Ian Anthony Hollis

Multi-award winning novelist, Ian A. Hollis, (Firebird Awards (July 2022),Literary Titan Book Award Winner (August 2022)), has always been interested in creative writing and, after taking a course at University of New South Wales in 2012, the beginnings of an upper-middle grade novel began percolating. Ten years later, he completed In a Small, Quiet Village (Where Nothing Much Ever Happens), what he describes as a slice-of-life, light-hearted drama with elements of magical realism. Movies are a big inspiration for Ian when he writes. Films like folksy Fried Green Tomatoes (at the Whistlestop Café), and the coming-of-age Japanese movies A Gentle Breeze in the Village, and Fireflies: River of Light shaped Ian’s approach to writing. He thinks a great book is one that readers can relate to and that keeps them engaged mentally and emotionally. He hopes his story evokes something out of his young readers that stays with them long after the book is closed. When he’s not writing thought-provoking books for middle grade readers and young adults, Ian enjoys watching movies, listening to music, playing piano, engaging on social media, and playing video games. A composer of music, Ian taught English in China for five years and now teaches students online where he lives on the Mid-North Coast of New South Wales, Australia. In a Small Quiet Village (Where Nothing Much Ever Happens) is the debut book in his Cities & Villages saga.