Patricia Wrightson is one of the most respected and awarded writers in Australia. Few people get to have prestigious awards named after them - even fewer while they are still alive! The NSW Premier's Literary Award for children's literature is named for this distinguished artist. She won the CBC Book of the Year award with her first published title (The Crooked Snake in 1956) and has won it 3 times since. Patricia Wrightson is the creator of enthralling, challenging literature which respects its audience through its depth of meaning and perspective. This respect is perfectly demonstrated in I Own the Racecourse and its portrayal of intellectual disability. Her union of aboriginal legends and European mythic storytelling in the Wirrun trilogy is a benchmark for imaginative literature in Australia and beyond, while The Nargun and the Stars adds a strong environmental message as well. She is one of only two Australians to have been awarded the Hans Christian Andersen Medal by IBBY. http://www.latrobe.edu.au/childlit/Authors/Wrightson.htm