NSW Premier's Literary Awards 2010

Michelle Cooper is a speech pathologist specialising in learning disabilities and reluctant readers, so she's passionate about getting children and teenagers interested in books. Michelle was inspired to write her first novel, The Rage of Sheep, after events such as September 11, when she found that teenagers wanted to engage in discussions about religion and religious intolerance. Michelle lives in Sydney and is currently working on more novels for teenagers, including the sequels to A Brief History of Montmaray.

"I need to write down what has just happened. I need to set down the truth. If I write lies or if I write nothing at all, this journal is worth nothing. I must do this, in case anything happens. All right. This is what happened tonight, every single terrible thing that I can remember... "

Sophie FitzOsborne lives in a crumbling castle on the tiny island kingdom of Montmaray, along with her tomboy younger sister Henry, her beautiful, intellectual cousin Veronica, and Veronica’s father, the completely mad King John.

When Sophie receives a leather journal for her sixteenth birthday, she decides to write about her day-to-day life on the island. But it is 1936 and bigger events are on the horizon. Is everything Sophie knows and loves about to change?

From Sophie’s charming, lively and bittersweet observations on life to a nailbiting, unputdownable ending, this is a book to be treasured.

A Brief History of Montmaray is published by Random House

• Read an extract from A Brief History of Montmaray
  
• Visit Michelle's website for more information on Michelle and her books