In My Backyard

Nette spent her early childhood in a small country town in Victoria, moving to Sydney when she was 11. She didn’t adjust well to life in a city high school and her memories of this time are still with her and are reflected in her writing. After school, she ‘floundered around for several years trying to work in office situations’, but eventually gave up and went bush. For 12 months she worked on a sheep station, had another go at office work, and then decided to train as a teacher.

Anne Spudvilas is an established painter and multi-award-winning children’s book illustrator. Her work is divided between commissioned portraits, illustrating children’s books and visiting schools talking about the process of creating picture books. She is also a courtroom artist who works with the Melbourne media.