Norman Jorgensen - BIOGRAPHY

Norman Jorgensen may have the body of an ageing historical novelist, but he has the mind of an adolescent 12-year-old boy, and one who writes Australian stories for Australian kids just like himself.  

Norman was born in Broome and lived in several country towns until his family settled in Kalamunda in the hills, where he lived a happy Huckleberry Finn-like childhood with his three brothers.

No humour or thrilling adventures are spared as his fictional characters in Jack’s Island, The Smuggler’s Curse, and his other dozen books weave through sea battles, mix with authentic freedom fighters, fight the Dutch colonial army and are nearly killed many times over in the actual locations of Broome, Fremantle, Cossack in the early days of Western Australia, as well as in Sumatra and Singapore.    

Norman’s whole life has been about books, having owned a bookshop, worked as a publisher's agent and sold books to schools and libraries.  

He was recently inducted into the Hall of Fame of the WA Young Readers’ Book Awards and has won many awards, including the CBC’s Book of the Year Award, four children's choice awards, the Crystal Kite Award from his SCBWI peers, and The Henry Burgh Award in the USA.

Norman’s mission is to win over even the most reluctant of readers with classic story-telling laced with humour, excitement and vivid descriptions.