HORSFIELD, Alan 1939-

(David Alan, a pseudonym)

PERSONAL:

Born January 22, 1939, in Sydney, Australia; married; wife's name, Elaine. Education: Bathurst Teachers' College, teaching certificate, 1959; University of New England, B.A., 1969; Deakin University, B.Ed., 1987; University of New South Wales, M.Ed., 1989. Hobbies and other interests: Theatre, travel, reading, jogging, walking, environmental issues, swimming, jazz, wine festivals.

ADDRESSES:

Home—P.O. Box 627, Savusavu, Fiji Islands. E-mail—horsfield@connect.com.fj.

CAREER:

School teacher in New South Wales, 1960-70; deputy master, deputy principal, and acting principal at schools in Australia, 1970-79; Bambusi St. International School, Papua, New Guinea, principal, 1980-81; Mandang International School, Papua, principal, 1982-87; classroom teacher, New South Wales, 1988; Emanuel School, Randwick, assistant head of primary, 1989, head of primary, 1990-94; Children's Book Council, New South Wales, development officer, 1994-97; University of New South Wales, English and math research officer, 1998-99; writer, 2000—.

MEMBER:

Australian Society of Authors, New South Wales Children's Book Council, New South Wales Writers Centre.

WRITINGS:

NONFICTION

Year 4 Selective Schools Scholarship English, Book 1, Pascal Press (Glebe, New South Wales, Australia), 1996.

Year 6 Selective Schools Scholarship English, Book 2, Pascal Press (Glebe, New South Wales, Australia), 1996.

Selective Schools Maths Tests Year 6, Pascal Press (Glebe, New South Wales, Australia), 1997.

Rusting, Rotting, and Reactive, Thomson Nelson Science Infotexts (Victoria, New South Wales, Australia), 1997.

Public Sector Recruitment Tests, Pascal Press (Glebe, New South Wales, Australia), 1998.

Comprehension Skills Year 3, Pascal Press (Glebe, New South Wales, Australia), 1998.

Comprehension Skills Year 4, Pascal Press (Glebe, New South Wales, Australia), 1998.

Comprehension Skills Year 5, Pascal Press (Glebe, New South Wales, Australia), 1998.

Comprehension Skills Year 6, Pascal Press (Glebe, New South Wales, Australia), 1998.

Year 4 Placement Test Practice Numeracy, Pascal Press (Glebe, New South Wales, Australia), 1998.

Year 4 Placement Test Practice Literacy, Pascal Press (Glebe, New South Wales, Australia), 1998.

English Literacy Skills Year 2, Pascal Press (Glebe, New South Wales, Australia), 1999.

Comprehension Skills Year 7, Pascal Press (Glebe, New South Wales, Australia), 1999.

Narrative Writing for Students, two volumes, Pascal Press (Glebe, New South Wales, Australia), 2004.

FICTION

The Rats of Wolfe Island, Lothian (Sydney, Australia), 2002.

Dr awkwarD, Macmillan (Sydney, Australia), 2002.

Great Hair Robbery, Lothian (Sydney, Australia), 2003.

Cadaver Dog, Lothian (Sydney, Australia), 2004.

NO Signs (picture book), Peranga Post Press (Darling Downs, Queensland, Australia), 2004.

Contributor of short stories to collections, including Thomas Nelson Buzz Words, Series 1 Thomas Nelson Educational (Victoria, New South Wales, Australia), 1996; Thomas Nelson Buzz Words, Series 2, Thomas Nelson Educational, 1997; Crackers, Macmillan Educational (Sydney, Australia), 1997; Then and Now, Wannabee Publishing (California Gully, Victoria, Australia), 1997; BlitzIt, Thomas Nelson Educational, 1997; Sparklers, Blake Education (Glebe, New South Wales, Australia), 1998; Nelson ITP (Victoria, New South Wales, Australia), 1999; Galaxy Kids, 2002; Just Kids, Longman Pearson (Sydney, Australia), 2002; Gigglers, Blake Education, 2002; and Dreams, Ginninderra Press (Charnwood, Australia), 2002.

WITH WIFE, ELAINE HORSFIELD; UNDER PSEUDONYMS DAVID ALAN AND PATRICIA ANN TURNER

Primary Basic Skills Numeracy Practice Year 3, Nightingale Press (Victoria, New South Wales, Australia), 1998.

Primary Basic Skills Numeracy Practice Year 5, Nightingale Press (Victoria, New South Wales, Australia), 1998.

Primary Basic Skills Literacy Practice, Year 3, Nightingale Press (Victoria, New South Wales, Australia), 1998.

Primary Basic Skills Literacy Practice, Year 5, Nightingale Press (Victoria, New South Wales, Australia), 1998.

Primary Basic Skills Numeracy Practice, Year 2, Nightingale Press (Victoria, New South Wales, Australia), 1998.

Secondary Basic Skills Literacy Practice Year 7, Nightingale Press (Victoria, New South Wales, Australia), 2000.

Primary Basic Skills Literacy Practice Year 6, Nightingale Press (Victoria, New South Wales, Australia), 2001.

Primary Basic Skills Numeracy Practice Year 6, Nightingale Press (Victoria, New South Wales, Australia), 2001.

Contributor of articles to magazines and newspapers, including Magpies and Australian Multicultural Book Review.

SIDELIGHTS:

Alan Horsfield is an Australian-based author who has published more than fifty books, many of them educational texts in literacy and numeracy. His early writing was for children's magazines, newspapers, and journals. Later he began writing textbooks and factual books. His first children's fiction was published in 1996. Since then he has had more than fifteen works of fiction published, three of which are with Lothian Books. His works have been published in a number of English-speaking countries, including Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and the United States.

Horsfield is a former teacher who has worked in state and private schools across New South Wales. He and his wife, Elaine, enjoy traveling and many of his stories reflect the places that he has visited. He conducts writing workshops for primary and secondary students in schools in Australia and New Zealand. His main focus is on gifted and talented writers. In 2004 he served as writer-in-residence for Domremy College in Sydney. He is a past president of the New South Wales Children's Book Council and is a former judge for the New South Wales Premier's Book Awards. Since retiring from the educational field, he has devoted himself to writing. He once commented that he "shuttles between Sydney and Fiji," where he has an office "overlooking a tranquil, tropical lagoon. A perfect place for inspiration."