Orman, Lorraine
IN BRIEF
Lorraine Orman is a children’s book author who worked for many years as a librarian. She is also a volunteer for Storylines: Children’s Literature Foundation of New Zealand. Her stories have been widely anthologized and broadcast on national radio, and Orman’s first novel for young adults, Cross Tides, won the Best First Book Award at the 2005 New Zealand Post Book Awards for Children and Young Adults. Orman participates in the Writers in Schools programme.
ProfilePlace of residence: Omaha Beach, near Warkworth |
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Orman, Lorraine (1948 –) was born in Auckland. She was educated at the University of Auckland, and completed her training as a librarian in Wellington in 1970. A career librarian, Orman worked in a secondary school library and a teachers’ training college library. When she retired she was able to dedicate her time to writing and reviewing New Zealand children's books.
Orman’s short stories have been published in the School Journal, and numerous anthologies such as The Puffin New Zealand Storybook (Puffin, 1991, 1996) and Hideous & Hilarious: 30 New Zealand Historical Stories (Random House, 2006).
Orman’s first novel for young adults, Cross Tides (Longacre), was published in 2004. It won the Best First Book Award at the 2005 New Zealand Post Book Awards for Children and Young Adults, and made the 2005 Storylines Notable Young Adult Fiction list. Kev and Borax (Penguin Australia, 2005) was published in the Aussie Bites series. Penguin New Zealand published three titles in its Kiwi Bites series: Ratso (2005), Furze The Fixer (2005), and Fish Tale (2006).
Orman has written two novels for Scholastic New Zealand's historical My Story series: A Long Walk From Home: The Diary of Lillian Glenmore, Warkworth, 1943 (2005) and Land of Promise: The Diary of William Donahue, Gravesend to Wellington, 1839-40 (2008).
In 2007, Longacre published Orman's second novel for young adults, called Hideout. Hideout was listed as a 2008 Storylines Notable Young Adult Fiction Book. In the same year Out of the Deep and Other Stories from New Zealand and the Pacific (Reed/Storylines Trust) was jointly edited by Lorraine Orman and Tessa Duder.
Orman is author of the Top 100 New Zealand Children’s Books of the 20th Century, which was published in The Inside Story: Year Book 2001 (Children’s Literature Foundation, 2001). She has also served as a judge for the 2004 New Zealand Post Book Awards for Children and Young Adults and writes book reviews for Magpies and Kiwi Write4Kids.
Land of Promise: The Diary of William Donahue, Gravesend to Wellington (1839-40) (Scholastic New Zealand) was listed as a 2009 Storylines Notable Junior Fiction Book.
Orman's book Haunted (2009) is a title in the Lightning Strikes series published by Walker Books Australia.
Lorraine Orman lives and writes at Omaha Beach, near Warkworth.
writers in schools information
Orman participates in the Writers in Schools programme. She is happy to speak to students 7 years and over, and will discuss being a teen fiction writer and a primary level and intermediate level fiction writer. She can give an introduction and talk, a reading and Q&A session, and can run workshops with small groups, including gifted and talented talk and workshop. She would prefer to talk to no more than two classes at a time, with a maximum of 15 per workshop. In general Orman prefers to initiate conversation rather than speak to large groups. She is able to travel outside of her region for Writers in Schools visits depending on timing.
KAPAI: Kids' Authors Pictures and Information
Where do you live?
My husband and I have retired to Omaha Beach, east of Warkworth. It is a quiet and beautiful spot, but I can drive to Auckland in an hour if I need some city bustle.
What sorts of books do you like to read?
I read mainly books for children and young adults, and fantasies are my favourites.
Who is your favourite writer?
Probably Garth Nix, but I also like Terry Pratchett, Margaret Mahy, Diana Wynne, Susan Price, Jane Yolen, Geraldine McCaughrean – and dozens more.
How do you think up your ideas?
One small idea is the kernel of a story. It can be inspired by something I heard, or something I read, or something that happened to me. Then I play with the idea to see if I can expand it into a proper story. Some ideas work, some don’t.
What is the best thing about being a writer?
Telling stories, I have loved books and stories all my life, and I’m glad that other people are enjoying my stories now.
Questions from Secondary School students
How did you get started as a writer?
I wrote a lot of short stories when I was younger. Many of these were published. I joined the NZ Society of Authors; was accepted on their Mentorship Programme (my mentor was Tessa Duder) and Cross Tides was the result.
Who inspired you when you were getting started?
Other beginning writers, and colleagues from Storylines; the Children’s Literature Foundation of NZ
What advice would you give an aspiring writer?
You need as much persistence and determination as talent!
Is it difficult to make a living as a writer in New Zealand?
Yes. I only have time to write because my husband supports me.
What were you like as a teenager?
Shy, nervous, lacking in self-confidence, convinced I was unattractive and dull. That’s why I like writing about teenage girls who are basically strong-minded
and have plenty of self-confidence by the end of the story.
Is there anything else you would like to tell us about your life?
I was an only child and I had four parents. My natural parents got divorced and both remarried again, but had no more children. Having the focus of four adults on me was awful. That’s why parents don’t tend to do very well in my stories.
Media links and clips
- For more information about Lorraine Orman and her books please visit the Story-Go-Round website.
