Mardi McConnochie
Mardi McConnochie (born 1971) is an Australian author and playwright from Armidale, New South Wales. She grew up in Adelaide and now lives in Sydney with her partner, novelist James Bradley. She has a PhD in English Literature from the University of Sydney.
She has written three novels: Coldwater (2001), The Snow Queen (2003), and Fivestar (2005). Coldwater reimagines the Brontë sisters on a penal colony off the coast of New South Wales and explores art, life, and love. It was shortlisted for the Commonwealth Writers Prize Best First Book (South-East Asia and Pacific) and named one of The Washington Post’s Books of the Year. The Snow Queen is set in Adelaide and follows a former Russian ballerina in post-war Australia; in 2004 she was named one of The Sydney Morning Herald’s Best Young Australian Novelists. Fivestar looks at celebrity culture through the rise and fall of a girl group in Australia, reminiscent of The Spice Girls.
She also writes for children, with Melissa, Queen of Evil (2006) winning the Aurealis Award for Best Children's Novel, and Dangerous Games (2007). The Flooded Earth (also known as Quest of the Sunfish) won Best Children's Fiction at the 2019 US Green Earth Book Awards.
In addition to novels, Mardi McConnochie writes for theatre and television, with credits including Home and Away, Always Greener, McLeod’s Daughters, and Pacific Drive.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 12:02 (CET).