Children's AuthorHelen has won a number of awards, including being a South Australian State Finalist for Australian of the Year and for the Telstra Business Woman of the Year. She is a 2025 mid-career Literary Fellow with the State Library of South Australia, supported by Writers’ SA for her next magical historical middle-grade novel.
You can read more about Helen at her website: https://www.helenedwardswrites.com
Praise for The Rebels of Mt Buffalo:
'Based on a true story of a pioneering young woman who is hardly known in Australian history, this is an inspirational time slip novel set in Australia in the 1890s..... this is an ideal classroom novel for upper primary and lower secondary students. Containing themes of grief, courage, early feminism, bullying and resilience all within a true Australian history lesson, lower secondary readers will greatly enjoy this story.
~ Rob, reviewing in Lamont Books
'Bringing in themes of early feminism and issues such as bullying, never being a bystander, managing grief and finding your courage, this engaging middle grade timeslip story draws on the true history of Mount Buffalo and the incredible role the Manfield family, and Guide Alice in particular, played in the preservation of the National Park and the development of tourism in the Mount Buffalo region.'
Praise for Legend of the Lighthouse Moon
'Mona and her brother Albert live on Kangaroo Island with their grandparents who look after and run the lighthouse. It’s a remote place to live, but Mona loves it. She misses her mum, who died in a fire five years ago, and her dad who disappeared at the same time.
....This is a wonderful story of family, resilience, looking after nature and all entwined with the myth of the selkies and the sea lions. Mona, Albert and their grandparents are all wonderful characters and the story flows so well that you feel like you are living it with them. Her diabetes is an integral part of the story, and her struggle and eventual acceptance make this a great read for anyone who lives with, or knows someone living with, this disease. I highly recommend this book for everyone 13 and up who love a mythical storyline.'
~ Michelle in Lamont Books
'Mona’s past and disability are constantly on the page in this #OwnVoices book that evokes the feelings that many people with an invisible illness or disability have. Looking fine outside, but knowing something isn’t the same inside......This is a very special book that will hopefully be widely read.'
~ Ashleigh Miekle in The Book Muse January 2025
'Kangaroo Island, off the coast of South Australia, is the perfect backdrop for a fascinating story about family, tragic loss, secrets, haunting legends, sea lions and selkies. Added to this, we learn about Mona’s type 1 diabetes diagnosis. This is a gentle and thoughtful introduction to diabetes for those with little knowledge or understanding and the reader experiences Mona’s daily struggles and frustrations with her condition...
This wondrous story will be a welcome addition to all libraries and would make a fabulous class novel for middle primary readers.'
~ Kathryn Beilby in Read Plus September 2024
Praise for On Gallant Wings
'Based on real and important events in Australia’s history and with themes of war, internment, racial hostilities, family life and the brave role that pigeons played in war, this is an excellent lower secondary novel that can also be read by upper primary students.'
~ Rob in Lamont Books