Alison Robertson
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Robertson, Alison (1958 - ) is a children's fiction writer, and has also written short-stories and non-fiction texts for Pearson and other publications. Her first book, Knocked For Six, was published in 2001 after having won the 2000 Tom Fitzgibbon Award.
Robertson was born and raised in Napier. She received a diploma in Journalism from the Wellington Polytechnic (1976). She later received a certificate in Writing (1998) and a diploma in Applied Arts (2001) from Whitireia Polytechnic.
Professionally, Roberston worked as a sports reporter for Radio New Zealand until 1986, when she became a freelance writer. Before publishing Knocked For Six, Roberston published Connecting Cultures (1999) and Know You’re Talking (2000) for the ESOL Home Tutor Scheme.
Magpies New Zealand found Knocked For Six 'an ambitious novel [that] touches on some serious family issues but always remembers to spice the plot with a little humour'. Jill Holt in the NZ Listener comments that the novel is as 'sparky' as it is 'clever and amusing at several levels'. The novel also received the Esther Glen Award at the 2002 LIANZA Children's Book Awards, and was listed as a 2002 Storylines Notable Book.
Robertson's published Finding Isabella (Scholastic) in 2005. Her most recent publication is Rocket Shoes (Pearson Education, 2011).
She lives and works in Tauranga.