Five Minutes with Ann Harth #LoveAusAuthors

Ann Harth says writing gives her a voice. She began writing picture books because her son had ‘an allergy to reading,’ and as he has grown, she has continued writing books all the way through to YA. She writes characters her son can identify with and enjoys creating humorous, character-driven children’s books.

‘I believe instilling a love of reading in a child is a gift that will stay with them forever,’ she says.

Ann also writes non-fiction for kids because, ‘we live in a curious world,’ and ghost writes for people with wonderful ideas and little time.

Five Things About Ann’s History

1. Ann grew up in north-eastern USA.
2. In 1983 she travelled to Australia with just $50 in her pocket to visit an Australian she had met in Yellowstone National Park and ended up marrying him!
3. She enjoys camping, hiking and backpacking.
4. She says she has always believed that food is simply fuel, but is starting to come around.
5. Her kids and her husband are her best friends.

Ann is working on book 2 of her series, According to Bernice. Bernice Takes a Plunge was the first in the series, published by Odyssey Books, March 2020. Along with her writing she is a structural/developmental editor and writing mentor, which she says supports her writing habit!

From the Diary of Jarrod Crisp is a junior fiction book featuring the endangered Golden-shouldered Parrot in Cape York Peninsula. This will be coming out at the end of 2021 and is one of the books she wrote for her son. She has a number of books published in the educational market, but is most proud of Body Image, Relationships, and Who Am I? (Blake Education). She has sold over 125 short stories to Innovations for Learning, a reading project in the USA.

Five Things That Help Ann to Keep on Writing

1. Routine – without it, I am a mess, (even with it, I am sometimes a mess).
2. Running. This keeps me sane. I’m training for a half marathon this year.
3. Having more wishes and dreams than time, I have no choice. I focus or I fail.
4. Camping, being outdoors, travel.
5. Reading books that inspire me and make me think: I wish I’d written that.

Ann is concerned for our future environment and believes that reading is an important part of changing the world for the better. ‘I hope children are encouraged to learn, grow and wonder, as they interact more closely with the natural environment and that the world can work together to halt climate change before we reach the tipping point,’ she says.

In the future, she hopes to travel through regional Australia giving workshops, meeting people and visiting beautiful, remote places. ‘I also hope to spend much more time with my kids and grandson and that girls and women all over the world are educated and learn to read’.

She recommends checking out Room to Read

Find Ann and her books on Facebook Goodreads Odyssey Books Booktopia and Amazon