Writing a Non-boring Family History

Family history sleuthing is the biggest hobby worldwide. Amid a sea of genealogy books, Hazel Edwards has written a practical handbook on how to craft stories about our ancestors in an interesting way that other people will want to read. She addresses the vital issues of: injecting life into a name on a shipping list; presenting the family's murky secrets; doing justice to intriguing ancestors; getting the amount of dramatisation right; interviewing elderly relatives and people close to the family; how to use anecdotes and record memories. This revised edition acknowledges the new e-formats that today's family members use, includes helpful tips on how to write a eulogy, and covers the growing interest in touring military battlefields and researching onsite material.

Best known for ‘There’s a Hippopotamus on our Roof Eating Cake’ (1980) series adapted for screen and stage, and illustrated by Deborah Niland, Hazel Edwards writes across genres, media and age groups. Hazel Edwards has over 200 books plus translations & adaptations.
Author-educator Hazel Edwards M.Ed, B.A. Dip Ed, T.P.T.C. qualified as a primary teacher and graduated from Monash University after studying while teaching fulltime. Her first YA novel ‘General Store (1972) is in the Untapped Australian Literary Heritage Project. Coping successfully with being different, cultural diversity and social justice using humour are common themes. Adult non-fiction include ‘Difficult Personalities’ and ‘Writing a Non Boring Family History’. Her works are published in Chinese, Korean, Finnish, Japanese, Russian, Braille, Auslan signing and dylexie font.
Honors include international ALMA (Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award) nominations 2012, 2011 and 2010 and the ASA Medal (Australian Society of Authors) 2009. In 2013 she was awarded an OAM for services to Literature and in 2017 the YABBA Graham Davey Citation. Also Patron of the Society of Women Writers (Vic) and a director on the board of the Australian Society of Authors for 20 years. ‘Not Just a Piece of Cake: Being an Author’ is her memoir based on anecdultery as a creative structure. Adult mystery series with asexual Quinn her ‘celebrant sleuth’ is being scripted.