World Literary Awards

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Bren MacDibble

ぶれん・まくでぃぶる

Bren MacDibble

Aliases: McGregor
Pen Names: Cally Black（Used to distinguish books for young adults）

Profile

Gender
Female
Born
1966-01-01 （Whanganui, New Zealand）
Nationality
New Zealand, Australia
Languages
English
Residence History
Whanganui, New Zealand → Farms around central North Island, New Zealand → Melbourne, Victoria, Australia → Midwest coast of Western Australia

Career

Occupations
Writer
Active Years
2015-2024
Nominations
South Australian Festival Literary Prize shortlist (How to Bee), Norma K Hemming Award shortlist (How to Bee), Aurealis Award shortlist (How to Bee)

Awards

New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults - Junior Fiction (Esther Glen Award)
2018
Work: How to Bee
Category: Junior Fiction
Organization: New Zealand Book Awards Trust
Result: winner
Children's Book Council of Australia Book of the Year - Younger Readers
2018
Work: How to Bee
Organization: Children's Book Council of Australia
Result: winner
Patricia Wrightson Prize, New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards
2018
Work: How to Bee
Organization: State Library of NSW
Result: winner
Ampersand Prize
2015
Work: In the Dark Spaces
Organization: Hardie Grant Egmont
Result: winner
New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults - Young Adult Fiction
2018
Work: In the Dark Spaces
Organization: New Zealand Book Awards Trust
Result: winner
Queensland Literary Awards - Griffiths University Young Adult Book Award
2018
Work: In the Dark Spaces
Result: winner
Aurealis Award for best young adult novel
2017
Work: In the Dark Spaces
Organization: Aurealis Awards
Result: winner
New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults - Junior Fiction (Esther Glen Award)
2019
Work: The Dog Runner
Organization: New Zealand Book Awards Trust
Result: winner
Aurealis Award for Best Children's Fiction
2019
Work: The Dog Runner
Organization: Aurealis Awards
Result: winner

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

How to Bee

2017 Children's literature
Translations
  • Old Barn Books, UK, 2018
  • Groundwood Books, Can/US, 2020
  • Helium Editions, France, La Dernière Abeille, 2020

In the Dark Spaces

2017 Young adult

The Dog Runner

2019 Children's literature
Translations
  • Old Barn Books, UK, 2019

Across the Risen Sea

2020 Children's literature
Translations
  • Old Barn Books, UK, 2020

The Raven's Song

2022 Children's literature

Co-written with Zana Fraillon

Translations
  • Old Barn Books, UK, 2022

The Apprentice Witnesser

2024 Children's literature

Bibliography

  • How to Bee (2017)
  • In the Dark Spaces (2017)
  • The Dog Runner (2019)
  • Across the Risen Sea (2020)
  • The Raven's Song (2022)
  • The Apprentice Witnesser (2024)

Translations of Works

  • French translation of How to Bee: La Dernière Abeille

Style & Themes

Literary Style
Dystopian settingsSparse prose
Recurring Motifs
Environmental issuesSurvivalRelationships with animals

Legacy

New Zealand-born writer based in Australia, renowned for dystopian children's and young adult novels. Achieved the unprecedented feat of winning two categories at the New Zealand Book Awards in 2018.

Trivia

  • First author to win awards in two different categories at the New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults in the same year (2018).
  • Won the Ampersand Prize in 2015 for her debut trade novel.