Legendary Australian author John Marsden behind beloved Tomorrow book series dies aged 74
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Australian author John Marsden has died at the age of 74. The legendary writer was best known for his best-selling Tomorrow book series. He won a number of awards during his career for both children's and adult fiction books. Among his accolades was the Lloyd O'Neil Award for contributions to Australian publishing, which he was awarded in 2006. He also won the Christina Stead Award for Best Novel of 2015.
Millions of copies of his Tomorrow series were sold across the globe, with the concept also being adapted for film and television. His publisher, Pac Macmillan Australia, previously labelled his books "the best series for Australian teens of all time".
His 1993 novel, titled Tomorrow, When the War Began, was about a hypothetical war where Australia is invaded. It helped raise him to prominence in the industry. He soon followed them with the second in the series, published in 2005. A third came out a year later.
In total, the author published more than 40 books across a number of genres. His first book titled So Much to Tell You was published in 1987. Other popular titles of his included Darkness, Be My Friend, which was the fourth edition of the Tomorrow series.
Following his award win in 2006, he reduced his writing time and focused on teaching and running a new alternative school he founded, the Candlebark School in the Macedon Ranges. According to his biography on his website, "Candlebark is a P-8 co-educational school, based to a considerable extent on the principles of Fitzroy Community School in Melbourne.".
