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Hi…
Jackie French AM is an Australian author, historian, ecologist and honourary wombat (part time); 2014–15 Australian Children' Laureate; and 2015 Senior Australian of the Year.
Jackie was born in Sydney grew up on the outskirts of Brisbane, and is still not dead. She has lived for more than 40 years at the top of the gorge in the Araluen Valley, where her ancestors lived too. Only one school she attended burned down. This was not her fault.
Some of Jackie’s books have sold millions of copies and won over 60 awards in Australia and internationally. Others were eaten by the wombats.
Instead of hobbies she has: written over 200 books; built a house and power system; planted thousands of trees; eaten lunches with friends; read to her grandkids; tried to find her glasses; eaten dark chocolates, whatever fruit is in season and the odd feral species (some are very odd). She coined the term ‘moral ominvore’ to describe her diet. There is a dispensation for dark chocolate.
Jackie has studied over 400 wombats and been the (almost) obedient slave to a dozen of them. She is an enthusiastic cook married to an enthusiastic eater. If you visit do not bring cake. It is the duty of a guest to eat. Lots. Then eat some more. If you are worried about calories hike up the mountain and look for endangered species. But you will find more on a bush mooch than a bush walk. Watch out for the eight species of snake. Don’t worry. They’ll also be watching out for you.
Jackie writes for adults, young adults, and even younger humans, on history, ecology, and her award-winning historical fiction for all ages, but... write just one picture book about a wombat and no one lets you forget it. Ever. Please do not mention Diary of a Wombat or the word ‘prolific’. Or the story of how her first book was accepted because a wombat had left its droppings on her typewriter as, after 25 years of repeating it, she is bored.
Jackie is also dyslexic and patron of literacy programmes across Australia with a wide and deep – if accidental – experience in learning differences and methods and their outcomes for students, as well as a passionate advocate for equal-opportunity education. She still can't spell.
The Rights of the Child Reader
1. Every child has the right to learn to read, with the methods they need to do so
2. Every child has the right to access the books they need; for pleasure, learning, empathy and to grow their brains
3. Every child has the right to read books in their mother language, about their own culture
4. Every child has the right to say, ‘This book is boring. May I have another?’
5. Every child has the right to be given books that are free of racism and hatred
6. Every child has the right to access the extraordinary heritage of the written knowledge of humanity
Every adult has the right to know the children of this planet are being given the tools of literacy and the power of books to change the world and ensure our future.
Services offered…
Since a major accident in 2019 left me partially paralysed, I can't do many in-person events, but I love doing these things...
For bookshops and libraries: free video sessions on the stories behind my books, and how to find the magic book, the one that keeps you up till 2am and hunting for yet another book the next morning. Suitable for all age groups from five upwards, as I write for all age groups, or sessions for the whole family.
For schools: targeted workshops on writing skills from picture books to essays, creative or persuasive writing, NAPLAN, the stories behind the books or tempting kids to widen their reading. Most books are boring - I won't read any book on football, zombies, or any politician who hasn't been dead for at least a decade. But there is a magic book for every child, and it can change their life. $350 a session but negotiated according to your budget.
Preschools and Kindergarten classes: we will read Diary of a Wombat and Pete the Sheep together with actions, learn how to speak wombat, then write our own book, with help from the teacher. Optional 'wombat song and dance'.
For Book Clubs: free half hour sessions on the stories behind the books, and 'what happened next'. (I always know what happens next to the characters in my books).
For Emerging Writers: mentoring sessions ranging from a one-hour Q & A on publishing, two hours evaluating your writing and current project and suggesting changes, or whole book evaluation. $350 an hour or what you and I can afford. Conversations that veer off into wombats, fascinating historical research and general book gossip are free.
For schools, parents, teachers or support organisations for learning difficulties: free sessions. I'm dyslexic and dyspraxic. I can't tutor, but I can encourage and discuss what help is available.
Gift sessions: now and then I'm asked to have a half hour conversation as a gift for someone's mum or best friend. These were a shock at first - the first one was from a seven-year-old who offered me their week's pocket money - but to my surprise we have fun talking books, wombats, gardening problems or just 'I've always wondered...'. Price negotiable. (That first one was free, fabulous after Mum got over the shock, and the kid was justly proud that they'd come up with a totally original gift. We mostly talked gardening.)
Festivals and Conferences: these video sessions work fabulously, and you won't have to pay my transport or accommodation. I'm a compelling and passionate public speaker.
Signed Books: send a self-addressed envelope to Jackie French, PO Box 63 Braidwood and I'll send you the book and inscription. I can also send signed bookplates to schools and bookstores.
Garden Design: want a school garden or a backyard that grows 90% of your tucker? Let's discuss.
Anything else: my books range from picture books to historical fiction for adolescents, teenagers and adults. I will talk wombats ‘til the cows come home; built my own house with much help from friends; have written texts on weed and pest control as well as decades of gardening columns and books like Backyard Self Sufficiency (CSIRO Publishing) and have lived in the area that's now a Conservation Area for over half a century. I love to talk, adore giving video sessions and helping writers, parents, kids and wildlife and garden lovers. Ask for whatever you'd like, and I'll try to do it.
Contact: Jackie@jackiefrench.com
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New Releases
June 2026
1931. The height of the Depression, Sydney, New South Wales
They were diamonds: beautiful, sparkling and irresistible.
Nice girls do not accept employment from infamous Tilly Devine, the brothel owner with jewels on her fingers and a pistol in her handbag.
All of Sydney knows her as the queen of crime, ruling an empire of bootleg whisky and gambling clubs, and rumour has it she's quick to pull the trigger on anyone who crosses her - including her husband.
Yet, destitute after her mother's death, Constance McKie realises she has three choices: starve, jump over The Gap, or enter a life no respectable girl would dare consider. When Tilly Devine offers her a role as one of her 'diamonds', Connie finds that perhaps she's not the girl she thought she was.
A diamond's role is complex, demanding, usually glamorous and entirely secret, and kept far away from Tilly's world of gang wars, bribery and blackmail. But when murder is suspected in the mansion that becomes her home, Connie soon learns that it's not only diamonds that are tougher than steel.
From bestselling author Jackie French comes a compelling book about the choices we make and the chances we never dreamed we'd be given.
You can order a copy here
Cleopatra. The Girl Who Would Be King
May 2026
Ages 9+
Forget what you know about Cleopatra, the Egyptian queen with a fantastic hairstyle. That's only part of the story. Before she was a ruler, Cleopatra was a girl with a fierce ambition: to become pharaoh.
When twelve-year-old Cleopatra and her father, Pharaoh Ptolemy XII, flee to ancient Rome in 59 BCE after Cleopatra's sister seizes the throne, they are in serious trouble. It's up to Cleopatra to raise enough gold to hire an army, gain the support of powerful allies, and take back her country's land.
Three years later she had become the most famous pharaoh in history.
This is the story of how that year in ancient Rome might have changed Cleopatra's life, with daring escapes, crocodiles, pirates, shipwreck and encountering the intrepid Captain Fileas and Myra, the slave determined to be free.
The is the first title in an exciting new series that explores the Ancient World.
You can order a copy here
October 2025
Ages 0-2 years
Following on from The Fire Wombat and The Turtle and the Flood, The Drought Kangaroo is the third title in the series that focuses on animals and the challenges they face in environmental disaster, be it fire, flood, and now drought.
Drought has devastated Joseph the kangaroo's home. He longs for green grass and the cool, clear water he can smell in the distance.
Kangaroos can leap higher and further than any other animal, but can even Joseph's strong hind legs help him reach the waterhole? And will the new mob there accept a stranger?
Created by Jackie French and Danny Snell, the award-winning duo of The Fire Wombat and The Turtle and the Flood, this is a true story about a young kangaroo who went on the longest journey of his life and ended up living by a creek on Jackie's property.
You can order a copy here
All Aboard! Discovering Sydney's Central Station
August 2025
Ages 5-8
From steam trains to modern metros, from wartime travellers to holiday-makers, explore how Central Station evolved from a tin shed in 1855 to Australia’s busiest and most iconic railway hub. All Aboard! Discovering Sydney’s Central Station captures some of the most intriguing milestones and secrets of Central Station’s past.
This book brings history and the station to life with engaging text by Jackie French and stunning illustrations by Martina Heiduczek. Young readers can lift the flaps and uncover them all, and there's a cat named Jim to spot on every page.
You can order a copy here
July 2025
Ages 12+
1942.
Japan has bombed Sydney Harbour. Sixteen-year-old Ossie lies about his age to protect his country, even though it means abandoning his only family, a one-eyed dog named Lucky.
Kind-hearted Mrs Plum is already looking after forty-six dogs belonging to soldiers who've gone to war. She can't possibly care for another. But just when she's becoming desperate to find a way to feed them, help arrives: thirteen-year-old Kat Murphy volunteers to take Lucky and persuades the girls at school to help, too.
As Kat and Lucky grow closer, Kat realises he can still see Ossie, the master he loves. And somehow, Kat and Ossie catch glimpses into each other's lives, too. This extraordinary connection helps Ossie survive when he is taken as a prisoner of war to Japan. There, he witnesses a strange mushroom cloud rise above Nagasaki – the result of a bomb that will take, save and change lives, and forever leave the question: was it worth it?
Taken from first-hand Japanese accounts of that momentous but often misunderstood time, this is a story of quiet heroism and endurance in the face of an unimaginable horror that continues to resound to this day.
You can order a copy here
Books coming soon
February 2027
Ages 3+
It's Easter, and THAT RABBIT is going to deliver chocolate eggs to all the children.
Again.
Wild Whiskers and the Wriggly Creek wombats are furious. A rabbit isn't even an Australian animal!
So, they hatch a cunning plan to foil the Easter Bunny ...
March 2027
Ages 10+
1841.
Twelve-year-old orphan Carrie Murphy lands on the Sydney docks, one of tens of thousands of young girls abandoned by the British government who has sent them across the world to starve.
Rescued by Mrs Caroline Chisholm, Carrie joins the fight to set up the Female Immigrants' Home - and the home she longs for too.
But when the Home closes months later, Carrie becomes the Lady Housekeeper for a wealthy squatter, to teach the stubborn ex-convict how to be a gentleman so his family can enter British society. As Carrie finds challenges, love and her own destiny, her friend and mentor Caroline becomes one of the most remarkable women in Australia's history.
Filled with unforgettable characters and adventures, this is the story of the feminist and philanthropist Caroline Chisholm and the young women she sheltered, cared for - and inspired.
Get in touch
I love hearing from readers but can't answer all the emails immediately. If you need help with a school assignment, please check out my FAQ page. It may have the answers you seek. If that hasn't helped, have a browse here, here or here.
If you have publicity or media enquiries, please get in touch with Maraya Bell at maraya.bell@harpercollins.com.au
For more information on the terms of videos and virtual workshops, see the Bookings page.
Mail
I may take a few weeks to reply to mail. Please write to:
Jackie French
PO Box 63
Braidwood, NSW 2622
I'm no longer able to send written replies to letters or enquiries – there are too many requests for me to manage. If you need a reply, please add a phone number or email address to your letter.
Permission to Use or Copy Material
Under the conditions of publishing contracts, permission to use or adapt material must be sought from the publishers, not the author. Please contact the publishers rather than myself.
I'm also not able to give permission for any images to be used, as the artists and the designers who have worked on each book also hold the copyright for their work. They should be contacted directly, as well as the publishers.
If in doubt about whether you need permission to copy material, phone or email The Copyright Agency for free advice.
I do hold the rights for theatrical or film adaptations of my work, and so can give permission for those.
Audio, eBook and Rare Book Editions
Audio and ebook editions are handled by Harper Collins. Check their web site, www.harpercollins.com.au for details. I usually don't know what editions are available, so can't help. I also don't keep a stock of my books, but buy them as needed, so am unable to help with rare editions either.
Stay in touch
Sign up! Expect a newsletter with news about the wombats, my books and latest recipes. For past editions of the newsletter, have a look here.
I acknowledge the dhurga People of Yuin Country, past, present and future, custodians of the land on which I live and write, in love and gratitude
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