MARTINE MURRAY

AUTHOR / ILLUSTRATOR

Martine Murray left university to study art. After art school she studied more physical things like acrobatics and dance. Then she tried to join it all together in theatre. Meanwhile, she started writing just to keep track of what was going on. And soon enough, Martine had authored and illustrated the gentle, funny and gloriously playful A MOOSE CALLED MOUSE (Allen & Unwin) andÊTHE SLIGHTLY TRUE STORY OF CEDAR B. HARTLEY (Allen & Unwin).

A MOOSE CALLED MOUSE is a must-have picture book for 3 - 6 year olds as a celebration of friendship and an invitation to marvel at the way life keeps bringing us another day, another night, another beautiful moment to enjoy.

Martine was born in Melbourne and still lives there, though once she went to America and saw a lot of squirrels, one raccoon, and not a single moose. Making images has always interested her, but Martine can't seem to stick to on medium. She has studied film making at Prahan College, painting at the Victorian College of the Arts and Movement & Dance at Melbourne Uni.

The moving body, theatre and improvisation has interested her exploration in how this can communicate. This has led Martine to form a small dance theatre company called Bird on a Wire, recently receiving Arts Victoria funding to develop and perform the full length work, Contained as part of Melbourne's Next Wave Festival. She also teaches yoga and has been involved in community circus.

THE SLIGHTLY TRUE STORY OF CEDAR B HARTLEY is perfect for middle years students and was shortlisted for the CBC younger readers category in 2003.

Martine's latest Y.A. Novel, HOW TO MAKE A BIRD (Allen & Unwin) charts the beautifully complex journey of a 17 year old girl, as she finds her place in the world. Ideal for upper secondary students.

Martine is currently enrolled in Professional Writing at RMIT and plans further study in screen writing and short story.

FEEDBACK

"The students and teachers were impressed with Martine's openess, humour and writing process. Her genuine rapport with the students was evident by their unending questions. An informative and lively day - Martine was magnificent!"

- Sue Knight, Footscray Library

"A most excellent presentation that was pitched perfectly for our students. Very warmly recieved. Martine really struck a chord with us - people didn't stop raving about it for days."

- Paul Brown, Rossbourne School