Elena de Roo

Elena de Roo is a New Zealand children's writer and poet. She has been the recipient of several awards including the Todd New Writer’s Bursary in 2010 and the University of Otago College of Education / Creative New Zealand Children's Writer in Residence Fellowship in 2020. She lives in Auckland, New Zealand.

Biography

Elena de Roo was born in Hamilton.[1] She attended seven different primary schools around New Zealand until moving to Auckland when she was eleven.[2]

She graduated with a degree in English from the University of Auckland and later worked as a librarian.[1]

She started writing for children in 2004.[3] Several of her books have been named in the Storylines Notable Books List. She has written for educational publishers in New Zealand, Australia and the United States.[4][5] Her work has also appeared in Poems in the Waiting Room,[6] online blogs[7] and anthologies such as A Treasury of NZ Poems for Children (Penguin Random House, 2014)[8][9] and Summer Days: Stories and Poems Celebrating the Kiwi Summer (Penguin Random House, 2017).[10]

She is one of the authors of the children’s writing online competition FABO Story.[11][12]

In 2018, Elena de Roo completed a Master of Creative Writing at Auckland University of Technology.[13][14]

She is married with three children and lives in Auckland.[1]

Awards and Prizes 

Elena de Roo was the recipient of the Todd New Writer’s Bursary in 2010.[15] In the same year, she won the Manawatū (New Zealand) International Poetry for Performance Competition.[3] She was Commended in the 2019 National Flash Fiction Day Competition.[16]

In 2020, she was awarded the University of Otago College of Education Creative New Zealand Children's Writer in Residence Fellowship.[17]

Bibliography

  • On a Roll, Illustrated by Duncan Scott (Rainbow Reading Programme, 2007)[18]
  • Super Squeeze, Illustrated by Duncan Scott (Rainbow Reading Programme, 2007)[19]
  • Blender Trouble"", Illustrated by Peter Lole (Rainbow Reading Programme, 2007)[20]
  • The Rain Train, illustrated by Brian Lovelock (Walker Books Australia, 2010)[21][22]
  • Ophelia Wild, Secret Spy, ill. Tracy Duncan (Walker Books Australia, 2012)
  • Ophelia Wild, Deadly Detective, ill. Tracy Duncan (Walker Books Australia, 2014)
  • The Name at the End of the Ladder (Walker Books Australia, 2014)[23]
  • Catch a Cloud, Illustrated by Anuska Allepuz (Faber & Faber, 2020)
  • Rush, Rush! illustrated by Jenny Cooper (One Tree House, 2021)
  • To Catch a Cloud, ill. Hannah Peck (Faber, 2023)

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c "Elena de Roo". Storylines. Archived from the original on 25 January 2016. Retrieved 10 January 2020.
  2. ^ "The Treasury Interviews: The Sharks from Adventure School interview Elena de Roo". Poetry Box. 17 October 2014. Archived from the original on 27 October 2014. Retrieved 11 January 2020.
  3. ^ a b "About Elena". Elena de Roo: children's writer & poet. Archived from the original on 13 August 2015. Retrieved 11 January 2020.
  4. ^ "Poems". Elena de Roo: children's writer & poet. Archived from the original on 19 February 2016. Retrieved 10 January 2020.
  5. ^ de Roo, Elena (January 2015). "If". TKI Literacy Online. Archived from the original on 24 July 2017. Retrieved 10 January 2020.
  6. ^ "Spring 2019". Poems in the Waiting Room (NZ). 5 September 2019. Archived from the original on 10 January 2020. Retrieved 10 January 2020.
  7. ^ Green, Paula (27 February 2013). "A Poem by Elena de Roo". Poetry Box: a New Zealand poetry page for children. Archived from the original on 10 January 2020. Retrieved 10 January 2020.
  8. ^ Green, Paula (25 August 2017). "Book List: an alphabet of poetry for kids: Z is for (A Treasury of New) Zealand (Poetry)". The Sapling. Archived from the original on 30 January 2018. Retrieved 10 January 2020.
  9. ^ "Waxing and waning". Backyard Books NZ. 2 April 2015. Archived from the original on 8 October 2016. Retrieved 10 January 2020.
  10. ^ Fraser, Rebekah. "Summer Days". NZ Booklovers. Archived from the original on 10 January 2020. Retrieved 10 January 2020.
  11. ^ "About FABO". FABO Story. Archived from the original on 31 August 2014. Retrieved 10 January 2020.
  12. ^ "Elena's FABO Story Judge's Report". FABO Story. 16 September 2019. Archived from the original on 28 November 2019. Retrieved 10 January 2020.
  13. ^ "Elena de Roo". NZSA New Zealand Society of Authors (PEN NZ Inc) Te Puni Kaituhi o Aotearoa. Archived from the original on 10 January 2020. Retrieved 10 January 2020.
  14. ^ de Roo, Elena (2019). Joining the Dots: Threads of Connection in Cam and the Bird-people (The Author's Journey) (Masters thesis). Tuwhera Open Access, Auckland University of Technology. hdl:10292/12590.
  15. ^ "Todd New Writer's Bursary recipient responds to need for diverse perspectives". Creative NZ. 17 December 2019. Archived from the original on 10 January 2020. Retrieved 10 January 2020.
  16. ^ "2019 National Flash Fiction Day Competition Winners". National Flash Fiction Day NZ. Archived from the original on 13 November 2016. Retrieved 11 January 2020.
  17. ^ "2020 Burns Fellows named". Otago Daily Times. 12 September 2019. Archived from the original on 10 January 2020. Retrieved 10 January 2020.
  18. ^ "On a Roll by Elena De Roo".
  19. ^ "Super Squeeze by Elena De Roo".
  20. ^ "Blender Trouble by Elena De Roo".
  21. ^ "The rain train by Elena de Roo; illustrated by Brian Lovelock (2010)". myfriendlucy one year, 365 picture books. 30 January 2015. Archived from the original on 6 July 2016. Retrieved 11 January 2020.
  22. ^ Bircher, Katie (13 July 2017). "Rain, rain, go away". The Horn Book. Archived from the original on 10 January 2020. Retrieved 11 January 2020.
  23. ^ "The name at the end of the ladder by Elena De Roo". Momo celebrating time to read. 12 July 2015. Retrieved 10 January 2020.