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MARK SVENDSEN grew up in a ramshackle hut in Emu Park in Central Queensland, Australia. He has six siblings – three brothers and three sisters. When he was growing up his family was so poor they could only afford to eat one side of a slice of bread at a time. When they were really hungry he would bite the head off a deadly poisonous taipan snake so the family would have something to eat for dinner. (True! Would I lie to you?)
Mark attended Emu Park Primary School where he learnt to write words on a piece of slate (that's a type of stone — that's how old he is), read stories about two English children named Dick and Dora and their pets Nip, the dog, and Fluff, the cat, and suffered the joys of being caned (meaning being hit with a bamboo cane for being naughty – like talking in class).
He then graduated to Yeppoon Secondary School where he learned to love the English language due to some fantastic teachers and write short stories and poetry. Here he also learned all about the advanced joys of being caned.
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Finally he attended the University of Queensland where he studied English literature, history, philosophy, politics and Russian literature (in translation only). Oddly they didn't hit you at University unless you went on a street march. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1983.
In 2004 he was awarded a Master of Creative Writing by Queensland University of Technology.
Mark has worked at various jobs including as a farmhand on the family property which involved crawling around on his hands and knees picking tomatoes, zucchini and beans; dressing up as though on an Antarctic expedition to pick pineapples in 40 degree celsius heat; slaughtering cattle; and avoiding taipans. Other jobs have included courier driving, scallop loading, insurance clerking, waterbed sales, brush fencing/roofing and university and arts administration.
The family farm was bounded on one side by ocean so a deserted, three kilometre beach was part and parcel of his growing up. Who could ask for more than the time and a place to dream stories and commune with nature. This paradise is now destroyed to make way for a housing estate.
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Mark married Anne Kneeshaw a cellist, teacher, and composer of music for primary and secondary school string orchestras, in 1984. They have two daughters, Thyri (pronounced Tiri unless you are Scandanavian), and Hannah. Thyri loves anything medieval and Hannah loves to dance hip hop – is there any other type of dance?
Anne and Mark live in Zilzie, Emu Park. Mark travels from here throughout Australia to conduct talks and workshops for kids and adults, if they can pretend to be kids.
He has always been writing. He writes poetry for children and adults, young adult novels, novels for younger readers and picture books. He has also written libretti (for Elena Kats-Chernin's two Rockhampton Gardens Symphonies) and a play with music, Right Where I Belong.
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