Angela Sunde spent her childhood on the outskirts of Auckland, NZ, in the family orchard, working, playing and dreaming. Today she writes and illustrates for children, and her hope is to inspire the dreams of children everywhere.
In 2009 she was awarded 3rd place in the CYA 'Illustrated Picture Book’ category and two of her stories were short-listed for the Charlotte Duncan Award. In 2010 she was awarded a RADF grant to undertake a picture book mentorship and work on a junior fantasy novel.
Formerly a teacher, specialising in English language support and German, Angela’s love of German fairytales led her to wonder - what if a fairytale happened to a real girl? The result was Pond Magic, which will be published in 2010 as an Aussie Chomp by Penguin Australia.
Angela lives in the Gold Coast hinterland with her husband, two teenagers, a manx cat, two cockatiels and three bush rats in the compost heap.
Pond Magic will be launched at the CYA Conference on 4th September 2010.
WHAT CYA CONFERENCE DID FOR ME
It was at my first CYA conference that I was welcomed and supported as a new and emerging writer. Every year since I have been rewarded with rich learning and networking experiences and along the way I have made some treasured friends.
Over the years I have been placed 3rd, 7th and 11th in the CYA competitions. The judges’ feedback sheets are detailed critiques, which both encourage and advise. This is invaluable and makes the experience well-worth it.
The opportunity to pitch to agents and publishers at the CYA has also proven successful for me, with one agent submitting two picture books to a publisher on my behalf in 2007 and a publisher inviting me to submit my full manuscript in 2009. This gave me the confidence to continue pursuing my dream of publication, resulting in my first book contract.
