Norman Jorgensen

“I can’t believe it. My mother has gone and sold me! Sold me to the most notorious sea captain ever to sail the wild west coast.” And so begins The Smuggler’s Curse, Norman Jorgensen’s thrilling, award-winning historical novel set in Broome in 1897.

Norman may have the body of an ageing historical novelist but often taps directly into the mind of his adolescent 12-year-old self, writing successfully for Australian kids just like himself. No humour or thrilling adventures are spared as his fictional characters do battle with pirates, killer storms, ruthless pearlers and monstrous sharks off the Western Australian coast.

Norman has written sixteen children’s and YA books. His historical titles, In Flanders Fields, Jack’s Island, The Last Viking and The Smuggler’s Curse have sold thousands of copies and won many prizes including children’s choice awards.

His whole working life has been about books, having owned a children’s bookshop, worked as a publisher’s agent and sold books to schools and libraries.

He is a founding member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators here in WA, has mentored and helped a great many young writers to publication and being asked to launch over twenty books.

He is also a popular and entertaining speaker at festivals and in schools having conducted over a hundred workshops in 2019.

With most of his books having historical settings, he is extremely experienced at researching events in Australian history, and while young readers now demand the full technicolour, blood n’ guts version, he still believes classic story-telling laced with humour and vivid descriptions can usually overcome the most reluctant of readers of any age.