Literacy Bites - Children's Laureate Sally Rippin

Sally Rippin was born in Darwin and grew up in South-East Asia, moving country every couple of years because of her father’s work. At twelve years old, Sally’s family settled in Melbourne, where she completed her high school years before moving to China as a young adult to study traditional Chinese painting for three years.

Sally is Australia’s highest-selling female author and has written over 100 books for children and young adults, many of them award-winning, including the popular Billie B Brown and Hey Jack! series, and the Polly and Buster trilogy. More recently, Sally has collaborated with Chris Kennett to create the School of Monsters series for beginning readers and Eliza Hull to co-write Come Over To My House, illustrated by Daniel Gray-Barnett, exploring the lives of families who live with disabilities.

Her widely popular books are beloved across the globe and have sold more than ten million copies in eighteen countries.

​

Sally has mentored many emerging writers over the last twenty-five years and taught Writing for Children at RMIT University, the CAE and Writers Victoria. Until recently, she co-hosted a podcast and had a monthly program on 3RRR, interviewing people in the children’s book industry. In 2022, Sally published a book for parents and educators, titled Wild Things: How We Learn to Read and What Can Happen If We Don’t with the aim of creating awareness around neurodivergency and learning difficulties and how they may be best supported at home and in the classroom.

​

Currently, Sally is working on several books for children as well as adapting her work for the screen. Sally loves to write stories with heart and characters that resonate with children, parents and teachers alike.