Jackie French's writing career spans eighteen years, 47 wombats, 130 books, translations into twenty three languages, 3,721 bush rats, about 50 awards and shortlistings, six possibly insane lyrebirds, assorted 'Burke's Backyard' segments, radio shows, newspaper and magazine columns, theories of pest and weed ecology and 27 shredded back doormats. The doormats are the victims of the wombats who require constant appeasement in the form of carrots, rolled oats and wombat nuts, which is one of the reasons for her prolific output: it pays the carrot bills.

Jackie wrote her first children's book Rainstones in a desperate attempt to earn $106.40 to register her car, while living in a shed with a wallaby called Fred, a black snake called Gladys and a wombat called Smudge. It was described by the editor at HarperCollins as the messiest, worst spelt manuscript they'd ever received.

The messiest was due to Smudge the wombat who left his droppings on the typewriter every night; the spelling was due to the fact she is dyslexic. She recommends all beginning writers to mis-spell their first book with a wombat damaged typewriter - at least that way it stands out of the pile!

Jackie is one of the few writers to win both literary and children's choice awards. Hitler's Daughter won the 2000 CBC Book of the Year for Younger Readers, the UK Wow! Award, a Semi Grand Priz award in Japan and has been listed as a "blue ribbon' book in the USA. Diary of a Wombat won most of the kid's choice awards, several awards in the USA,the 2003 ABA/ Neilson Data Book of the Year, was 2003 CBC Honour Book, plus a few other awards and is galloping across the rest of the world too. It is based on the saga of Mothball, the wombat who still lives under her bedroom, and who has been described as the most valuable animal in the district!

Jackie and her husband Bryan live in the Araluen valley, a deep valley on the edge of the Deua wilderness area, in a stone house they built themselves, with a home made waterwheel as well as solar panels to power their house (and computers). Their garden rambles over about 4 hectares, with roses dripping from the trees, 800 fruit trees, and about 270 different kinds of fruit (not counting 125 varieties of apple) , so there is never a time when there aren't basketsfull of fruit to pick. Jackie also describes herself as a 'wombat negotiator' and has spent three decades studying the wombats in her valley.

Jackie is ACT (Australian Captital Territory) Children's Ambassador, and patron of Club Cool, an ACT library programme to encourage kids to read, At Home with Books, a programme to encourage reading with foster children, and the local Wildcare, which looks after injured wildlife and returns them to the bush. She is also a director of The Wombat Foundation, that raises funds for research into the preservation of the endangered northern hairy nosed wombat.

To read a recent interview with Jackie, click here.

Visit Jackie's own website to learn more about her! Or register for the free monthly newletter all about new books (and the wombats in the garden) here.

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