{{short description|Australian novelist (born 1970) }} {{Use dmy dates|date =January 2020}} {{Use Australian English|date =January 2020}} {{Infobox writer <!-- for more information see [[:Template:Infobox writer/doc]] --> | name = Vikki Wakefield | image = | caption = Keneally in 2012 | image_size = | pseudonym = | birth_name = | birth_date = 1970 | birth_place = | death_date = | death_place = | occupation = Novelist | period = | subject = | movement = | influences = | influenced = | signature = | website = | awards = 2020 [[Children's Book of the Year Award: Older Readers]]; 2025 [[Davitt Award]], Best Adult Crime Novel }} '''Vikki Wakefield''' (born 1970) is an Australian author of adult and young adult fiction.<ref name=Austlit>{{cite web|title= Austlit — Vikki Wakefield |publisher= Austlit|url=https://www.austlit.edu.au/austlit/page/A139129|access-date= 12 January 2026}}</ref>
== Early life == Vikki Wakefield was born in 1970.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/work/81102138|title=All I ever wanted|last=Wakefield|first=Vikki|date=2011|publisher=The Text Publishing Company|location=Melbourne|isbn=978-1-921834-38-7|language=English}}</ref>
== Career == After a career working in banking, [[journalism]], and [[graphic design]], Wakefield studied at [[TAFE]] and began writing.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://citymag.indaily.com.au/culture/coming-soon/vikki-wakefield/|title=Career path: Vikki Wakefield|date=2016-02-03|website=[[CityMag]]|language=en|access-date=2020-01-05}}</ref>
Her first book, ''All I Ever Wanted'', was published in 2011. It won the inaugural [[Adelaide Festival Awards for Literature|Adelaide Festival Award for Literature]] for Young Adult Fiction in 2012 and was shortlisted for the [[Victorian Premier's Prize for Writing for Young Adults]] in the same year.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.booksandpublishing.com.au/articles/2012/08/09/24622/2012-victorian-premiers-literary-awards-shortlists-announced/|title=2012 Victorian Premier's Literary Awards shortlists announced|last=|first=|date=2012-08-09|website=Books+Publishing|language=en-AU|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2020-01-05}}</ref> Two years later her second book, ''Friday Brown'', won the same prize.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/previous-award-winners-by-category|title=Previous award winners by category|website=State Library of South Australia|language=en|access-date=2020-01-05}}</ref> It was also shortlisted for the 2013 [[Prime Minister's Literary Awards|Prime Minister’s Literary Award]] for young adult fiction.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.communications.gov.au/departmental-news/2013-prime-ministers-literary-awards-shortlists-announced|title=2013 Prime Minister's Literary Awards shortlists announced|last=|first=|date=2016-08-05|website=Department of Communications and the Arts|language=en|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2020-01-05}}</ref>
In 2016 her third book, ''Inbetween Days'', was an honour book in the [[Children's Book of the Year Award: Older Readers]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.booksandpublishing.com.au/articles/2016/08/19/62674/cbca-awards-2016-winners-announced/|title=CBCA Awards 2016 winners announced|last=|first=|date=2016-08-19|website=Books+Publishing|language=en-AU|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2020-01-05}}</ref>
Wakefield's fourth book, ''Ballad for a Mad Girl'', won the 2018 [[Davitt Award]] for best young adult novel<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.booksandpublishing.com.au/articles/2018/08/13/113063/and-fire-came-down-wins-best-novel-at-2018-davitt-awards/|title='And Fire Came Down' wins best novel at 2018 Davitt Awards|last=|first=|date=2018-08-13|website=Books+Publishing|language=en-AU|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2020-01-05}}</ref> and was shortlisted for other awards.
''This Is How We Change the Ending'', her fifth novel, won the 2020 [[Children's Book of the Year Award: Older Readers]].<ref>{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=2020-10-16|title=CBCA Book of the Year 2020 winners announced|url=https://www.booksandpublishing.com.au/articles/2020/10/16/158101/cbca-book-of-the-year-2020-winners-announced/|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2020-10-16|website=Books+Publishing|language=en-AU}}</ref> It was shortlisted for the 2020 Victorian Premier's Prize for Writing for Young Adults,<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.booksandpublishing.com.au/articles/2019/12/02/143249/2020-victorian-premiers-literary-awards-shortlists-announced/|title=2020 Victorian Premier's Literary Awards shortlists announced|last=|first=|date=2019-12-02|website=Books+Publishing|language=en-AU|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2019-12-02}}</ref> the 2020 [[Queensland Literary Awards]]' Young Adult Book Award,<ref>{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=2020-08-05|title=Queensland Literary Awards 2020 shortlists announced |url=https://www.booksandpublishing.com.au/articles/2020/08/05/154726/queensland-literary-awards-2020-shortlists-announced/|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2020-08-06|website=Books+Publishing|language=en-AU}}</ref> and the Young Adult Fiction Award in the 2022 Adelaide Festival Awards for Literature.<ref>{{Cite web|last=|date=2022-01-19|title=2022 Adelaide Festival Awards for Literature shortlists announced |url=https://www.booksandpublishing.com.au/articles/2022/01/19/208663/2022-adelaide-festival-awards-for-literature-shortlist-announced/|access-date=2022-01-26|website=Books+Publishing|language=en-AU}}</ref> ''This is How We Change the Ending'' was also longlisted for the 2020 [[Stella Prize]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.booktopia.com.au/blog/2020/02/06/see-the-2020-stella-prize-longlist/|title=See the 2020 Stella Prize longlist!|date=2020-02-06|website=The Booktopian|language=en-AU|access-date=2020-02-06}}</ref>
''To the River'' is a [[psychological thriller]] for adult readers, published in 2024.<ref>{{cite web |title=Review: To the River by Vikki Wakefield |website=Carpe Librum |date=23 May 2024 |url=https://www.carpelibrum.net/2024/05/review-to-river-vikki-wakefield.html?m=1 |access-date=14 December 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Best books of 2024, as chosen by South Australian writers and publishers |website=[[InDaily]] |date=12 December 2024 |url=https://www.indailysa.com.au/inreview/books-poetry/2024/12/12/best-books-of-2024-as-chosen-by-south-australian-writers-and-publishers |access-date=14 December 2024}}</ref> It won the 2025 [[Davitt Award]] for Best Adult Crime Novel.<ref>{{cite web|title="Davitt Award Winners 2001-2025" |publisher= Sisters in Crime|url=https://sistersincrime.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Davitt-Winners_cumulative-table_2025.pdf|access-date= 12 January 2026}}</ref>
== Works ==
* ''All I Ever Wanted'', Text Publishing, 2011, {{ISBN|9781921758300}} * ''Friday Brown'', Text Publishing, 2012, {{ISBN|9781921921469}} * ''Inbetween Days'', Text Publishing, 2015, {{ISBN|9781922182364}} * ''Ballad for a Mad Girl'', Text Publishing, 2017, {{ISBN|9781925355291}} * ''This is How We Change the Ending'', Text Publishing, 2019, {{ISBN|9781922268136}} * ''After You Were Gone'', Text Publishing, 2022, {{ISBN|9781922458001}} * ''[[To the River]]'', Text Publishing, 2024, {{ISBN|9781915798312}}
== References == {{Reflist}}
== External links == * [https://vikkiwakefield.com/ Official website]
{{Children's Book of the Year Award for Older Readers}}
{{Authority control}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Wakefield, Vikki}} [[Category:1970 births]] [[Category:Living people]] [[Category:21st-century Australian women writers]] [[Category:21st-century Australian writers]] [[Category:Davitt Award winners]]