Eve Pownall

Eve Pownall MBE (1901-1982) was an Australian writer for children and historian who was born in Sydney, New South Wales. Pownall was the eldest of three children and lived in Kiama, Windsor, Muswellbrook and Sydney before attending North Sydney Girls' High School. She undertook a secretarial course before finding work at Fox Films and then at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Ltd until her marriage to Leslie Pownall in December 1929. The couple were to have two children. She began to review children's literature for Australasian Book News and Literary Journal, and later began writing children's fiction and non-fiction of her own. She was awarded an MBE in 1977 and was the first recipient of the Lady Cutler award for distinguished service to children’s literature in New South Wales. Pownall was a founding member of the Children's Book Council of Australia (1945) and was associated with the Council for the rest of her life. The Children’s Book Council presents the annual Eve Pownall Award for Information Books in her honour. Pownall died at her home in Forestville in 1982.

Personal

• 1978 - Member of the Order of the British Empire — for Service to Literature
• 1981 - winner Lady Cutler Award for Distinguished Services to Children's Literature in New South Wales

For specific works

• 1952 - winner Children's Book of the Year Award: Older Readers for The Australia Book

• "Children's Book of the Year: An Australian Classic?", The Sunday Herald, 10 August 1952, p11