David Metzenthen

{{Short description|Australian writer for children and young adults}} {{Use dmy dates|date=July 2019}} {{BLP sources|date=October 2015}} {{Infobox writer  | name = David Metzenthen | birth_name = | birth_date = {{birth year and age|1958}} | birth_place = [[Melbourne]], [[Victoria (Australia)|Victoria]], Australia | death_date = | death_place = | occupation = Writer | language = English | nationality = Australian | ethnicity = | citizenship = | education = | alma_mater = | notableworks = ''Johnny Hart's Heroes'', ''Jarvis 24'' | awards = | years_active = }}

'''David Metzenthen''' (born 1958)<ref name=":0" /> is an Australian writer for children and young adults who was born in [[Melbourne]], [[Victoria (Australia)|Victoria]].

After completing his schooling in Melbourne, Metzenthen traveled to New Zealand where he held a variety of jobs. After returning to Australia he worked as a copywriter for [[3DB (Melbourne)|Radio 3DB]], for Grundy Television and for Myer before deciding to write full-time.<ref name=":0">[http://www.austlit.edu.au/austlit/page/A7658 ''Austlit - David Metzenthen'']</ref>

He now lives in Melbourne with his wife and two children.<ref>[https://www.penguin.com.au/contributors/1264/david-metzenthen ''Penguin Books - Author Biography'']</ref>

==Bibliography== {{Expand list|date=January 2017}}

===Novels=== *{{cite book |author=Metzenthen, David |title=Danger wave |location=Sydney |publisher=Ashton Scholastic |year=1990 }} * ''Lee Spain'' (1991) * ''Johnny Hart's Heroes'' (1996) * ''Finn and the Big Guy'' (1997) * ''Falling Forward'' (1998) * ''Gilbert's Ghost Train'' (1998) * ''Mick the Mimic'' (1998) * ''The Red Hot Footy Fiasco'' (1998) * ''Stony Heart Country'' (1999) * ''The Colour of Sunshine'' (2000) * ''Wildlight: A Journey'' (2002) * ''Boys of Blood and Bone'' (2003) * ''Tiff and the Trout'' (2004) * ''Blackwater'' (2007) * ''Jarvis 24'' (2009) * ''Tigerfish'' (2014) * ''Dreaming the Enemy'' (2016)

===Novellas=== * ''Roadie'' (1995) * ''Animal Instinct'' (1996) * ''Dreaming the Enemy'' (2016) * ''The Secret History of the Rainbow Trout Private Hotel'' (2023) * ''The Truth of It'' (2025)

===Children's fiction=== * ''Brocky's Bananagram'' (1994) * ''Cody and Zero'' (1997) * ''The Diary of Fat Robbie Pile'' (1997) * ''Lefty Lemon Kicks Goals'' (1997) * ''Fort Island'' (1998) * ''Adrian Over the Top'' (1999) * ''Adrian Goes Out There'' (1999) * ''The Red Boxing Gloves'' (2002) * ''The Really Really High Diving Board'' (2003) * ''Spider!'' (2004) * ''Time Turns on Spooky Hill'' (2004) * ''Anton Rocks On'' (2004) * ''Roller-Coaster'' (2005) * ''The Really Really Epic Mini Bike Ride'' (2006) * ''Winning the World Cup'' (2007) * ''The Really Nearly Deadly Canoe Ride'' (2009) * ''Hide that Horse!'' (2009) * ''Squidnapped!'' (2010) * ''Save Our Sharks'' (2012) * ''Freda the Free-Range Chook'' (2012) * ''George Parker Goes Global'' (2018) * ''Augustin and the Hot Air Balloon'' (2022)

===Picture books=== * ''The Rainbirds'' (2006) illustrated by [[Sally Rippin]] * ''One Minute's Silence'' (2014) illustrated by Michael Camilleri * ''One Runaway Rabbit'' (2019) illustrated by Mairead Murphy * ''Where Will the Sleepy Sheep Sleep?'' (2023) illustrated by Jonathan Bentley

===Critical studies and reviews of Metzenthen's work=== *{{cite journal |author=Kavanagh, Bec |date=Sep 2014 |title=[Untitled review of ''Tigerfish''] |journal=[[Australian Book Review]] |volume=364 |pages=44 |url= }}

==Awards== * 1996 winner [[New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards]] — Ethel Turner Prize for Young People's Literature — The Ethel Turner Prize for Children's Writing — ''Johnny Hart's Heroes'' * 1997 honour book Children's Book Council Book of the Year Awards — Book of the Year: Older Readers — ''Johnny Hart's Heroes'' * 1998 honour book Children's Book Council Book of the Year Awards — Book of the Year: Older Readers — ''Gilbert's Ghost Train'' * 2003 winner [[Victorian Premier's Literary Awards]] — Prize for Young Adult Fiction — ''Wildlight: A Journey'' * 2003 winner [[Queensland Premier's Literary Awards]] — Best Young Adult Book — ''Boys of Blood and Bone'' * 2004 honour book Children's Book Council Book of the Year Awards — Book of the Year: Older Readers — ''Boys of Blood and Bone'' * 2007 honour book Children's Book Council Book of the Year Awards — Picture Book of the Year — ''The Rainbirds'' * 2008 honour book Children's Book Council Book of the Year Awards — Book of the Year: Older Readers — ''Black Water'' * 2010 winner Children's Book Council Book of the Year Awards — Book of the Year: Older Readers — ''Jarvis'' * 2015 honour book Children's Book Council Book of the Year Awards — Picture Book of the Year — ''One Minute's Silence'' * 2016 winner [[Queensland Literary Awards]] — Griffith University Young Adult Book Award — ''Dreaming the Enemy'' * 2025 winner [[Children's Peace Literature Award]] — South Australian Psychologists for Peace — ''The Truth of It''<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-11-18 |title=Metzenthen wins Children’s Peace Literature Award |url=https://www.booksandpublishing.com.au/articles/2025/11/18/319196/metzenthen-wins-childrens-peace-literature-award/ |access-date=2025-11-21 |publisher=Books+Publishing}}</ref>

==References== {{reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Metzenthen, David}} [[Category:1958 births]] [[Category:Australian children's writers]] [[Category:Writers from Melbourne]] [[Category:Living people]] [[Category:Australian expatriates in New Zealand]]