Ivan Southall
Ivan Francis Southall AM, DFC (8 June 1921 – 15 November 2008) was an Australian writer of young-adult fiction and non-fiction. Born in Melbourne, Victoria, his novels include Hills End, Ash Road, Let the Balloon Go, and Josh (1962 to 1971). The nonfiction Fly West is a collection recounting his experiences in Short Sunderland flying boats during the Second World War, for which he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC). He is the only Australian winner of the annual Carnegie Medal for British children's books, the 1971 award to Josh.
A retrospective exhibition Southall A-Z: Ash Road to Ziggurat was held in the State Library of Victoria in 1998 and is available online. It includes an interview conducted in 1997, a biography, bibliography and exhibition of covers with information about the books.
Ivan Southall dealt in his books both with survival in the face of dramatic events such as fire and flood, and with personal and psychological challenges. He was one of the first to write specifically for young adults.
He died of cancer on 15 November 2008 aged 87.