About George

 

Writing about oneself is a rather difficult thing to do. I always find myself wondering what to say. Hmm… well… my favourite film is E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial; I think that Doctor Who is, without doubt, the greatest television series ever made; and Pet Shop Boys are the most talented pop duo ever to walk the face of this earth.

Perhaps it would be better to have an official bio? Oh, wait — I do. Here it is…

George Ivanoff — Short Bio

George Ivanoff is a Melbourne author who’s written more than 100 books for kids and teens, including the Gamers trilogy, the interactive You Choose series, the RFDS Adventures, the OTHER WORLDS series, and the non-fiction Survival Guides; as well as a ton of school readers and educational books. George’s books and stories have been shortlisted for numerous awards and he’s even won a few of them. George drinks too much coffee, eats too much chocolate and watches too much Doctor Who. He has one wife, two children and an uncontrollable imagination.

George Ivanoff — Full Bio

George Ivanoff is an author. He lives in the suburbs of Melbourne, Australia.

He has written over 100 books for children and teenagers, including fiction and non-fiction. He has written school readers, library reference books, chapter books, novelettes, novels and even a short story collection. He has books on both the Victorian Premier’s and the NSW Premier’s Reading Challenge booklists.

With his latest series of books, George has entered the world of commercial non-fiction for children. The Survival Guides take a humorous and creative approach to presenting factual information.

George’s most recent fictional series is OTHER WORDS. With this series of four books George has ventured into the realms of science fiction and fantasy, two of his favourite genres, in order to tell stories about ordinary kids facing extraordinary circumstances.

George’s has written 13 books in his interactive You Choose series. You Choose: The Treasure of Dead Man’s Cove won the 2015 YABBA in the “Fiction for Younger Readers” category; and You Choose: Alien Invasion From Beyond the Stars got an Honour Award in the KOALAs in 2016 and 2017.

His teen science fiction novel, Gamers’ Quest (2009), won a Chronos Award for speculative fiction. The sequel, Gamers’ Challenge (2011), was shortlisted for the same award. And the final book in the Gamers trilogy, Gamers’ Rebellion (2013), also won a Chronos Award. This trilogy has now been re-branded and re-released as Game On!, Level Up! and Game Over!

George has also written a series of realistic adventure books for kids — RFDS Adventures. The four books in this series were published in 2016.

George also writes short stories and articles for adults as well as kids. Of all these, he is most proud to have had the opportunity to write a Doctor Who story for the Short Trips: Defining Patterns anthology (Big Finish, UK, 2008).

Occasionally, George has been known to moonlight as an actor. He has had small roles in numerous productions including the television series Neighbours and the feature films Frozen Butterflies and William Kelly’s War. He recently guest starred in an episode of the audio series Night Terrace.

George eats too much chocolate, drinks too much coffee and watches too much Doctor Who.

He has one wife, two children, two cats and several chickens. And he is very content!

Awards and honours

2020
“Pure History” (Lethbridge-Stewart, The Havoc Files: The Laughing Gnome, Candy Jar Books, 2019) – SCRIBE awards shortlist (Short Fiction). [see blog post]

2019
You Choose: Alien Invaders From Beyond the Stars (Random House Australia, 2015) — shortlisted for the REAL Awards (Fiction For Older Readers). [see blog post]

2018
OTHER WORLDS: Game World (Random House Australia, 2018) — shortlisted for the K-Zone Toy of the Year Awards (Best Book).
You Choose: Footy Fever (Random House Australia, 2017) — shortlisted for the REAL Awards (Fiction For Younger Readers). [see blog post]

2017
You Choose: Alien Invaders From Beyond the Stars (Random House Australia, 2015) — KOALA Honour Award (Fiction For Younger Readers). [see blog post and video]
“An Eye For an Eye” (The X-Files: Secret Agendas, IDW Publishing, 2016) – SCRIBE awards shortlist (Short Fiction). [see blog post]

2016
You Choose: Alien Invaders From Beyond the Stars (Random House Australia, 2015) — KOALA Honour Award (Fiction For Younger Readers). [see blog post and video]

2015
You Choose: The Treasure of Dead Man’s Cove (Random House Australia, 2014)— winner, YABBA (Fiction For Younger Readers). [see blog post]

2014
Gamers’ Rebellion (Ford Street Publishing, 2013)— winner, Chronos Award (Best Long Fiction)
“Fairy Pie” (Stories for Girls, Random House Australia, 2013) — shortlist for Chronos Award (Best Short Fiction)
“That was then, this is now: how my perceptions have changed” (Doctor Who and Race, ed: Lindy Orthia, Intellect Books, 2013) — shortlisted for William Atheling Jr Award for Criticism or Review

2013
Viewing Clutter — winner, Chronos Award (Best Fan Publication) [see blog post]

2012
Gamers’ Challenge (Ford Street Publishing, 2011)— shortlist for Chronos Award
“Vitality” (Dead Red Heart, ed: Russell B Farr) — Ellen Datlow’s Best Horror Honorable Mentions list
“Trees” (Short and Scary, ed: Karen Tayleur) —  Recommended Reading List, Year’s Best Australian Fantasy and Horror

2010
Gamers’ Quest (Ford Street Publishing, 2009)— winner, Chronos Award (Best Short Fiction) [The dividing line between short and long fiction in the Chronos Awards is 40,000 words, and Gamers' Quest is under that limit.]

George is proud to be a member of the following organisations:

130 comments on “About George”

  1. Jason on said:

    What is your favorite book you written so far?

    Reply ↓
  2. Sebastian Abboud on said:

    Are you going to add the OTHER WORLDS series to the Australian premiers reading challenge pleeeeeeeeeeease and can you make more books because it was quite a cliffhanger at the end of OTHER WORLDS: dark world. I am a HUUUUUUUUUUUUUGE fan and your books are the best and most AWESOME OF ALL TIME.

    Reply ↓
    • George on said:

      Hi Sebastian,
      I am so pleased you’re enjoying the OTHER WORLDS book. I had a great time writing them. And I am hoping to write some more in the future. As for the Premier’s Reading Challenge, it’s not up to me. The books are chosen by the people who run the challenge.
      All the best, George

      Reply ↓
  3. Billy on said:

    What afl team do you go for.
    I <3 your books btw
    (*o*)

    Reply ↓
    • George on said:

      Hi Billy. I’m glad you like my books. I’m afraid that I don’t barrack for any team. I like watching the games, but I choose a team on a game by game basis. Looking forward to the Grand Final.
      George

      Reply ↓
  4. Mary on said:

    Congratulations on your writing success.

    Did you used to write stories and articles for Austrek. I’m sure I remember seeing your name and reading articles in the Captain’s Log and Spock.

    Reply ↓
  5. Josh on said:

    George what made you start writing books?
    Also what inspired you to write You Choose?
    I really like You Choose and I think it was a great idea!
    If you answer thanks a lot!!!!!

    Reply ↓
  6. Alishba on said:

    I really love your books… but is it actually you commenting on our comments?
    Thanks!

    Reply ↓
  7. brady lambert on said:

    THANKS GEORGE :)

    Reply ↓
  8. brady lambert and billy hadenham on said:

    Hey George we are year 5 students and we are writing a biography on you and we were wondering when you were born?
    Thanks! :)
    sincerely:
    Billy and Brady

    Reply ↓
  9. Hannah on said:

    What are your kids names?
    Doing a biography on you!

    Hannah+Mia

    Reply ↓
  10. Zayn on said:

    Have you watched the flash tv show ?j,,,Kiki. ,I’m I’m ok km jmo m my jm my mk,I’m,

    Reply ↓
  11. Zayn on said:

    Have you watched the flash tv show ?

    Reply ↓
  12. Sarah on said:

    How many books have u written in total?

    Reply ↓
  13. Molly on said:

    All those kids after my comment were from my school. A tad excited. :) From Molly + Ainsley. AGAIN!

    Reply ↓
  14. Zayn on said:

    What would you say if I asked you if you have one really interesting facts that would be great thankss????????????

    Reply ↓
  17. Bob da builder on said:

    Hi George looking falward to it plz reply I would appreciate it

    Reply ↓
  18. Mags and iz on said:

    Hi!!!! We are so excited to meet you George! We both love your choose your own adventure books!

    Maggie and Izzy????

    Reply ↓
  19. Jack on said:

    Hey Gearge I’m Jack and I’m from banno primary looking forward to meety u soon look out for Jack Ease and Toby Baker ????????????

    Reply ↓
  20. Bob da builder on said:

    Hi George look out for Toby and jack as well ????

    Reply ↓
  21. Zayn on said:

    You’re coming to my school soon can’t wait

    Reply ↓
  22. Molly on said:

    HI GEORGE!!!
    Me and my friend cannot WAIT until you come to our school. We are in bannock burn. Look out for Molly and Ainsley!

    Reply ↓
  23. Tom Harding on said:

    Hullo George. I am the convenor of the Farina Restoration Group ,who have been working on the”abandoned town”of Farina since 2008
    Your detail of the old town is absolute. Except for the odd snake that ends up in the Trancontinenal cellar.
    We run a work and tourist program now for 8 weeks annually commencing this year May 29th. We have the bakery “cooking” which sends the tourists “wild” We also sell Farina merchandise. Your book needs to be on display !! I have also been an active supporter of RFDS for many years. .Need to talk to you about it . WE can hitch it to our web site. Also on our newsletter with an 800″interested” person listing.

    Reply ↓
  24. Debbie on said:

    Hey George, Just wondering if you have any plans to visit Adelaide? I am always looking for new authors to visit my school and by the comments the children have just loved your visits to their schools. Cheers Debbie

    Reply ↓
    • George on said:

      Hi Debbie,
      You just missed me. I was in Adelaide last week doing a whole bunch of school visits. :-( So sorry you missed out. I’m afraid I don’t have any plans to return in the near future.
      George

      Reply ↓
  25. Reghan on said:

    Hi George I love your you choose books I’m reading super sports spectacular
    Thx

    Reply ↓
  26. luke on said:

    hope to see you at sommerset this year

    Reply ↓
  27. JAIME on said:

    Hey how are you George? Hope to see you soon

    Reply ↓
  28. Lillian W. on said:

    Hi George, you are coming to a literature festival at my school soon, and I am really looking forward to it. I recently entered a writing competition and I need some tips. How do you write a gripping book? Do you wait for inspiration?
    Lillian

    Reply ↓
    • George on said:

      Hi Lillian,
      I have so many ideas spinning around in my cluttered mind… way more ideas than I have the time to write. And new ideas are popping into my head all the time. Inspiration is everywhere. So it’s just a matter of deciding which idea is the best one to work on. That’s the hard part. :-)
      Very pleased to hear that you’re entering a writing comp. Looking forward to coming to your school. :-)
      George

      Reply ↓
  29. Mitchell on said:

    Hello George, you recently came to my school, and I wanted to say that I really enjoyed it. Hearing about all the exciting events that have happened in your life, and learning how you write was remarkable. I look forward to picking up the ‘You Choose’ series very soon!

    Reply ↓
    • George on said:

      Thank you for letting me know, Mitchell. I love doing school visits and I’m very pleased that you enjoyed my visit to your school. Hope you enjoy reading the You Choose series. :-)
      George

      Reply ↓
  30. John@ExpertRemovalist on said:

    Hi George, Hope to see you at Perth. I’m also a big fan of yours and please send us some update if you happen to visit us. Thanks!

    Reply ↓
  31. Jill Smith on said:

    Hi George,
    I follow you on fb and love your work. I’m writing an article on Australian Children’s authors and had to add you. Like many great Aussie Authors you write for a diverse age groups. I hope to do justice to your talents in a brief way. Would you call your work in Gamers Quest, Games Challenge 12 to 14 age up or younger? I guess I read more YA’s than other books.
    Keep up the good work.
    I look forward to your thoughts.
    Jill Smith

    Reply ↓
    • George on said:

      Hi Jill,
      I am flattered by your comments and the fact that you’ve included me in your article. When writing the Gamers trilogy, I aimed it at myself as a 13/14 year old. But it was marketed as 11+ and seems to have found an audience with Year 5/6 kids. So yes, a 12-14 age range is appropriate.
      If your article gets published online, make sure to put a link to it here.
      Cheers, George

      Reply ↓
  32. jaidyn on said:

    please reply soon!

    Reply ↓
    • George on said:

      Hi Jaidyn. I’m really looking forward to being at Craigieburn Library this Friday. Make sure you come up and say ‘hi’. I’m going to be launching my new book, Gamers’ Rebellion. :-)

      Reply ↓
  33. jaidyn on said:

    hey george
    im going to the craigieburn library and im a big fan i hope to see you there!
    :)

    Reply ↓
  34. Maddy Ivanoff on said:

    I have the same last name is you!

    Reply ↓
  35. Bianca on said:

    Hi George ever since you came to our school yesterday i have been at mum to buy me your books. I look forward to reading them when i get them so keep on writing books and i will keep on buying them. :)

    Reply ↓
  36. caitlyn on said:

    thanks all the best for wriiting new book from caitlyn

    Reply ↓
  37. caitlyn on said:

    thanks thats wat i have been doing wat is your latest book and most favourite book you have done how many more do you think you will write thanks caityln :)

    Reply ↓
    • George on said:

      Hi Caitlyn. Good to hear that you’re reading and writing. Gamers’ Challenge is both my latest and favourite novel. There will be at least one more Gamers book. But I’ve got other books planned as well… and I intend to just keep on writing until I eventually drop dead. :-) George

      Reply ↓
  38. caitlyn on said:

    hi George its caitlyn from drysdale primary school would like to thank you for coming to our school and telling us about u being a author. every since you told us about ur life writing books now i would really want to be a author i love reading your books and thanks again for coming to our school :)

    Reply ↓
    • George on said:

      Hi Caitlyn. Glad you enjoyed the talk and so pleased you like the books. :-) As I said in the talk, if you want to be a writer, you’ve gotta write, write, write… read, read, read… and then write some more. The more you write, the better you’ll get. All the best, George

      Reply ↓
  39. Bianca on said:

    Hi George
    It is Bianca Sagor from Drysdale primary school I really enjoyed having you at our school today. It was interesting to find out what it is like being an author

    Reply ↓
    • George on said:

      Hi Bianca. I really enjoyed visiting your school. Everyone was very nice to me and you all asked such great questions. I had a fun time. :-) George

      Reply ↓
  40. jem on said:

    Hi George,
    Its is Jemma. Thank you very much for coming to Drysdale Primary. Everyone in grade six love you talking to ours.
    PS Please replay soon

    Reply ↓
  41. Declan on said:

    It was awesome learning about your books.
    I had a great time. :)

    Reply ↓
  42. jem on said:

    Hi it is Jemma,
    We all had a great time when you came to Drysdale Primary. Thank you for come to Drysdale Primary. We had a great time learning about your writing. :)
    PS Please write back soon :)

    Reply ↓
  43. Caitlin Robertson on said:

    Dear George,
    Thank you so much for coming to Portarlington Primary School. So far I am enjoying ” Trust Me “. :) Thank you again for coming to Portarlington Primary School. :)
    From Caitlin
    P.S Please reply back soon:)

    Reply ↓
    • George on said:

      Hi Caitlin. I had a great time at Portarlington PS today. Lots of great questions from the students. Glad you’re enjoying “Trust Me”. :-)
      George

      Reply ↓
  44. Caine Gale on said:

    Hi George,
    thanks for coming to Port Primary :) . really enjoyed you coming! so far i am enjoying ” Gamers Quest “.
    thanks again for coming.
    From Caine
    P.S please reply soon

    Reply ↓
    • George on said:

      Hi Caine,
      I had a great time at Portarlington PS. So glad you enjoyed my visit. And I’m really pleased that you’re enjoying “Gamers’ Quest”. After you’ve finished reading the book, take a look at the Gamers website… there are some short stories with characters from the book: http://www.gamersquestbook.com/
      George

      Reply ↓
  45. Caitlin Robertson on said:

    Hi George,
    It is Caitlin Robertson from Portarlington Primary School. Just wanted to say thankyou for visiting our school. I have read some of “Trust Me “. So far your story is good. Thanks again for coming to our school.
    From Caitlin Robertson.
    P.S reply back soon

    Reply ↓
  46. Chloe bosturn on said:

    hey you are the best love your books they are the bomb (best) lol
    any way got to go by hope to be reading your books soon by

    Reply ↓
  47. Ella on said:

    I am doing a author report on you and I need some interesting facts. Do you have any?

    Reply ↓
    • george on said:

      Well… I’ve written over 50 books, including school readers, reference books, chapter books, novels and a short story collection. I’m always working on something new — usually more than one thing. I love reading and I write a regular bookish blog hosted by Boomerang Books online bookstore (http://content.boomerangbooks.com.au/literary-clutter-blog/). I love watching and reviewing DVDs (see my DVD blog, Viewing Clutter – http://georgeivanoff.com.au/other-writing/reviews/viewing-clutter/). I’m a huge Doctor Who fan. My big fanboy moment was getting to write a Doctor Who short story for the anthology Doctor Who Short Trips: Defining Patterns (Big Finish, UK, 2008).

      My very first book was Life, Death and Detention, a YA short story collection published in 1999. At the moment I’m working on some new school readers for prep and grade 1 level, as well as some new short stories.

      I’m currently reading Equinox (Book 2 in the Rosie Black Chronicles) by Lara Morgan. Next in line is Goliath by Scott Westerfeld.

      Is that enough? Good luck with the author report, Ella.

      Reply ↓
  48. Ella on said:

    Thankyou very much. Do you have any quotes?

    Reply ↓
  49. Ella on said:

    how many books have you written.

    Reply ↓
    • george on said:

      Hi Ella!
      57 books published so far… 48 primary school education titles, 6 library reference books, a book of short stories and two novels. And there are more on the way. :-)
      George

      Reply ↓
  50. Emma M on said:

    Wow – I am a student at Catholic College Bendigo. Guess I’ll see you there – with my autograph book!

    Reply ↓
    • george on said:

      Yep, I’ll be there along with a horde of other authors as part of the Ford Street Literary Festival in Nov. Make sure you come up and say ‘hi’. BTW… had a look at your blog. “Be The Change” is great! Well done!
      George

      Reply ↓
  51. george on said:

    Hi Natasha and Tegan. I had a really small role as a delivery man on Neighbours back in the 1996. Also had small parts on Tonight Live and Get a Life. I had a slightly larger role in the mini-series The Legend of Billy Sing… but that show ran into problems and was never finished. :-( I haven’t been on anything recently… too busy writing and being a stay-at-home dad.

    Reply ↓
  52. natasha and tegan on said:

    where do you live?
    what tv shows r u on

    Reply ↓

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