PAGES FROM A WRITER'S LIFE

Anthony Hill saves the souls of all-but-lost children. (Max Harris)

Anthony Hill was born in Melbourne on 24 May, 1942. In a varied career he has been a newspaper and television reporter, political journalist, antique dealer, speech-writer for Australia's Governor-General, and now full-time author.

He lives in Canberra with his wife Gillian, their dog Lady, and a cat called Onto. They have a married daughter, Jane, who lives with her husband, Paul, in Melbourne. They are expecting a new baby in 2009 – which is due on Anthony's birthday! So expect more books for the very young. There is already a step-granddaughter Lucy.

Anthony is published by Penguin Books. He is a member of the Australian Society of Authors, the Children's Book Council of Australia. and the ACT Writers Centre.

His literary agent is the Cameron-Creswell Agency in Sydney.

Anthony attended Box Hill Grammar School (now Kingswood College) and Box Hill High School, before matriculating and starting work as a copy boy and then a cadet reporter with the Melbourne Herald in 1959. He and Gillian married in October 1965, and in 1972 they went to Canberra where Jane was born. For more info go to Anthony's Q&A.

After five years as a political journalist at Parliament House, Anthony and his  family moved to a village near Yass, an hour's drive from Canberra, and opened an antique shop. They were there for five years, and the experience formed the basis of Anthony's first three books. For more info go to Anthony's Books >  Early Books.

Returning to Canberra in 1982, Anthony worked as a television journalist, and press officer with the Australian Public Service, the Australian National University and the National Museum. In 1989 he was appointed speech-writer to the Governor-General Bill Hayden and his successor Sir William Deane. The next ten years gave ideas for many of Anthony's  books including the award-winning The Burnt Stick. For more info go to Anthony's Books > First Success.

Anthony became a full-time writer in 1998. But working for the Governor-General inspired his best-selling novel Soldier Boy, about 14-year-old Jim Martin, the youngest known Anzac. It led directly two two more military books – Young Digger and Animal Heroes. For more info click the book covers on this page or go to Anthony's Books >  Military Books.

Family pets and Animal Tails provided two stories for younger readers, The Shadow Dog and Lucy's Cat  and the Rainbow Birds. And Anthony brought a life-long love of history and research to Harriet and River Boy. They certainly underpinned his latest historical novel Captain Cook's Apprentice, which took Anthony  from a 10-day sail on the Endeavour replica to a session at the National Library with Captain Cook's hand-written journal. For more info click the books covers on this page or go to Anthony's Books >Voyagers.

And what's next for Anthony Hill? There are one or two ideas bubbling away in the writer's mind. But with a new grandchild coming in 2009, Anthony and Gillian will be spending a lot more time in Melbourne. And readers can expect another picture book – or two!