Who Am I? My full name is James Francis Moloney and I was born in Sydney, Australia on 20 September, 1954. When I was seven years old, my family moved to Brisbane and except for the odd year or two, I have lived in Brisbane ever since. At school, I was into every sport going - cricket, footy, swimming - you name it. It’s hard to believe now but in High School, I was a champion Long Jumper! After University I became a teacher and then a Teacher Librarian. I moved around from school to school and in 1977-8 found myself in Cunnamulla, a little "outback" town where many Australian Aborigines live. These turned out to be important years for my writing. 1983 was another big year. I got married and started work at Marist College Ashgrove, an all boys school in Brisbane, where I stayed for fifteen years. During this time, I became interested in writing for young people, at first using the ideas and experiences gained from my time in Cunnamulla. After my early attempts were rejected, the first of my novels was published in 1992. In 1997, my fifth novel for young adults, A Bridge to Wiseman’s Cove won the Australian Children’s Book of the Year Award. At the end of that year, I decided to leave teaching and become a full time writer. In the mean time, my wife Kate and I have produced three noisy children named Siobhan, Julia and Bede.   Home