The Secret Battle by Pamela Rushby
About Pamela Rushby
Pamela Rushby is the author of over 200 books for children and young adults, as well as children’s TV scripts, documentaries, short stories and freelance journalism. Pam has been an advertising copywriter, pre-school teacher, and producer of educational television, audio and multimedia. She has won several awards, including the NSW Premier’s Ethel Turner Prize, five CBCA Notable Books – and a bag of gold coins at a film festival in Iran! She was also shortlisted for the ARA Historical Novel Prize in 2021. Pam believes the strangest, most riveting, heart-breaking, laugh-out-loud stories aren’t fiction. They’re real. They come from history. And she loves tripping over unusual incidents from history – and then writing about them. For further information, visit Pamela’s website.
A Quote from Pamela Rushby
“I am absolutely chuffed to have The Secret Battle long listed for the ARA Historical Novel Prize, and very grateful to the ARA Group and HNSA for giving such wonderful recognition to historical writing and writers.
Awards like this are important. Historical fiction presents history to young people in a compelling and memorable way. They open a book – and step through time. They walk beside people from the past. They learn about ordinary people in extraordinary times (or extraordinary people in ordinary times!) and discover how people from the past lived, what they believed, how they coped with conflict. How their reactions were probably very different from our own – and why. It’s important to learn about these things, and even more importantly, to learn about them through the pages of a ripping yarn.
When I visit schools, I’m nearly always asked ‘Where do you get your ideas from’, and I say I just trip over them. For The Secret Battle, I tripped right over my own doorstep. I found a little-known story of war-time Brisbane, of conflict and cover-ups and secrets – and spaghetti. I had a fascinating time researching and writing The Secret Battle, and am honoured it’s made the long list.
Many thanks to my publisher, Sophie Masson of Eagle Books, the ARA Group and HNSA.”
About The Secret Battle
Nine-year-old city newspaper seller Roddy becomes involved in the infamous Battle of Brisbane in 1942: when American and Australian servicemen fought against each other, rioting in the streets of the city for two days. When Roddy helps an American serviceman who’s been involved in the fighting, he never expects that the battle will become covered up – a wartime secret. Never to be reported in the newspapers he sells. Or that his actions will result in a new life for him after the war – all the way to the USA. A fast-moving historical novel for middle-grade readers by multi-award-winning author Pamela Rushby.
