Deborah Niland
Encyclopedia
Deborah Niland is an Australian artist, well known as a writer and illustrator of children's books. Some of her most popular books include Annie's Chair, When The Wind Changed, Mulga Bill's Bicycle
, and Chatterbox. In 2006 she won The Children's Book of the Year – Early Childhood
, with her book, Annie's Chair.
are the youngest of five children of Australian authors D'Arcy Niland
and Ruth Park
. Deborah was born in Auckland, New Zealand and raised in Sydney, Australia.
Deborah and Kilmeny attended the Julian Ashton Art School in The Rocks
, Sydney. Here they studied drawing and painting, taught in the traditional manner, by J Richard Ashton.
Both began their art careers by freelancing. In London, they received illustration work from Transworld (company)
and their first full-length picture book The Little Goat was published in 1971. Deborah and Kilmeny worked together on thirteen books. Their best known collaboration is an illustrated version of Mulga Bill's Bicycle
, based on a poem written by A B (Banjo) Paterson
. This classic picture book was first published in 1973, and has never been out of print. The newest edition is published by HarperCollins
Australia.
Deborah's early career as a book illustrator involved collaborations with author Ruth Park (When The Wind Changed (1980),
Roger Bandy (1977) and The Gigantic Balloon (1975)) and author Jean Chapman (Velvet Paws and Whiskers (1979) and The Sugar Plum Christmas Book (1977)). Recently, Deborah has both written and illustrated many children's titles including Annie's Chair (2005), The Big Green Thing (2008), and Let's Play (2007). Throughout her career, Deborah has illustrated more than 40 titles.
In addition to book illustration, Deborah has been a freelance contributor to The Australian Women's Weekly for over ten years, providing mainly humorous illustrations for articles and stories. Work for other magazines included Cleo
, Family Circle, Choice
and Reader's Digest
.
When illustrating or painting, Deborah uses a variety of materials, including pen and ink, coloured pencil, acrylic paint, water-colour, pencil and digital media.
Deborah has continued to work in the fine arts, producing paintings for exhibitions and galleries. She has won several prizes, including The Robert le Gay Brereton Prize for Drawing, awarded by the Art Gallery of NSW and the North Sydney Art Prize (Open) 2009. Her work has been acquired by private and public collections.
, Illustrator Deborah Niland)
, Illustrator Deborah Niland)
Mulga Bill's Bicycle
"Mulga Bill's Bicycle" is a poem written in 1896 by Banjo Paterson.The poem is a ballad. Each line is a fourteener, having fourteen syllables and seven iambic feet....
, and Chatterbox. In 2006 she won The Children's Book of the Year – Early Childhood
Children's Book of the Year Award: Early Childhood
The Children's Book of the Year Award: Early Childhood has been presented annually since 2001 by the Children's Book Council of Australia ....
, with her book, Annie's Chair.
Biography
Deborah and her twin sister KilmenyKilmeny Niland
Kilmeny Niland was an Australian artist and illustrator. While best known for her children's book illustrations, she worked in a wide range of genres, including animation, wildlife art, miniatures, portraits, cards and prints...
are the youngest of five children of Australian authors D'Arcy Niland
D'Arcy Niland
D'Arcy Francis Niland was an Australian novelist and short story writer, best known for The Shiralee.-Life and writing career:...
and Ruth Park
Ruth Park
Ruth Park, AM was a New Zealand-born author, who spent most of her life in Australia. Her best known works are the novels The Harp in the South and Playing Beatie Bow , and the children's radio serial The Muddle-Headed Wombat , which also spawned a book series .-Personal history:Park was born in...
. Deborah was born in Auckland, New Zealand and raised in Sydney, Australia.
Deborah and Kilmeny attended the Julian Ashton Art School in The Rocks
The Rocks, New South Wales
The Rocks is an urban locality, tourist precinct and historic area of Sydney's city centre, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located on the southern shore of Sydney Harbour, immediately north-west of the Sydney central business district...
, Sydney. Here they studied drawing and painting, taught in the traditional manner, by J Richard Ashton.
Both began their art careers by freelancing. In London, they received illustration work from Transworld (company)
Transworld (company)
Transworld Publishers Inc. is a British publishing division of Random House and belongs to Bertelsmann, one of the world's largest media groups. It was established in 1950, and for many years it was the British division of Bantam Books. It publishes fiction and non fiction titles by various...
and their first full-length picture book The Little Goat was published in 1971. Deborah and Kilmeny worked together on thirteen books. Their best known collaboration is an illustrated version of Mulga Bill's Bicycle
Mulga Bill's Bicycle
"Mulga Bill's Bicycle" is a poem written in 1896 by Banjo Paterson.The poem is a ballad. Each line is a fourteener, having fourteen syllables and seven iambic feet....
, based on a poem written by A B (Banjo) Paterson
Banjo Paterson
Andrew Barton "Banjo" Paterson, OBE was an Australian bush poet, journalist and author. He wrote many ballads and poems about Australian life, focusing particularly on the rural and outback areas, including the district around Binalong, New South Wales where he spent much of his childhood...
. This classic picture book was first published in 1973, and has never been out of print. The newest edition is published by HarperCollins
HarperCollins
HarperCollins is a publishing company owned by News Corporation. It is the combination of the publishers William Collins, Sons and Co Ltd, a British company, and Harper & Row, an American company, itself the result of an earlier merger of Harper & Brothers and Row, Peterson & Company. The worldwide...
Australia.
Deborah's early career as a book illustrator involved collaborations with author Ruth Park (When The Wind Changed (1980),
Roger Bandy (1977) and The Gigantic Balloon (1975)) and author Jean Chapman (Velvet Paws and Whiskers (1979) and The Sugar Plum Christmas Book (1977)). Recently, Deborah has both written and illustrated many children's titles including Annie's Chair (2005), The Big Green Thing (2008), and Let's Play (2007). Throughout her career, Deborah has illustrated more than 40 titles.
In addition to book illustration, Deborah has been a freelance contributor to The Australian Women's Weekly for over ten years, providing mainly humorous illustrations for articles and stories. Work for other magazines included Cleo
Cleo (magazine)
CLEO is an Australian, New Zealand, South African, Malaysian, Singaporean, Thailand and Indonesian women's magazine.Aimed at an older audience than the teenage-focused Dolly, the magazine is known for its CLEO Bachelor of the Year award....
, Family Circle, Choice
Choice magazine
CHOICE Magazine is a publication of the Australian Consumers' Association, a non-profit organisation founded in 1959 to research and advocate on behalf of Australian consumers. The organisation trades as CHOICE and is similar to Consumer Reports in the United States...
and Reader's Digest
Reader's Digest
Reader's Digest is a general interest family magazine, published ten times annually. Formerly based in Chappaqua, New York, its headquarters is now in New York City. It was founded in 1922, by DeWitt Wallace and Lila Bell Wallace...
.
When illustrating or painting, Deborah uses a variety of materials, including pen and ink, coloured pencil, acrylic paint, water-colour, pencil and digital media.
Deborah has continued to work in the fine arts, producing paintings for exhibitions and galleries. She has won several prizes, including The Robert le Gay Brereton Prize for Drawing, awarded by the Art Gallery of NSW and the North Sydney Art Prize (Open) 2009. Her work has been acquired by private and public collections.
As Author and Illustrator
- It's Bedtime William! (2010)
- When Coco was a Kitten (2009)
- Double Trouble (2008)
- The Big Green Thing (2008)
- Annie to the Rescue (2007)
- Let's Play! (2007)
- When I was a Baby (2006)
- Annie's Chair (2005)
- Old MacDonald had an Emu (1986)
- ABC of Monsters (1975)
- Birds on a Bough (1975 with Kilmeny NilandKilmeny NilandKilmeny Niland was an Australian artist and illustrator. While best known for her children's book illustrations, she worked in a wide range of genres, including animation, wildlife art, miniatures, portraits, cards and prints...
)
As Illustrator
- The Tall Man and the Twelve Babies (2010)
- Hooray! There's a Hippopotamus on Our Roof Having a Birthday Party (2010)
- Grandpa Baby (2009)
- Chatterbox (2006)
- Guess What? There's A Hippopotamus On The Hospital Roof Eating Cake (1997, 2007)
- Look, There's A Hippopotamus In The Playground Eating Cake (1994, 2006)
- Hey Hippopotamus, Do Babies Eat Cake Too? (1992, 2007)
- James (1991)
- Families Are Funny (1990)
- My Hippopotamus Is On Our Caravan Roof Getting Sunburnt (1989, 2006)
- The Very Sniffy Dog (1989)
- All Australian Funny and Frightful Verse (1987)
- The Tall Book Of Tall Tales (1985)
- Haunts and Taunts (1983)
- The Jacky Dandy Song Book (1982)
- Kneedeep (1981)
- The Zoo Alphabet (1980, with Kilmeny Niland)
- Fairy Strike (1980)
- When The Wind Changed (1980)
- There's a Hippopotamus On Our Roof Eating Cake (1980, 2005)
- The Drover's Dream (1979)
- Velvet Paws and Whiskers (1979)
- Tell Us Tales (1978, with Kilmeny Niland)
- Miss Strawberry Verses (1978)
- Roger Bandy (1977, 1987, with Kilmeny Niland)
- The Sugar Plum Songbook (1977)
- The Sugar Plum Christmas Book (1977)
- Tell Me Another Tale (1976, with Kilmeny Niland)
- Tumbling Jack and Other Rhymes (1976)
- The Gigantic Balloon. (1975, with Kilmeny Niland)
- Stuff & Nonsense (1974)
- What Am I ? (1974, with Kilmeny Niland)
- Animal Tales (1974)
- Tell Me A Tale (1974, with Kilmeny Niland)
- Mulga Bill's Bicycle (1973, 2007, with Kilmeny Niland)
- The Farm Alphabet (1973, with Kilmeny Niland)
- Riverview Kids (1971, with Kilmeny Niland)
- The Little Goat (1971, with Kilmeny Niland)
- Travelling Songs of Old Australia, (1966 with Kilmeny Niland, uncredited)
Annie's Chair
(Author and Illustrator Deborah Niland)- 2008 Winner KOALA Children's Choice Awards, Picture Storybooks
- 2008 Short Listed YABBA Children's Choice Awards, Picture Storybooks
- 2007 Short Listed BILBY Children's Choice Awards, Early Readers
- 2007 Short Listed YABBA Children's Choice Awards, Picture Storybooks
- 2007 Winner COOL Children's Choice Awards, Picture Storybooks
- 2007 Short Listed KOALA Children's Choice Awards. Picture Storybooks
- 2007 Koala Top 10 KOALA Children's Choice Awards, Picture Storybooks
- 2006 Winner Speech Pathology Australia, Best Book for Language Development: Young Children
- 2006 Winner CBCA Book of The Year: Early Childhood
Chatterbox
(Author Margaret WildMargaret Wild
Margaret Wild is an Australian author. She was born in 1948 in Eschew, a small town in South Africa, and came to Australia in 1972. She now lives in Sydney. Before becoming a fulltime writer, Margaret was a journalist for newspapers and magazines and then she worked for sixteen years as a book...
, Illustrator Deborah Niland)
- 2007 Shortlist CBCA Book of The Year: Early Childhood
- 2007 Honour Book CBCA Book of The Year: Early Childhood
- 2007 Winner CBCA Junior Judges Project: Early Childhood
- 2007 Winner YABBA Children's Choice Awards: Picture Storybooks
- 2007 Winner KOALA Children's Choice Awards: Picture Storybooks
When The Wind Changed
(Author Ruth ParkRuth Park
Ruth Park, AM was a New Zealand-born author, who spent most of her life in Australia. Her best known works are the novels The Harp in the South and Playing Beatie Bow , and the children's radio serial The Muddle-Headed Wombat , which also spawned a book series .-Personal history:Park was born in...
, Illustrator Deborah Niland)
- 1996 Winner BILBY Award
- 1986 Winner YABBA Award
- 1981 Winner NSW Premier's Literary Award, Ethel Turner's Prize,
Mulga Bill's Bicycle
(Author A B Paterson, Illustrators Deborah and Kilmeny Niland)- 1976 IBBY Certificate of Honour
- 1974 Winner Visual Arts Board Award
- 1973 Winner ABPA Book Design Award