Jonathan Harlen


Jonathan Harlen is a New Zealand-born author now resident in Australia. He has published more than 30 novels for adults, young adults, and children. He has won numerous awards for young adult fiction including the Wilderness Society Literature Award, the NSW Office of Multicultural Affairs Literature Award, the Australian Association of Family Therapists Book Award, and the Royal Society for the Blind Talking Book Award. His novels have twice been recognised as Notable Books by the Children's Book Council of Australia, and have been published in nine countries.

Early life

Harlen was born in Wellington in 1963, and attended Wellington College, Onslow College and Victoria University of Wellington, where he majored in English and Political Science. He completed his final year of university in Jerusalem after falling in love with an Israeli girl and moving to that country. He settled in Australia in 1986, where he worked as a journalist. He wrote comedy for radio station Triple J for two years before turning to writing fiction.
He is married with three adult children.

Literary career

Harlen was the recipient of a Fellowship from the Australia Council for the Arts in 1996 In the same year a play based on his novel The Lion And the Lamb toured high schools in Victoria. He has been Writer-in-Residence at Dromkeen, Brisbane Grammar School, Ipswich Grammar School, Essendon Grammar School, Knox Grammar School, Mitchelton State High School, Tin Can Bay High School,and the Fremantle Arts Centre. He has spoken and given workshops at many schools and literature festivals throughout Australia.
In October 2017 Harlen was the Artist In Residence at the School of Law and Justice, Southern Cross University, Lismore New South Wales.

Awards and honours