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JENI
MAWTER
Jeni Mawter, sometimes known as J.A.
Mawter to disguise her true identity, is the popular
author of the So! series. So Gross!,
So Feral!, So Sick!, So Festy!, So Grotty! and So
Stinky!, These books are full of cheeky stories
that are particularly aimed at reluctant boy readers,
but have proven to have a very wide general appeal.
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"Mawter's
stories have the uncouth humour reminiscent of Roald
Dahl and Paul Jennings and therefore children will find
them absolutely delightful."
Reviewed in Good Reading Magazine, May 2005
Mawter
uses edgy humour to hook children on reading …
Weekend Gold Coast Bulletin, 29/01/05
We
adored the short stories from J.A. Mawter’s So
Stinky! book so much… and her wacky, zany and
painfully real ideas…
Reviewed in Girl Power magazine, March
2005.
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Other fiction
titles include a picture book There's a Sun Fairy in
Our Garden and a teenage novel Team Dream.
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'An
inspiring story of overcoming barriers and reaching for
your dreams …'
Nick Farr-Jones, former Wallabies’ Captain.
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Other works published
include junior readers: Maisie's Race; Go the Mobile!; The
Most Unusual Pet and Turkey Pox as well
as YA fiction: a verse narrative Slow Swimming and
a prose narrative, The Kiss, in the anthology Alive
and Kicking. Non-fiction books for teacher-resource material
include Special Days; Natural Disasters; Feelings; Families
and Homes; Food; The Snowy Mountain Scheme and The
Changing face of Xmas in Australia. Jeni has also co-authored
a series, Focus on Integrating Text and Thinking,
which is a critical analysis of humour for classroom use. Jeni’s
latest book is the first in her new series, The Freewheelers.
Unleashed! introduces us to a groups of friends from diverse cultural
backgrounds, who spend their time hanging out, trick-riding on their
bikes, having adventures and solving mysteries along the way.
Jeni, who
lives in Sydney with her family, was originally a speech pathologist,
but decided a few years ago that she would much rather be an
author. She completed a Masters' Degree in Children's Literature
at Macquarie University, has a Diploma in Book Editing and Publishing
from Macleay College, and now is a full-time writer and teacher.
Jeni's teaching credits include Nestlé Write Around Australia,
Macquarie University, the Sydney Writers’ Festival, the
Norman Lindsay Literature Festival, Newington Literature Festival,
Somerset Literature Festival, Spikefest, the NSW Writers’ Centre,
North Sydney Community Centre and the School Librarians Association
of Victoria. She has been a judge for the Stanton Library Creative
Writing Competition and the Wakakirri National Storytelling competition.
Workshops
include:
- Creative
Writing
- Creative
Writing for Years 11 and 12
- Writing
for Children
- Writing
Humour
- Writing
Humour for Children
- My Work
- Getting
Published
- Finding
Your Story
- Boys and
Books
- Humour
in Children’s Literature: Why Gross Works for Kids
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We
thoroughly enjoyed Jeni Mawter. The Year 4, 5 & 6 students
loved her talk & wanted to borrow her books… The
small group workshops were great.
Menai Primary School
"Jeni
engaged the children at their level and they listened
to her stories intently. Every child was inspired to
write."
Nestle Write Around Australia
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Jeni has a special
interest in the discovery of interesting and unusual words, and researching
all sorts of unusual information that provides the background to
her stories. She is eager to share her love of words and her love
of writing with school groups and to share the funny experiences
that have inspired her stories.
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“Thank
you for single-handedly bringing my 10 year old son back
to reading." Email from Jill.
“Jeni
Mawter’s humour… will win over reluctant
boy readers, adventurous girl readers and teachers who
need to end the day with a giggle."
Review in Good Reading Magazine, July 2003.
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Teaching Notes,
a personal interview and other fun stuff can be found at the HarperCollins
site and her own
site.
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