Zana’s books have won the Amnesty CILIP Honour Award; the ABIA Book of the Year for Older Readers; The Readings YA Book Prize; the NSW Premier’s Literary Awards; the CBCA Honour Book Award; and her book The Bone Sparrow was chosen as the biennial book to represent Australia for the International Board on Books for Young People. Her books have also been shortlisted for the Carnegie Award; the Guardian Children’s Fiction

Zana was born, and currently lives in Naarm (Melbourne), but spent her early childhood in San Francisco. As a child Zana always had her head in a book. This could have been because she was 8 years-old before anyone realised that she was incredibly near-sighted and probably couldn’t see anything further away than the words in a book. But regardless of its origins, her love of reading has remained central to her life and work.

Zana has degrees in history and teaching and is currently undertaking a PhD in Creative Writing at LaTrobe University. Through meticulous research she has also discovered that it is essential to eat copious amounts of chocolate in order to write anything at all, and that walking with an octopus can sometimes be the best method of discovering plot.

Zana still always has her head in a book, despite now using glasses to see anything further away, and when she isn’t reading or writing, she likes to explore the museums and hidden passageways scattered across Melbourne. They provide the same excitement as that moment before opening a new book – preparing to step into the unknown where a whole world of possibilities awaits.

Zana’s passion for empowering young people to find their voice is a feature of both her books and her work with writers of all ages.