
Hazel Edwards was born in Melbourne, qualified as a primary teacher and graduated from Monash University after studying while teaching fulltime.
Her first YA novel was General Store (1972). Her first child was born in the same year. Best known is her picture book series There’s a Hippopotamus on our Roof Eating Cake (1980) illustrated by Deborah Niland. This toured nationally as the musical ‘Hippo! Hippo!’ in 2016 and will be returning in 2018.
Recipient of an 2001 Antarctic Fellowship, she researched on an expedition to Australia’s Casey Base in Antarctica and has published Antarctic themed stories in multi-media. Her works are published in the UK and USA and Asia and she was the first Nanjing International Cultural Exchange author ambassador with dual language projects.
She has written 200 books for adults and children including the recently controversial f2m: the boy within and Hijabi Girl. Co-written with Ryan Kennedy, YA novel f2m the boy within about transitioning from female to male is internationally available and listed with the 2011 White Ravens.
Other adult titles include Difficult Personalities and Writing a Non Boring Family History. Her works are published in Chinese, Korean, Finnish, Japanese, Russian, Braille and Auslan signing.
Hazel is a national Reading Ambassador for numerous literacy groups including YABBA and the Premiers’ Reading Challenge. Honors include ALMA nomination 2012,2011 and 2010 and the ASA medal (Australian Society of Authors) 2009.
Congratulations to Hazel for being awarded an OAM for service to Literature in the Queen's Birthday 2013 Honours List.
One of Australia’s foremost writers for young people, Hazel has recently stepped down as a director on the board of the Australian Society of Authors.
Not Just a Piece of Cake; Being an Author her unconventional memoir was released in 2015.
E-book literacy mysteries series and performance scripts are available from her website.
NEW! - Hazel has created Free, Downloadable reading and writing activities for students in Lockdown.
New, fun activities of varied lengths and types are added regularly - including Making a family story from photos (which take a while to sort).
Access at: Aspiring Writers
Testimonials

Not Just A Piece of Cake; Being An Author

Misfit

Hajabi Girl

There's a Hippopotamus on Our Roof Eating Cake

Antarctica's Frozen Chosen

Professor Fred Hollows

Sir Edward Weary Dunlop

Plato the Platypus Plumber

Fake ID

Astrid; The Mind Reading Chook

Astrid; Grand Final

False Bottom
Victoria
Speaker type
- Author
- Educational consultant
Audience
- Prep - Year 2
- Year 3-6
- Year 7-9
Links
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Get in quick to book your preferred speakers!
Don't forget to check out the Touring Speakers page as we have lots of speakers on the move this year.
We look forward to hearing from you soon!
New Releases See all books
Touring Speakers See all tour dates
| Speaker | Location | Tour dates | Book now |
|---|---|---|---|
Sydney - Last Day | 12 Jun - 12 Jun 2026 | ||
Perth - Last Day | 26 Jun - 26 Jun 2026 | ||
Brisbane | 01 Jul - 31 Aug 2026 | ||
Brisbane | Gold Coast | Sunshine Coast | 30 Jul - 31 Jul 2026 | ||
Brisbane | Gold Coast | Sunshine Coast | 06 Aug - 07 Aug 2026 |
What people are saying
An engaging speaker and the feedback from staff and students was very positive. We would book Aleesah again and recommend her to others.
"Gaye Chapman brings a different dimension to the illustrator session. Her multi-sensory games give the children a chance to fully participate in activities leading them to draw without constraints. Children of all ages enjoy her approach, particularly being so hands-on and using the senses of sight, sound, touch and taste to inspire them to draw. Her sessions with senior art students were highly appreciated with the students responding to her creative methods. They particularly enjoyed being ab [...]
Susy Boyer did an interactive chalk pastel workshop with our class 1 and 2 children. I had been to a workshop with Susy in previous years at another school and thought of her instantly when organizing a drawing workshop with young children. Susy is very professional and teaches the children with a calm and patient manner. She was well received by teachers and children, who all got more than they were expecting from the workshop and I would be happy to use Susy’s services again.
Our Prep students loved Serena. She read one of her books and conducted a drawing workshop. The students really enjoyed learning new techniques about how to draw characters with expression. Every one of them walked away afterwards with a smile on their face and some wonderful drawings. Serena has a lovely bubbly personality and was thoroughly entertaining and engaging.
Katherine was an entertaining speaker and our students enjoyed her presentation and workshop. I would recommend her and Speakers Ink, as both were professional, friendly, and excellent for our school.
Kerry did a fantastic session with the children, she contacted the library before the event to clarify our expectations of the day / event and to gather information on the target audience. She was really great.
Jonathan was great with the boys. He read to them, explained his writing and illustrating processes and then invited the boys to draw ideas that he could use in his new book. The boys were totally engaged for the session.
Al the teachers commented on her professionalism and her ability to interact with all age groups. She was fabulous.
Assisted us to change dates at last minute, professional as always.
Kate and Jol were so engaging and tailored their presentations perfectly for our lower and upper primary groups. Our students and staff are still raving about Kate and Jol and I've had many parents tell me their children went home and talked about how amazing it was for days after. Kate and Jol were so friendly and a joy to work with and I would highly recommend them to any school looking for a hilarious and enthusiastic incursion for their students!
James Roy is a fabulous story teller. He had our year 7 & 8's enthralled. Staff and students enjoyed the day and we would welcome James back any time.
Western Cape College Mapoon Campus was delighted to welcome illustrator Simon Deshon, also known as Siggo, who shared his creativity and passion for art through a series of engaging illustration workshops with our Kindergarten to Year 6 students. Simon captivated students by showing how small changes to a character’s face, such as adjusting eyebrows, eyes, or a smile that can powerfully express a wide range of emotions. From joy and excitement to surprise and wonder, students discovered how the [...]
The children and staff are still talking about your visit and your books are flying out the library from students and teachers alike! Your teacher notes have been passed on and gratefully received. We certainly will recommend you to anyone looking for a speaker and I will happily forward on a review for you. I asked the staff for any feedback and everything was positive. Quite honestly it’s the best author talk we’ve had! I have never seen the kids so engaged before, especially the older studen [...]
