Nean McKenzie
Author of Children’s Fiction
based in VIC
Nean McKenzie is a children’s writer and optometrist who lives in western Melbourne. Originally from Bendigo, Nean lived in New Zealand, Europe and North East Africa before returning to Victoria. Nean has three middle grade novels published with MidnightSun Publishing. Cryptosight (2019), Xenoflight (2022) and Timefire (2023).
Nean has a diploma in Professional Writing and Editing from RMIT. She was awarded a Maurice Saxby mentorship in 2016 for her first novel Cryptosight. In 2023 her novel Xenoflight was shortlisted for a Taco award for best junior fiction. Also in 2023 Nean carried out a fellowship at the KSP Writers Centre in Perth, working on her current manuscript. In 2024 Nean was a Writer in Residence for Ardoch.
When not writing or testing people’s eyes, Nean enjoys running, travelling to interesting places and reading books, especially those for 8-12-year-olds.
