About Claire Saxby

Children’s Author

A Longish Bio about Claire Saxby

I write fiction, non-fiction and poetry for young people. I live in Melbourne and love my city. I was born in Melbourne, wandered about Australia and Papua New Guinea for many years, then returned to Melbourne to raise my family. Now my children have flown the nest, I rattle around in a biggish house full of memories and the bits and pieces my children left here. I spend a lot of time walking, taking photos and thinking ‘What if …’ ‘What if…’ is a really good question. Almost as good as ‘Why?’ I ask that question a lot too.

The answers to these questions sometimes become the foundation for a poem, sometimes a story, sometimes non-fiction.

Claire Saxby - Children's Author

Yep, it’s me!

Picture books have only a few words but they have to be the right words. The search for the best words for a picture book can take a very long time. A really, really long time.

Some stories will not be squeezed into a picture book and demand to be written as novels. The search for the right words for a novel can also take a really long time. And there’s so many more of them.

Non-fiction and narrative non-fiction stories need research.

Poems can be short or long, funny, silly or serious. Like picture books, (and novels) the right words need to be assembled in the right order.

I love writing, even when I am gnashing and wailing and moaning that I will never get it right. I love sharing my work with young people in schools, libraries and at festivals. I love helping young people shape their own unique stories. I love talking to teachers and librarians about ways to help young people develop their ideas. I love working with a publishing company to make my story sing.I love sharing with audiences of all ages the discoveries I makes while writing. My family are accustomed to me emerging from my research to say, ‘Did you know?’ and offering up fascinating titbits about shark digestive tracts, the side-effects of gorging at roadkill for eagles, the differences between monocular and binocular vision in kookaburras and the bifurcated nature of emu feathers. I hope I will never run out of the curiosity to understand this wonderful world.

A Shortish Official Bio

Claire Saxby writes award-winning fiction, non-fiction and poetry for young people. Her work is published in Australia and internationally. Recent books include Haywire (historical novel), Kookaburra (picture book with Tannya Harricks), Aussie Stem Stars: Georgia Ward Fear (biography), Iceberg (picture book with Jess Racklyeft), Treasure! (picture book with Tull Suwannakit) and Great White Shark (picture book with Cindy Lane).

The Really Short Claire Saxby Bio

Claire Saxby writes fiction, non-fiction and poetry for young people.  Interested in some FAQs?     Books by Claire Saxby