Beloved Australian author John Marsden has died at the age of 74.
Marsden was best known for his young adult novels including the Tomorrow series and The Rabbits.
His death was confirmed by one of the two schools he founded, Alice Miller School, in a letter to parents but no cause of death has been given yet.
Marsden’s publisher Pan Macmillan Australia said he profoundly impacted the world of literature, particularly for young people.
“His ability to encapsulate the essence of youth struggles and aspirations in his works has left an indelible mark on readers worldwide,” the publisher said.
Author, Shaun Tan, who illustrated Marsden’s book The Rabbits took to Instagram to share his condolences for the late author.
“I’ll always be grateful for John’s kind encouragement, patience and openness, and to my editor Helen Chamberlin for the introduction,” he said.
“Best wishes to John’s family, friends and students, and all those whose lives he changed for the better, through empathy and challenge and story, asking us to be dangerously curious, to not turn away, to see others, to see other ways of seeing, to embrace the risk of caring about all of it - simply because it’s the right thing to do.”
Another Australian author, Alice Pung, also wrote about the impact Marsden had on her as a mentor and writer.
“I will never forget my friend John Marsden,” she wrote.
“He was not just admired, but so loved by all those whose lives he changed.”
Marsden wrote his first book, So Much to Tell You at age 28 while working as an English teacher.
In the following 40 years, he wrote and edited 40 books including Letters From the Inside, The Rabbits and his most successful book, Tomorrow, When the War Began, which spurred on the Tomorrow series.
Marsden sold millions of books globally, with an estimated three million books sold in Australia alone.
In the US, the American Library Association placed Tomorrow, Where the War Began at number 41 on its list of the 100 best books for teens published between 1966 and 2000. It was also voted Australia’s favourite Australian book, in a 2013 government poll.
For much of his career, Marsden worked as an English teacher before eventually founding and serving as principal at two regional Victorian schools: Candlebark and Alice Miller.
