Pip Harry’s novel, I’ll Tell You Mine, recently won a trans-Tasman award for its usefulness in a family therapy setting. In this Q & A she tells ABBW about the book’s mettlesome character, Kate, other young adult authors she admires and a non-fiction project she’s working on about dating, sex, love and relationships.

Your novel for young adults I’ll Tell You Mine recently won an Australian Family Therapists’ Award for Children’s Literature. What can you tell ABBW readers about the award?

Each year the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Family Therapy (ANZJFT) presents two awards to children’s books that they deem useful in a family therapy setting. My book, I’ll Tell You Mine (UQP), won the Youth Literature Award for its depiction of a family navigating the difficult behaviour of their teenage daughter. The Young Readers/Picture Book Award went to Violet Mackerel’s Personal Space (Anna Branford, illustrated by Sarah Davis, Walker Books), which the award judges praised for its positive depiction of step-parenting. As part of the award I was asked to fly to Brisbane to attend their annual conference and speak to family therapists from all over the country about the reasons for writing my book. A thrill!

On your website you wrote that you were excited about the prize because it “recognises that the text may help parents and carers struggling to connect to difficult teenagers and keep their families strong and united”. What can you tell us about the characters and plot that led the judges to this assessment?

My 16-year-old protagonist, Kate Elliot, is confused, angry, wilful (and also funny, loyal and a talented artist). She has a scary temper and no idea how to control it. Her parents wisely give her a time out by sending her to a local boarding school and it’s there she learns both the value of being accountable and the importance of family support.

I was told my text immediately stood out from the 70-plus books entered in this award as being a realistic depiction of the struggles some young adults face in relating to their parents or carers. At this age many teens are caught between wanting their own independence but needing appropriate boundaries and consequences. It can be a battle royale!

The judges said they could see the text being used in a therapy setting because it doesn’t sugar coat the often tumultuous teenage experience or make the parents of the story appear infallible. Without giving the ending away — there is a strong sense of hope and forgiveness at the core of Kate’s story which I think all young people need, in their books and in their lives.

At the heart of the book is Kate Elliot, an angry teenager. Who or what inspired Kate? How do you feel about Kate now?

My own teenage experience inspired me to write the character of Kate. At 15 I was also sent to a Melbourne boarding school for a term to find my feet and get some breathing space from the home environment. Having said that, Kate’s story is very much her own and a work of fiction. But in writing I remembered back to those very high highs and low lows of being a teenage girl. I really love Kate now. As a character she really got under my skin. It takes her a while to learn from her mistakes but she’s got a heart of gold.

How different would the book have been if you had intentionally set out to write a young adult novel that was “therapeutic”? Would it even exist?

Absolutely — there are books that are written from a purely therapeutic point of view. I saw many of them on sale at the conference. Texts dealing with everything from death to bullying and everything in between. My book couldn’t have come from that place but I did think often of the pages being in the hands of a possibly troubled teenage girl who was looking for someone who spoke her language and wasn’t going to judge her. This book does that I think.

Who do you hope will read the book? Is there anything in particular you would like them to glean from it?

I’ve had parents say the book helped them feel less alone in their parenting a volatile teenager and teens say it resonated with them. That’s my target audience I think! I hope everyone who reads it takes home the idea that you can fix any mistake, no matter how big.

What proportion of the $1,000 prize will be spent on books? Can you tell us a few titles you’re hankering after or have recently read that inspired you?

At least a third! With the winnings I’ve already bought Wild by Cheryl Stayed, an inspiring account of a 26-year-old woman who hiked over 1,200 miles on the Pacific Crest Trail. (The movie is being made with Reese Witherspoon starring!)

I also just read Barracuda by Christos Tsiolkas, whose book The Slap I found both repulsive and compulsive reading. His account of a failed swimmer in Barracuda is fearless and, in parts, poetic.

Which young adult authors in Australia do you most admire and why?

We have so much talent writing in this area. I admire the work of Simmone Howell, Cath Crowley, Melina Marchetta, Laura Buzo, Paula Weston … to name but a handful!

What are three young adult titles by Australian authors that people who want to explore the territory more seek out?

Cry Blue Murder by Kim Kane and Marion Roberts is a terrifying depiction of a police investigation of abducted schoolgirls. Chilling!

All I Ever Wanted or Friday Brown by Vikki Wakefield. One of the most exciting young adult writers around. Beautiful, spare and haunting prose and unforgettable characters.

Wildlife, by Fiona Wood, an amazing young adult writer who has a television screenplay background. This funny and sharp book is about a bunch of kids who spend a school term in the wilderness.

You have been collaborating with Rachel Smith putting the finishing touches on a non-fiction book that is a spin-off from the relationships and dating site you co-created many years ago and that Rachel now runs called Reality Chick. What more can you tell ABBW readers about this project?

It’s everything you ever wanted to know about dating, sex, love and relationships. Rachel and I only know how to write truthfully and make each other laugh, so we hope it will be a massive ebook hit (ala Fifty Shades of Grey!) so we can retire and write books full time.

What is your next young adult fiction project about? Can you give ABBW a taste of a few sentences from it?

It’s a young adult contemporary fiction novel set in the world of competitive school rowing. It’s titled Head of the River and will be out in 2014. I’m in a copy edit stage at the moment, eagerly awaiting a big round of notes! Here’s a sneak peek:

The river is wearing a coat of mist, gum trees reflected silver on the glassy surface. I look over Aiko’s hat at the boat slicing through the water, the rudder leaving behind a straight ribbon of disturbance and tight, swirling eddies from the push of our blades. My arms swing loosely over my knees and the water seems to find the tip of my oar, with just a tiny lift of my knuckles. It’s still cool out and, after all the rain, the river smells freshly washed.