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DAVID COX Writer and illustrator |
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THE MUSIC OF BETTY BEATH NEWLY PUBLISHED WORK PERFORMANCE 2008 PERFORMANCE 2007 FROM A QUIET PLACE and LAMENT FOR KOSOVO BETTY'S BIOGRAPHY INFLUENCES BETTY BEATH-COX ART ENTERPRISES |
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David was born in a town called Goondiwindi, in the state of Queensland. He grew up on sheep and cattle stations (ranches), with his father to instruct him in horsemanship and his mother to encourage his writing and drawing. It was a good life in the Australian outback in those days and when he left boarding school, he decided to go back to the bush. He worked on various stations in Western Queensland; |
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1954 was a big year for David. That was the year he turned twenty-one. He played polo with the Wambin team, he won the bullock ride at the Eromanga Rodeo and he developed wanderlust. It wasn't because he didn't like the work, the life or the people in the bush; it was just that his feet grew itchy. With the money he had saved by working in remote places, he bought a passage to London. In London, he enrolled at St Martins School of Art. While he was in Beginners' year he was offered his first illustration commission by Puffin Books. David was away from Australia for eight years. Most of those years were spent in London; but he also had some time in Spain and France. He worked at various jobs and began to write. When he returned home, he found work in the newspaper industry where he stayed for many years. At the same time he was writing and illustrating children's books and plays and designing sets and costumes for drama and ballet. David now works from his home studio in Brisbane.. He is married to composer Betty Beath and together they have created operas for children and song cycles. |
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AWARDS AND HONOURS |
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1974 SOUTH-EAST ASIA FELLOWSHIP, Australia Council Literature Board, awarded jointly with composer, Betty Beath, to research material in Indonesia 1976 RESEARCH GRANT, from The Schools Commission . 1978 National WALKELEY AWARD, Best newspaper illustration 1980 TRAVEL GRANT, Literature Board of The Australia Council 1982, 1985, HONOUR BOOKS, Children's Book Council of Australia, Book of the Year awards. 1985 RESIDENCY, (jointly with composer, Betty Beath) North Adams College, Massachusetts . 1986 SHORTLISTED, CBCA Book of the Year awards. 1988 PARENTS' CHOICES MAGAZINE AWARD USA Best book illustrations |
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1988 CHILDREN'S CHOICES LIST, USA. 1992 SHORTLIST, CBCA awards. 1994 INDONESIA-AUSTRALIA TRADE FAIR, JAKARTA, represented Australian children's authors. 1994 SPECIAL PURPOSE GRANT, Literature Board of the Australia Council 1995 SHORTLIST, CBCA awards. 1996 SHORTLIST, CBCA awards 2004 Senior Writer's Grant Literature Board, Australia Council 2007 Dame Isabelle Rankin Award for distinguished services to Children's Literature in Queensland |