BRENTON CULLEN
⭐Author
⭐Bookseller
⭐Interviewer & Reviewer
⭐KidLit Advocate
⭐May Gibbs Children's Literature Trust Fellow
"I write happy stories and sad stories, stories that are noisy and stories that are quiet.
Above all, I love to write stories from the heart."
⭐Author
⭐Bookseller
⭐Interviewer & Reviewer
⭐KidLit Advocate
⭐May Gibbs Children's Literature Trust Fellow
"I write happy stories and sad stories, stories that are noisy and stories that are quiet.
Above all, I love to write stories from the heart."
Welcome to Brenton Cullen's website! Why not stay and have a browse?
Want to...?
✨ invite Brenton to your school? Click here
📝see Teaching Notes? Click here
✍️ read some inspiring Writing Tips? Click here
🔍 learn about Brenton's life? Click here
📖 read Brenton's blog? Click here
📧 send Brenton a message? Click here
✨ invite Brenton to your school? Click here
📝see Teaching Notes? Click here
✍️ read some inspiring Writing Tips? Click here
🔍 learn about Brenton's life? Click here
📖 read Brenton's blog? Click here
📧 send Brenton a message? Click here
MIDDLE GRADE & YOUNG ADULT
click the cover!
click the cover!
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The Secret of Panther Valley Coming April 2027 |
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FOR YOUNGER READERS
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ABOUT
Brenton - now.
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Brenton - then!
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Brenton Cullen is a Queensland writer, bookseller and passionate advocate for children’s literature. He writes stories from the heart for all ages, with a particular love for picture books and middle-grade fiction.
Brenton wrote his first book, The Dingo with No Teeth, at the age of six, collecting wool, bark and leaves to make the collage illustrations. Inspired by a love of Jeannie Baker’s books, this early experiment sparked a lifelong desire to be an author. By the age of nine, Brenton was submitting manuscripts to publishers.
From the age of eleven, Brenton published short stories, articles and columns in anthologies and magazines. From fourteen to sixteen he wrote a weekly entertainment column for a local newspaper.
He has written articles, interviewed authors and reviewed children’s books for Good Reading, CBCA Reading Time, Magpies: Talking About Books for Children and Books + Publishing.
Brenton is the recipient of the 2023 May Gibbs Children’s Literature Trust’s Ian Wilson Memorial Fellowship and the winner of the 2024 Just Write for Kids Pitch It! Competition (Middle-Grade).
He lives between the bush and the beach, with his partner, a quartet of fish named The Supremes, eight house plants, and an ever-growing picture book collection.
When not writing, Brenton is walking, going to arthouse cinemas, watching sitcoms or losing track of time in second-hand bookshops.
Brenton wrote his first book, The Dingo with No Teeth, at the age of six, collecting wool, bark and leaves to make the collage illustrations. Inspired by a love of Jeannie Baker’s books, this early experiment sparked a lifelong desire to be an author. By the age of nine, Brenton was submitting manuscripts to publishers.
From the age of eleven, Brenton published short stories, articles and columns in anthologies and magazines. From fourteen to sixteen he wrote a weekly entertainment column for a local newspaper.
He has written articles, interviewed authors and reviewed children’s books for Good Reading, CBCA Reading Time, Magpies: Talking About Books for Children and Books + Publishing.
Brenton is the recipient of the 2023 May Gibbs Children’s Literature Trust’s Ian Wilson Memorial Fellowship and the winner of the 2024 Just Write for Kids Pitch It! Competition (Middle-Grade).
He lives between the bush and the beach, with his partner, a quartet of fish named The Supremes, eight house plants, and an ever-growing picture book collection.
When not writing, Brenton is walking, going to arthouse cinemas, watching sitcoms or losing track of time in second-hand bookshops.
FAVOURITES & FACTS
Favourite Animal? Gorilla.
Favorite Cartoon Character? Scooby-Doo.
Favourite Chocolate? Cherry Ripes.
Favourite Place? A library, bookstore or rainforest.
Favourite TV Show? Murder She Wrote, Friends, The Golden Girls, Superstore
Favourite Movies? La La Land, You've Got Mail, Harry Potter, Mrs Doubtfire, The Devil Wears Prada, and many more!
Favourite Disney movie? Basil the Great Mouse Detective, Sleeping Beauty and Up! (*cries*)
Favourite colour? Green!
Favourite food? Ooh. Tough question. Sushi, sea-salt Turkish bread, chicken schnitzel and gravy, and chocolate.
Summer or winter? Winter.
Bookmark or dog-eared page? Bookmark (I'm not a monster).
Morning bird or night owl? Night owl!
Cats or dogs? Dogs.
Beach or bush? Bush.
Country or city? The country.
Favourite Picture Books?
Favourite Junior Fiction Books?
Favourite Middle Grade Books?
Favourite Books for Adults?
Favourite Non-Fiction Books?
Favorite Cartoon Character? Scooby-Doo.
Favourite Chocolate? Cherry Ripes.
Favourite Place? A library, bookstore or rainforest.
Favourite TV Show? Murder She Wrote, Friends, The Golden Girls, Superstore
Favourite Movies? La La Land, You've Got Mail, Harry Potter, Mrs Doubtfire, The Devil Wears Prada, and many more!
Favourite Disney movie? Basil the Great Mouse Detective, Sleeping Beauty and Up! (*cries*)
Favourite colour? Green!
Favourite food? Ooh. Tough question. Sushi, sea-salt Turkish bread, chicken schnitzel and gravy, and chocolate.
Summer or winter? Winter.
Bookmark or dog-eared page? Bookmark (I'm not a monster).
Morning bird or night owl? Night owl!
Cats or dogs? Dogs.
Beach or bush? Bush.
Country or city? The country.
Favourite Picture Books?
- Tanglewood by Margaret Wild and Vivienne Goodman
- The Toymaker and the Bird by Pamela Allen
- Old Pig by Margaret Wild and Ron Brooks
- Window by Jeannie Baker
- Arabella by Wendy Orr and Kim Gamble
- Jessica Joan by Wendy Orr and Ann James
- Book of Hours by Clare McFadden
- Boots by Elizabeth Pulsford and Krista Brennan
- Wombat Divine by Mem Fox and Kerry Argent
- I'm Sticking With You by Smriti Halls and Steve Small
Favourite Junior Fiction Books?
- So Who Needs Lotto? by Libby Hathorn and Simon Kneebone
- Dear Writer by Libby Gleeson and David Cox
- Skippy Blackfeet by Rebecca Fraser and Jennifer Horn
- Ark in the Park by Wendy Orr and Kerry Millard
- Hannah and the Tomorrow Room by Libby Gleeson and Ann James
- Emily's Fortune by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
Favourite Middle Grade Books?
- The Elephant by Peter Carnavas
- Leaving it to You by Wendy Orr
- To the Moon and Back by Dianne Bates
- The Other Shadow by Tania Ingram
- Hey Phantom Singlet by Simon French
- The Key to Rondo by Emily Rodda
- Teen Power Inc series by Emily Rodda
- The Secret Beach by Jackie French
- No Worries by Bill Condon
- Flip by Rebecca Fraser
- Valley Under the Rock by Libby Hathorn
- Thunderwith by Libby Hathorn
- The Ghost's Child by Sonya Hartnett
- Peter by Kate Walker
- Missing You, Love Sarah by Jackie French
- Two Weeks with the Queen by Morris Gleitzman
Favourite Books for Adults?
- Of a Boy by Sonya Hartnett
- The Marlow Murder Club by Robert Thorogood
- And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie
- Becoming Mrs Mulberry by Jackie French
- Murder is Binding by Lorna Barrett
- The Last Library by Freya Sampson
Favourite Non-Fiction Books?
- The Author & Illustrator Scrapbook (Vol 1 and 2) edited by Omnibus Books
- Agatha Christie: A Biography by Janet Morgan
- Writing Hannah: On Writing for Children by Libby Gleeson
- Hope in the Mail by Wendelin Van Draanen
- Girl Sleuth: Nancy Drew and the Women Who Created Her by Melanie Rehak
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"Childhood is built one book at a time."
- Brenton Cullen
- Brenton Cullen