Michael Panckridge is a part time teacher at The Geelong College Preparatory School and a mad keen sports fanatic. He has played and coached a variety of sports and takes an active interest in the Australian Cricket X1, the AFL’s Geelong Cats, Rugby League's Melbourne Storm, all of the Aussie Super 14 teams, the Boomers and Opals, hockey teams the Hockeyroos and Kookaburras, the Wallabies and the Kangaroos (Australia’s national rugby teams as opposed to two of its more noted native animals!) Liverpool… (they're a soccer team in England!) and the list probably goes on, with numerous other teams around Geelong, Australia and the world, as well as his own school teams.

Michael is the author of the acclaimed Legends and Anniversary Legends series with Black Dog Books. These series are a culmination of many years of dedicated sports mania combined with an enthusiastic exploration of what boys and girls really want to read. The blend of engaging narrative and informational text has captured the imagination of children all over Australia including reluctant readers. With over 100 000 copies sold, the entire first series has been re-issued.

He is also the author of three series with HarperCollins. The Toby Jones series (all five books have now been published) is a mixture of fantasy and sports action as the hero Toby travels back through time, encountering a lot more than just old cricket matches. Brett Lee, Australia’s premier fast bowler also contributes to the books with his wealth of cricket knowledge and experience.

Similarly, Laurie Daley, ex Australian Rugby League captain and now prominent media broadcaster, lends his experience to the League of Legends series – a 3 book action filled sporting adventure series centred on the rugby league trials and mysteries for Sam Davies and his friends. Shielding the Truth and Live Action are the titles of the first 2 books in this series. The 3^rd title, On The Bell, is due to hit the shelves in April, 2008.

The Clued Up 6 series is a collection of 6 novels based around the adventures of a group of friends living in a country town. The novels are fast paced and lively with plenty of action and drama as the kids meet a variety of dangerous challenges. Horse racing, swimming, ghosts, motor bikes and a bushfire are the major themes running through the first five books in the series – each book addressing one theme. Taking the Chequered Flag, a dirt bike and motocross extravaganza, has just hit the shelves.  

Michael spends a lot more time watching sport than he does playing it, although manages to maintain his fitness running around the streets of Geelong.

Michael Panckridge has only been writing since 2001 and already has 30 books to his credit. A recent novel The Cursed, published by Black Dog Books, is a fast paced adventure with a dash of horror and fantasy thrown in for good measure. There has already been an expression of interest from a film director! His interest in the concept of invisibility brought about The Cursed – and an exploration into more mysterious elements. The story combines elements of fantasy and adventure and hopefully the fast paced action is still of great appeal to all readers but particularly boys and reluctant readers.

A follow on story based on ghosts and trains – published in February 2008, called The Vanishings, allowed Michael to explore two more interests as he continues to delve into the ‘other’ side – the train in this story, as well as the small, isolated and disused railway station where much of the story is set, provide a surreal backdrop for his ghost and spirit characters to haunt and wreak havoc.

 A newspaper review (The Sunday Age, 23 March, 2008) said… “The Vanishings is a wonderfully imagined story that is perfectly paced, haunting and very creepy.”

Apart from being a mad keen sports fanatic, Michael has many other interests including music, reading, sport (did we mention that earlier?!!) watching films and keeping fit.

Michael Panckridge enjoys talking to children, parents and teachers about reading and writing — and especially boys about reading.

Visit Michael’s website at www.michaelpanckridge.com.au

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