Gabrielle Wang
Gabrielle Wang is an award-winning author and illustrator born in Melbourne of Chinese heritage. Her maternal great grandfather came to Victoria in 1853 during the Gold Rush. Her father is from Shanghai. Gabrielle’s stories are a diverse blend of eastern and western culture with a touch of fantasy. She has written more than twenty books for young readers, many of them shortlisted for awards, from the Prime Minister’s Award and Queensland Premier’s Award to children’s choice awards such as the Yabba and Koala as well as CBCA Notables. Two of Gabrielle’s books won the Aurealis Award – The Garden of Empress Cassia and A Ghost in My Suitcase which was also adapted to the stage by Barking Gecko Theatre in 2018. Zadie Ma and the Dog Who Chased the Moon was Shortlisted for the 2023 Prime Minister’s Literary Awards, 2023 Queensland Literary Awards, 2023 NSW Premier’s Literary Awards and was a Notable in the CBCA Book Awards. Gabrielle was the Australian Children’s Laureate for 2022 and 2023.
Her latest book The Silken Thread was published in July 2025.
Gabrielle is passionate about creating understanding between cultures. Reading fiction allows children to see the world through someone else’s eyes. Recurring themes in her novels are friendship, family, identity, finding your place in the world, and the healing power of art. Her stories are often set in the real world but have a touch of fantasy and the supernatural.
Primary Years 3-6 | Duration: 1 hour | Small to large groups
Through stories, Gabrielle talks about where ideas come from, the background to her latest novel, and discusses the writing process as a whole. Twenty minutes before the end of the session she engages the students in a fun interactive dragon drawing workshop.
Primary Years Prep – 2 | Duration: 45 mins
In this session, Gabrielle uses her picture book The Race for the Chinese Zodiac to teach the students about Chinese culture followed by a fun interactive dragon drawing workshop.
Chinese Brush Painting workshop | Years 3-9 | Duration: 1 hour | Max 35 students per session
In this workshop, students gain knowledge of the philosophy and fundamentals of Chinese brush painting by learning how to paint bamboo and birds. By the end of the workshop, students will come away with finished paintings of their own. All materials are supplied.
Writing Workshops Primary 3 – 6 | Duration: 1 hour or more | Limited to 35 students per session
In this session, Gabrielle will lead students in a number of writing exercises to open up their creativity. Students will come away with set pieces that may become the beginnings of their own story.
Testimonials
The girls were so interested hearing Gabrielle speak. She was engaging, interesting, and we all thought she was so, so talented. Was a treat for us to have her.
Korowa Anglican Girls' School - August 2017Gabrielle has visited our school for the past three years and run her Chinese watercolour painting session with our year 7s. This complements the text that they study at this year level, Chinese Cinderella. Gabrielle is a true professional with a wonderful instructional manner. She incorporates her Chinese heritage into the workshops beautifully and has the students spellbound. The lovely thing about her sessions is that being able to produce a credible Chinese watercolour at the end of the session is well within the grasp of every student.
Luther College - September, 2013
The Silken Thread
Zadie Ma and the Dog Who Chased the Moon
Ting Ting the Ghosthunter
Pearlie's Ghost
Pearlie's Pet Rescue
Pearlie the Spy
A Ghost in My Suitcase
The Lion Drummer
The Hidden Monastery
The Pearl of Tiger Bay
The Garden of Empress Cassia
The Race for the Chinese Zodiac
The Beast of Hushing Wood
Little Paradise
Meet Poppy
Poppy at Summerhil
Poppy and the Thief
Poppy Comes Home
The Wishbird
Meet Pearlie
Victoria
Speaker type
- Author
- Illustrator / Designer
Audience
- Prep - Year 2
- Year 3-6