Gary blackwood biography

Australian politician

Gary John Blackwood (born 6 June ) is a former Australian politician. He was a Liberal Party member of the Victorian Legislative Assembly between November and November , representing the electorate of Narracan.

Early life

Blackwood was born and raised in Warragul. He studied economics and politics at Monash Teachers College (later Rusden State College), but after a year of national service in , followed his father into the timber industry, operating his own timber transport and harvesting business from to He served as the chief executive officer of the Victorian Forest Harvesting and Cartage Council from until his election to parliament in

Political career

Blackwood first became involved in politics in , when he was elected for a term as a councillor for the Rural City of Warragul. He was the campaign manager for Russell Broadbent during his successful bid for the federal seat of McMillan at the federal election and for the failed Liberal campaign in Narracan at the state election. Blackwood returned to local politics in , with his election as a Shire of Baw Baw councillor, a role he held until his election to parliament. He was also involved in his local branch, serving as treasurer of the party's Narracan electorate council from until

Blackwood was preselected as the Liberal candidate for Narracan at the state election, and faced a difficult race against two-term incumbent Ian Maxfield, who held the seat with a margin of nearly 7%. Though the Liberals were badly beaten statewide, there was a strong swing against the government in the Gippsland region, and Blackwood achieved a narrow victory in one of the upset results of the election.

In , Blackwood's two-party-preferred result increase his margin to points, a swing of points. Blackwood also received % of first preference votes, an increase of points and the highest value of any elected member to the seat since its establishment in

Followin

American author

Gary Blackwood (born October 23, ) is an American author who is known for The Shakespeare Stealer trilogy.

Biography

Born in Meadville, Pennsylvania on October 23, , Blackwood sold his first story when he was nineteen.

In , he published The Shakespeare Stealer, a historical fiction novel about an orphan, Widge, who is sent to steal Hamlet from William Shakespeare and The Lord Chamberlain's Men. After it won the ALA Best Book for Young Adults, Blackwood published two sequels, Shakespeare's Scribe () and Shakespeare's Spy ().

Since then, he has continued writing historical fiction, such as Around the World in Days (), which the Smithsonian named a Notable Book for Children and Kirkus Book Reviews one of 's Best Books for Teens. In , he branched out into adult fiction with a Victorian mystery featuring Charles Frederick Field, Bucket’s List, and followed it with a sequel, Bucket’s Brigade ().

Blackwood is also a widely-produced playwright. In , the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts commissioned him to write a one-act play adaptation of The Shakespeare Stealer; two years later, Seattle Children's Theatre commissioned a full-length version that has since been staged by a number of other professional theatres, including Nashville Children's Theatre and Children's Theatre of Charlotte.

Awards

• Friends of American Writers Best Young Adult Novel for The Dying Sun
• Ozark Creative Writers Conference 1st prize for Attack of the Mushroom People
• Missouri Scriptworks 1st prize for Dark Horse
• ALA Best Book for Young Adults for The Shakespeare Stealer
• Smithsonian's Notable Books for Children for Around the World in Days
• Best Books for Teens by Kirkus Book Reviews for Around the World in Days

Works

References

Biographical and Critical Sources

PERIODICALS

Booklist, June 1, , Carolyn Phelan, review of The Shakespeare Stealer, p. ; September 1, , p. ; September 1, , Carolyn Phelan, review of Shakespeare's Scribe, p. ; January 1, , Carolyn Phelan, review of Highwaymen and Swindlers, p. ; March 15, , review of Year of the Hangman, p. ; September 1, , Carolyn Phelan, review of Shakespeare's Spy, p. ; October 1, , Carolyn Phelan, review of Second Sight, p.

Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, July-August, , Deborah Stevens, review of The Shakespeare Stealer, p. ; December, , review of The Year of the Hangman, p.

English Journal, December, , p.

Horn Book, July-August, , p. ; June, , Jennifer M. Brabander, review of The Shakespeare Stealer, p. ; November, , Jennifer M. Brabander, review of Shakespeare's Scribe, p. ; November-December, , Jeannine M. Chapman, review of Shakespeare's Spy, p.

Kirkus Reviews, April 15, , review of The Shakespeare Stealer, p. ; October 15, , review of Shakespeare's Spy, p. ; August 1, , review of Second Sight, p.

Kliatt, September, , Claire Rosser, review of The Year of the Hangman, p. 6, and Sally M. Tibbetts, review of Shakespeare's Scribe, p. 15; March, , Janet Julian, review of The Year of the Hangman, p.

Publishers Weekly, June 1, , review of The Shakespeare Stealer, p. 63; September 16, , review of The Year of the Hangman, p.

School Library Journal, October, , p. ; May, , p. ; March, , p. ; June, , Sally Marg-olis, review of The Shakespeare Stealer, p. ; March, , pp. ; August, , p. ; October, , p. ; September, , Nancy Menaldi-Scanlan, review of Shakespeare's Scribe, p. ; January, , Laura Glaser, reviews of Highwaymen, Gangsters, and Outlaws, p. ; September, , Starr E. Smith, review of The Year of the Hangman, p. ; December, , review of The Year of the Hangman, p. 41; September 1, , Carolyn Phelan, review of Shakespeare's