I’ve always been a bookworm. I grew up in different parts of Australia and Thailand, then worked in several countries, including Nepal and Japan. When I was little, I longed to be the Muddle-Headed Wombat. After that, I wanted to be Silky from The Magic Faraway Tree, Anne Shirley from Anne of Green Gables, and Jo March from Little Women. I now live on the south coast of Western Australia, where I read and write every day and am happy to just be me. My favorite things to do include swimming in the Southern Ocean and walking on the beach with my husband, Pete, and our rescue dog, Harry. I also love traveling to new places, and I’m lucky to have family living in beautiful parts of Europe and Australia. My first publication was travel related. It was an article called “Eating Out in Kathmandu,” published in Let’s Travel magazine soon after I returned from nine months living in a remote village in western Nepal.

About My Work:

I write all kinds of stories. My published work includes picture books, chapter books, young adult novels, and short stories. I especially love writing historical fiction and stories with animal characters. My books have won many awards, and Lighthouse Girl and Light Horse Boy have also been adapted for the stage and street theater. You can see photographs and find out more on my website, www.diannewolfer.com. Both of my grandmothers had button tins. When I was a little girl, I loved tipping their button tins upside down and sorting the buttons into different shapes, colors, and sizes. Nanna’s Button Tin began one day when I was remembering how much fun I had with my grandmothers’ buttons.

Three things you might not know about me:

1. My family lived in Bangkok for two years when I was growing up, and I learned some very rude words in Thai.

2. My daughter, Sophie, and I lived in a town called Denmark for ten years and our mail sometimes went to the country Denmark instead.

3. I love animal characters and completed PhD research into anthropomorphism in children’s literature.