Eve Pownall

{{Short description|Australian writer (1901–1982)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=July 2019}} {{Infobox writer  | name = Eve Pownall | birth_name = Marjorie Evelyn Sheridan | birth_date = {{Birth date|1902|1|12|df=yes}}{{efn|name=fn1}} | birth_place = [[Sydney]], [[New South Wales]], Australia | death_date = {{Death date and age|1982|11|15|1902|1|12|df=yes}} | death_place = [[Forestville, New South Wales]] | occupation = Writer and historian | language = English | nationality = | ethnicity = | citizenship = | education = | alma_mater = | notableworks = ''[[The Australia Book]]'' | awards = [[Children's Book of the Year Award: Older Readers]] 1952 | years_active = 1945–1982 | image = Eve Pownall.png | honorific_suffix = {{post-nominals|country=AUS|MBE|size=100}} }}

'''Marjorie Evelyn "Eve" Pownall''' {{post-nominals|country=AUS|MBE}} ({{née|Sheridan}}; 12 January 1902{{efn|name=fn1}} – 15 November 1982) was an Australian writer for children and historian. Her best known work was ''[[The Australia Book]]'' (1952). She was a founding member of the [[Children's Book Council of Australia]] (CBCA), and the [[Children's Book of the Year Award: Eve Pownall Award for Information Books|Eve Pownall Award for Information Books]] is presented each year by the CBCA in her honour.

==Early life and education== Marjorie Evelyn Sheridan was born on 12 January 1902{{efn|name=fn1|Some sources cite 1901,<ref name=austlit>{{cite web | title=Eve Pownall | website=[[AustLit]] | url=https://www.austlit.edu.au/austlit/page/A24314 | access-date=10 June 2025}}</ref> and [[Trove]] shows different years in heading and text.<ref name=trove>{{cite web | title=Pownall, Marjorie Evelyn (1901-1982) | website=[[Trove]] | url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/people/460280 | access-date=10 June 2025}}</ref>}} in [[Kings Cross, Sydney]], Australia, the eldest of three children. Her father was Percival Joseph Sheridan and her mother Evelyn Irene, née Lane. The family lived in [[Kiama, New South Wales|Kiama]], [[Windsor, New South Wales|Windsor]], [[Muswellbrook]], and Sydney, where Eve attended [[North Sydney Girls High School]].<ref name=adb>{{cite web | last=Roberts | first=Jan | title=Marjorie Evelyn (Eve) Pownall | website=[[Australian Dictionary of Biography]] | url=https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/pownall-marjorie-evelyn-eve-15495 | access-date=10 June 2025|quote=This article was published in hardcopy in ''Australian Dictionary of Biography'', Volume 18, (Melbourne University Press), 2012}}</ref>

She undertook a secretarial course before finding work at [[Fox Film]] and then at [[Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer]], until her marriage in December 1929.<ref name=adb/>

Pownall began to review children's literature for ''Australasian Book News and Literary Journal'', and later began writing children's fiction and non-fiction of her own. She was appointed an MBE in 1978 and was the first recipient of the [[Lady Cutler Award|Lady Cutler award]] for distinguished service to children's literature in New South Wales.<ref name=adb />

Pownall was a founding member of the [[Children's Book Council of Australia]] (CBCA) in 1945, and was associated with it for the rest of her life.<ref name= austlit />

==Recognition and honours== Pownall was appointed a [[Member of the British Empire]] (MBE) in 1978, for services to literature.<ref>{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=|title=Marjorie Evelyn Pownall|url=https://honours.pmc.gov.au/honours/awards/1087300|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2020-12-17|website=It's An Honour}}</ref><ref name=adb />

She was the first recipient of the [[Lady Cutler Award]] for Distinguished Services to Children's Literature in New South Wales.<ref name=adb /><ref name= austlit />

The CBCA presents the annual [[Children's Book of the Year Award: Eve Pownall Award for Information Books|Eve Pownall Award for Information Books]] in her honour.<ref name= austlit />

=== For specific works === * 1952 – winner [[Children's Book of the Year Award: Older Readers]] for ''The Australia Book''<ref>[http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article18515643 "Children's Book of the Year: An Australian Classic?", ''The Sunday Herald'', 10 August 1952, p11]</ref>

==Personal life and death== She married Leslie Pownall in December 1929. The couple had two children.<ref name=adb/>

Pownall died at her home in [[Forestville, New South Wales|Forestville]], Sydney, on 15 November 1982.<ref name=adb />

== Bibliography == === Children's fiction === * ''Nursery Rhymes Told Anew'' (1945) * ''Squik the Squirrel Possum'' (1949) * ''Cousins-Come-Lately : Adventures in Old Sydney Town'' (1952) * ''Five Busy Merry-Makers'' (1953) * ''Binty the Bandicoot'' (1957) * ''A Drover'' (1970)

=== Children's non-fiction === * ''[[The Australia Book]]'' (1952) illustrated by [[Margaret Senior]] * ''Exploring Australia'' (1958) * ''A Pioneer Daughter'' (1968) * ''The Great South Land'' (1969) illustrated by Christine Shaw

=== Non-fiction === * ''Mary of Maranoa : Tales of Australian Pioneer Women'' (1959) * ''The Thirsty Land : Harnessing Australia's Water Resources'' (1967) * ''The Children's Book Council of Australia : 1945–1980'' (1980) * ''Australia From The Beginning'' (1980) illustrated by Walter Cunningham

==Footnotes== {{notelist}}

==References== {{reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pownall, Eve}} [[Category:1901 births]] [[Category:1982 deaths]] [[Category:20th-century Australian women writers]] [[Category:20th-century Australian writers]] [[Category:Australian children's writers]] [[Category:Writers from Sydney]] [[Category:Australian Members of the Order of the British Empire]]