Research Files at the National Centre for Australian Children's Literature

A key function of the National Centre for Australian Children’s Literature (NCACL) is as a research facility for students, teachers, academics, authors, illustrators and the broader community. To this end, the centre has developed and maintained 515 author research files featuring Australian authors and illustrators. These files complement the broader collection of literature, authors papers and original artwork, all of which is collected, preserved, and catalogued by the centre’s volunteer staff to promote the excellence of Australia’s literature for children.

As an intern at NCACL, I created new, and updated existing research files for several authors and illustrators to support the centre’s development of comprehensive files for current and emerging talent. These files are indicative of the breadth of works held in the NCACL collection and include Christopher Cheng, Pamela Freeman, May O’Brien, James Phelen, Davina Bell, Lorette Broekstra, Sara Acton, Wendy Harmer, Alexandra Adornetto, and Cheryl Westenberg.

To create a research file, the NCACL utilises academic databases such as AusLit and Factiva to curate and collect a comprehensive bibliography of works and awards, as well as biographies, interviews, reviews, articles, publishing activities and author programs. More generalised internet searches reveal information from the author’s webpage and social media feeds which add to the comprehensive record of that authors work and activities. These files are then categorised and filed for ease of access and use by the public.

I am particularly enthusiastic about the work of Davina Bell, and therefore launched into the development of her research file with gusto. Some of Davina’s recent work for children with illustrator Allison Colpoys includes the picture books The Underwater Fancy Dress Parade, and Under the Love Umbrella, with an upcoming title All the Ways to be Smart due for release in October. These titles which explore shyness, social anxiety, and courage are indicative of the increasingly complex themes presented within modern Australian literature for children and demonstrate the depth of talent garnering child and adult fans internationally. Davina, who is an acclaimed editor, previously of Penguin Books and currently for Affirm Publishing as well as being an award-winning author represents the dynamic work profile of modern Australian authors.

A list of all the current author and illustrator research files are available on the NCACL website. Contact centre staff to discuss how you can access these comprehensive files and their wealth of information for your research.