside out clothes. We only get to see the back side, with all the knots and joins and messy sewing. But God sees the whole picture - the good side.

I like that. When I tell a story, I think I am showing part of the whole picture - the meaning of life.

The meaning that I hope readers will see in Year of the Tiger is this: every person is precious and important, whether they are Chinese or Australian, rich or poor.

Wicked Warriors and Evil Emperors is about power: people want it; they like it; but how should they use it? The First Emperor is ancient history, but Dragons, Devils and Rebels is not. There are still governments in the world today who use brutal methods to control their countries.

Letty is a girl who tries very hard to please other people. She often feels she isn't pretty enough, or old enough, or capable enough, to be loved the way she wants. Fortunately, she is wrong about that...

The Bushranger's Boys is about crime and punishment - who's right, who's wrong, and whether fairness is everything.

Read them for yourself and tell me what you think.