Lilith Norman

Lilith George Norman (1927–2017) was an Australian children's writer, also known for her editorship of the New South Wales School Magazine.

Early life and education Norman was born in Sydney, New South Wales on 27 November 1927. Part of her childhood was spent in Goulburn, where she attended Bourke Street Primary School, came second in Class 6A and secured admission to Goulburn High School. Instead she moved to Waverley and was educated at Sydney Girls High School from 1940 to 1944. She won a short story prize in 1943.

In 1970 Norman joined the New South Wales School Magazine as assistant editor. She was promoted to editor in 1975 on the resignation of Patricia Wrightson. After three years as editor she resigned in December 1978 to write full time.

Her works for children were noted for their realistic depictions of families facing difficult circumstances. A Dream of Seas, for example, deals with a young boy coping with his father's death and has "elements of magic realism".

Selected works

Children's fiction

Nonfiction

Awards and recognition

Sydney Morning Herald Literary Competition – Poetry, joint third prize, 1947 IBBY Australia Honour for Writing, winner for A Dream of Seas, 1980 Australian Family Therapists' Award for Children's Literature – Picture Book and Younger Readers, winner for Granpa, 1999 Children's Book of the Year Award: Picture Book, honour book for Granpa, 1999