Welcome to my little corner of the Internet. My name is Dr Helen Edwards and I'm an Australian children's author and speaker, represented by Debbie Golvan at Golvan Arts Management.
My debut middle-grade novel, The Rebels of Mount Buffalo, is out now with Riveted Press, distributed by Simon & Schuster. With a neurodivergent main character and inspiring real-life mountain guide from the 1890s, Guide Alice, it's a captivating time-slip tale in which a girl lost to grief meets a daring rebel on a misty mountain who guides her to rediscover her courage and find her way home.
The Rebels of Mount Buffalo has been shortlisted in the Speech Pathology Australia Book of the Year Awards.
It was also longlisted in the DANZ - The Diversity in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand Children's Book Award.
My second novel, Legend of the Lighthouse Moon, will be published on 2nd October 2024 by Riveted Press. Legend of the Lighthouse Moon is a dazzling tale of family, resilience, and the enduring magic of the sea. Join Mona McKenna on a journey of self-discovery where the whispers of the past guide her towards a future filled with hope, love, and legends brought to life.
With thanks to Arts SA for supporting both of these books.
Pre-orders for Legend of The Lighthouse Moon are now open! You can order from me, Riveted Press and some online bookshops. You can also ask your local bookshop to order a copy for you and it will be available on 2nd October.
My third novel, an Australian historical fiction set during WWII is coming in April 2025. And my fourth, a magical story with award-winning author Kate Gordon, in August 2025. More on both of these soon.
I'm represented by Lamont Authors, CKT Speakers Agency and Becky's Literary Bookings, for schools, libraries, festivals, conferences and events. More about how you can book me to speak at your school, library, festival or event here.
I've done all sorts of things in my life, including founding an award-winning charity and online counselling service, supporting thousands of people with diabetes across the world. I was even a state finalist in the Australian of the Year Awards for this work! After completing my PhD in Psychology, I decided to follow my life-long dream to become a children's author and here I am!
I'm Mum to three beautiful sons and live in Adelaide with my family and assortment of rescue pets. I've been blogging since 2001 and have written literally thousands of blog posts. I've also written for print and digital magazines, journals, academic conferences, blogs and websites. I worked as a social worker for many years and have a PhD in Psychology. In my PhD thesis, I examined how we can better support women with type 1 diabetes as they go through the pregnancy journey.
I've lived with type 1 diabetes since 1979 and anxiety and ADHD for much of my life, both of these diagnosed in adulthood. I have also experienced depression. These were difficult times in my life, but I managed to move through them and learn a lot about myself and how to navigate the world.
I've been reading and writing since I was tiny and most of my spare time as a child was spent with my head buried in a book. When I was in grade 1, my teachers sent me to the library to choose my own readers, because I had already read the entire suite of junior readers! They were part of my journey to deciding I wanted to be an author one day.
I won an award for a book I'd written when I was 6 years old, during Children's Book Week. It still takes pride of place and even has my 6-year-old handwriting in the front Published by Helen Wilde, Written by Helen Wilde (my name before I got married). The book on the left was my prize!
Later, after my family moved to a different town, my parents taught at the area school I attended. In the holidays the most magical part was being allowed to roam the library and select an enormous box of books for the break. I would read the back of a cereal pack at the breakfast table if there was nothing else nearby!
I founded a ground-breaking online counselling service for people with diabetes in 2001, well before there was any social media. It won many awards and grants. I was an Australian of the Year state finalist and a Telstra Business Woman of the Year state finalist in 2016 for my charitable work and you can see the archived site here.
In 2013 I started The Sustainable Home Hub (then Recycled Interiors) as an outlet for my interest in design, decoration, the arts and our planet. My sustainable blog posts are now here on my writing site. I studied interior design and worked as a sustainable interior decorator for a time.
After completing my PhD in 2019, I decided it was time to follow my dreams and have a go at becoming a traditionally published children's author. I enrolled in a course with the Australian Writers Centre, began writing a middle-grade manuscript, networked with the literary community, studied and developed my craft, pitched to agents and publishers, wrote some more, and was picked up by my wonderful agent.
I wrote and pitched, wrote and pitched, and dealt with many rejections, until eventually, we received an acceptance for The Rebels of Mount Buffalo from Riveted Press, where my supportive and insightful publisher could see the magic glimmering within my words. I am very grateful to both Debbie Golvan and Rowena Beresford for their continued belief in me and my stories.
I grew up in country towns in South Australia, with my younger sister and my parents, who taught me the value of people and planet. They filled us up with music, art, books, dancing, the sky, the stars, the ocean, forests of trees, peaks of mountains, camping under stars, many roadtrips, many animals, lots of laughter and plenty of love.
Most importantly, my parents taught me to notice the world and all of the small, magical moments, to notice people and to respect and celebrate diversity, to stand up and fight for what matters and what is right, to never shy away from being a rebel when it matters, to be thoughtful, to be kind.
I am ever grateful for the opportunities to learn and develop my craft, in a literary community filled with people who are bright, caring and genuine. Australian literary folk are truly remarkable.
I hope that my stories help young people to see what matters, what is true and real, that they are not alone. I hope all children and young people see themselves in the stories they read - the big stories and the quiet ones - and that they are left holding onto hope too.
Because hope is everything and it's stories that will change the world.
Helen
xx