Deb Fitzpatrick

On Wednesday 8 March our Year 7 and 8 students enjoyed listening to how Deb Fitzpatrick used what she knows to give her stories authenticity. Deb lives and works in Fremantle, Western Australia. She has a Master of Arts (Creative Writing) and is the author of five novels. Her latest is At My Door, for younger readers. The Break (2014) is for adult readers. Her YA novels – 90 Packets of Instant Noodles (2010) and Have You Seen Ally Queen? (2011) – were named Notable Books by the Children’s Book Council of Australia (CBCA). The Amazing Spencer Gray(2013), a novel for younger readers, was published in the US in late 2016.

Deb Fitzpatrick has a knack for creating characters that her readers can relate to in spite of the unusual circumstances they have to endure. Our year 7s and 8 really enjoyed listening to her speak in detail about how she did this in her book The Amazing Spencer Gray. 

She clearly demonstrated how to create honest, believable characters that readers can identify easily with. Our students learnt much about how to make characters come alive for readers - even as they brave situations that writers themselves are unfamiliar with.