Maurice Saxby is best known as the doyen of critical commentators on Australian Children's Literature.  He has written extensively in leading Australian and international journals such as Bookbird, Magpies, Viewpoint, Orana, Horn Book and Children's Literature in Education.  His multi volume History of Australian Children's Literature is the standard reference work in this field and another major work, Give them wings!, sums up his enthusiastic and determined espousal of the importance of quality literature for children.

Maurice is also an accomplished literary writer in his own right, as well as editor of literature and language teaching works, and of compilations of folktales and legends.  In 1983 he was awarded the Dromkeen Medal, in 1995 an Order of Australia, and in 2002 he won the CBC's Nan Chauncy Award for his immense contributions to Australian Children's Literature.

• Austlit has a short biography and list of works, and you can search further in the database for reviews and analysis. 

For a broader list of authors, have a browse through the Australian Authors and Illustrators page from the NSW branch of the Australian School Library Association.

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