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Meredith Downes

Genres: Junior Fiction (ages 8-12)

Publications:

Liam the Chid and the Kangaroo Warriors (2025)

Member Bio

Meredith Downes is an Australian children’s author and illustrator from Brisbane, Queensland. With a background in biology and Australian archaeology, she loves to draw and write adventures about all the quirky characters of the Australian bush she has met at home and in her travels across the country. Previously, Meredith was longlisted for the 2020 Queensland Stories, Songs and Rhymes competition and won the 2022 Storylinks competition for children’s short fiction. She has also written for The School Magazine. Liam the Chid and the Kangaroo Warriors (2025) is her debut novel for kids.

Ten Questions with Meredith

What draws you to writing for children specifically?

I think that when writing for children, there is a freedom to tell stories just for fun, and the more fun the better! I write stories that I would have wanted to read as a kid (and stories that I still want to read today) that focus on adventure and humour and friendship.

How long have you been writing?

I wrote and illustrated my first book when I was 5. It was a picture book about my cat as a superhero. I have been writing stories since I could write words and have never really stopped.

Do you illustrate?

I began working in digital illustration a few years ago and I recently illustrated my debut novel, Liam the Chid and the Kangaroo Warriors. I prefer digital illustration because I am always experimenting and quickly run out of paper if I try to do it on the page.

What writing resources (online, books or other) do you recommend?

My favourite book about writing is “Bird by Bird” by Anne Lamott. It has excellent advice for anyone attempting to write a novel, explaining that you really must just tackle it one bit at a time. (This is great advice for pretty much anything though!)

Best time of day to write?

I write at all hours, including the middle of the night. In the Middle Ages and before, people used to sleep in two stretches with a break in between, when they would do things like write in their journal or visit people. I tend to still sleep like this, so I often work in the middle of the night when all is dark and quiet and my brain is refreshed and ready to be creative.

Are there any other creative projects you are working on that you would like to share?

I am currently working on the sequel to Liam the Chid and the Kangaroo Warriors. It’s called Liam the Chid and the Goanna Gang and is the second book in the Liam the Chid series. It follows a young echidna, Liam, as he returns home to face his enemies, the Goanna Gang. The book will be released in early 2027.

Was there a particular book in your childhood that had a big influence on you?

The “Anne” and “Emily” books by L. M. Montgomery really appealed to me – their main characters were girls, full of imagination and wanting to write. I loved books by Tamora Pierce as well, because of the fierce, empowered warrior girl characters. I also put a fierce girl warrior in Liam the Chid and the Kangaroo Warriors, in the form of the kangaroo, Quickfoot.

Is there a particular theme or underlying subjects that run through your writing?

I have always had a fascination with Australian wildlife and the bush. The natural environment of Australia provides scope for the telling of imaginative tales of heroes and adventure for children that engages their growing sense of wonder in the amazing place where we live and provides them with uniquely Australian stories to enjoy.

Who/ what inspires you?

I love to meet readers of my books and also to help children work on their own creative writing through workshops. It is really what writing my stories is all about for me –helping them to build their imaginations and dream big.