Elena de Roo

New Zealand author and poet

Elena de Roo is a New Zealand children's writer and poet. She has been the recipient of several awards including the Todd New Writer’s Bursary in 2010 and the University of Otago College of Education / Creative New Zealand Children's Writer in Residence Fellowship in 2020. She lives in Auckland, New Zealand.

Biography

Elena de Roo was born in Hamilton.^[1] She attended seven different primary schools around New Zealand until moving to Auckland when she was eleven.^[2]

She graduated with a degree in English from the University of Auckland and later worked as a librarian.^[1]

She started writing for children in 2004.^[3] Several of her books have been named in the Storylines Notable Books List. She has written for educational publishers in New Zealand, Australia and the United States.^[4]^[5] Her work has also appeared in Poems in the Waiting Room,^[6] online blogs^[7] and anthologies such as A Treasury of NZ Poems for Children (Penguin Random House, 2014)^[8]^[9] and Summer Days: Stories and Poems Celebrating the Kiwi Summer (Penguin Random House, 2017).^[10]

She is one of the authors of the children’s writing online competition FABO Story.^[11]^[12]

In 2018, Elena de Roo completed a Master of Creative Writing at Auckland University of Technology.^[13]^[14]

She is married with three children and lives in Auckland.^[1]

Awards and Prizes

Elena de Roo was the recipient of the Todd New Writer’s Bursary in 2010.^[15] In the same year, she won the Manawatū (New Zealand) International Poetry for Performance Competition.^[3] She was Commended in the 2019 National Flash Fiction Day Competition.^[16]

In 2020, she was awarded the University of Otago College of Education Creative New Zealand Children's Writer in Residence Fellowship.^[17]

Bibliography

On a Roll, Illustrated by Duncan Scott (Rainbow Reading Programme, 2007)^[18]
Super Squeeze, Illustrated by Duncan Scott (Rainbow Reading Programme, 2007)^[19]
Blender Trouble"", Illustrated by Peter Lole (Rainbow Reading Programme, 2007)^[20]
The Rain Train, illustrated by Brian Lovelock (Walker Books Australia, 2010)^[21]^[22]
Ophelia Wild, Secret Spy, ill. Tracy Duncan (Walker Books Australia, 2012)
Ophelia Wild, Deadly Detective, ill. Tracy Duncan (Walker Books Australia, 2014)
The Name at the End of the Ladder (Walker Books Australia, 2014)^[23]
Catch a Cloud, Illustrated by Anuska Allepuz (Faber & Faber, 2020)
Rush, Rush! illustrated by Jenny Cooper (One Tree House, 2021)
To Catch a Cloud, ill. Hannah Peck (Faber, 2023)

External links

Elena de Roo's website
Profile of Elena de Roo on Storylines website
Listen to Elena de Roo read 'Wilding Pines' on Poetry Box website

References

^ ^a ^b ^c "Elena de Roo". Storylines. Archived from the original on 25 January 2016. Retrieved 10 January 2020.
^ "The Treasury Interviews: The Sharks from Adventure School interview Elena de Roo". Poetry Box. 17 October 2014. Archived from the original on 27 October 2014. Retrieved 11 January 2020.
^ ^a ^b "About Elena". Elena de Roo: children's writer & poet. Archived from the original on 13 August 2015. Retrieved 11 January 2020.
^ "Poems". Elena de Roo: children's writer & poet. Archived from the original on 19 February 2016. Retrieved 10 January 2020.
^ de Roo, Elena (January 2015). "If". TKI Literacy Online. Archived from the original on 24 July 2017. Retrieved 10 January 2020.
^ "Spring 2019". Poems in the Waiting Room (NZ). 5 September 2019. Archived from the original on 10 January 2020. Retrieved 10 January 2020.
^ Green, Paula (27 February 2013). "A Poem by Elena de Roo". Poetry Box: a New Zealand poetry page for children. Archived from the original on 10 January 2020. Retrieved 10 January 2020.
^ Green, Paula (25 August 2017). "Book List: an alphabet of poetry for kids: Z is for (A Treasury of New) Zealand (Poetry)". The Sapling. Archived from the original on 30 January 2018. Retrieved 10 January 2020.
^ "Waxing and waning". Backyard Books NZ. 2 April 2015. Archived from the original on 8 October 2016. Retrieved 10 January 2020.
^ Fraser, Rebekah. "Summer Days". NZ Booklovers. Archived from the original on 10 January 2020. Retrieved 10 January 2020.
^ "About FABO". FABO Story. Archived from the original on 31 August 2014. Retrieved 10 January 2020.
^ "Elena's FABO Story Judge's Report". FABO Story. 16 September 2019. Archived from the original on 28 November 2019. Retrieved 10 January 2020.
^ "Elena de Roo". NZSA New Zealand Society of Authors (PEN NZ Inc) Te Puni Kaituhi o Aotearoa. Archived from the original on 10 January 2020. Retrieved 10 January 2020.
^ de Roo, Elena (2019). Joining the Dots: Threads of Connection in Cam and the Bird-people (The Author's Journey) (Masters thesis). Tuwhera Open Access, Auckland University of Technology. hdl:10292/12590.
^ "Todd New Writer's Bursary recipient responds to need for diverse perspectives". Creative NZ. 17 December 2019. Archived from the original on 10 January 2020. Retrieved 10 January 2020.
^ "2019 National Flash Fiction Day Competition Winners". National Flash Fiction Day NZ. Archived from the original on 13 November 2016. Retrieved 11 January 2020.
^ "2020 Burns Fellows named". Otago Daily Times. 12 September 2019. Archived from the original on 10 January 2020. Retrieved 10 January 2020.
^ "On a Roll by Elena De Roo".
^ "Super Squeeze by Elena De Roo".
^ "Blender Trouble by Elena De Roo".
^ "The rain train by Elena de Roo; illustrated by Brian Lovelock (2010)". myfriendlucy one year, 365 picture books. 30 January 2015. Archived from the original on 6 July 2016. Retrieved 11 January 2020.
^ Bircher, Katie (13 July 2017). "Rain, rain, go away". The Horn Book. Archived from the original on 10 January 2020. Retrieved 11 January 2020.
^ "The name at the end of the ladder by Elena De Roo". Momo celebrating time to read. 12 July 2015. Retrieved 10 January 2020.