Beautiful, beautiful blurbs
So the blurbs for my book have arrived. I can’t begin to explain how pleased, grateful and – well – humbled I’m feeling. So I’ll stop explaining, and let you read them for yourself. ‘The triumphs and trials of Elizabeth Macarthur, a capable business woman and dedicated wife and mother, are given their due in…
Biographer Brenda Niall wins Australian Literature Society Gold Medal
Last night the Australian Literature Society (ALS) awarded its Gold Medal to biographer Brenda Niall, for Mannix, her biography of Daniel Mannix, the Catholic Archbishop of Melbourne from 1917 until 1963. The ALS Gold Medal is awarded annually for an outstanding literary work in the preceding calendar year. The Medal was inaugurated by the Australian…
2016 National Biography Award shortlist announced
The shortlist for Australia’s most prestigious biography prize was announced yesterday. The shortlisted titles are: Battarbee and Namatjira, Martin Edmond (Giramondo) Comrade Ambassador: Whitlam’s Beijing Envoy, Stephen FitzGerald (Melbourne University Publishing) Thea Astley: Inventing Her Own Weather, Karen Lamb (University of Queensland Press) Mannix, Brenda Niall (Text Publishing) Bearing Witness: The Remarkable Life of Charles…
Never just a farmer’s wife
I’m often asked what sparked my interest in Elizabeth Macarthur. Many years ago I managed a government grants program and had the privilege to work with some grant applicants from outback Queensland – including a group of women farmers. I was very green and the farmers were very kind. They took the time to explain…