Irini Savvides – December 10 2017

In memory of the Cronulla Riots – December 11 2005

Irini is an award-winning writer for adolescents and children. She has been a judge for the Prime Minister’s Literary Awards and has worked as an English and drama teacher, writing in the evenings when time allowed. Irini holds a Master of Arts from Macquarie University, a Master of Education from Sydney University, and a PhD from Western Sydney University. Her debut novel, Willow Tree and Olive, was written as part of her Master’s degree and received several awards including a White Raven in Bologona in 2002. Her second novel, Sky Legs, won the 2004 Peace Award. Her picture book, Hide and Seek, was translated into Japanese and sent to child survivors of the 2011 tsunami. Other titles include the young adult novels A Marathon of Her Own and Aliki Says as well as children’s book Camp Crush, illustrated by Bettina Guthridge. Irini grew up in Sydney in an extended Greek Cypriot family and lives and works in the Blue Mountains.

Against the Tide [Verse novel]
ABC Books, 2008; ISBN 9780733322907
Teens
Set on Australia’s beaches against the backdrop of ocean swim meets, native Australians Katie and Matt are champion ocean swimmers. Effi and Christie, immigrants from Greece, live in another world – intense, funny, often overheated and far removed from the coast in so many ways. When these two worlds meet, in an unforgettable blend of love and loss, violence and poetry, only the strongest will succeed in swimming against the tide.
‘Irini Savvides is not afraid to tackle the ugly side of today’s multi-cultural Australia, weaving into her story the ethnic tensions that finally exploded into the Cronulla riots.’ – Irene, Young Adult Reader Reviews – Australia

Hide and Seek – Illustrated by Owen Swan
Scholastic Australia, 2008; ISBN 9781865044248
5-7 years
Sometimes when you play hide and seek with your grandpa, he lets you win. But this time Grandpa is nowhere to be found. Where do you look when you’ve checked under the bed, up in the tree, behind the goat – and he’s still hiding? In this moving story, a young boy comes to terms with his grandfather’s death.