Michelle de Kretser
Michelle de Kretser | |
|---|---|
.jpg) | |
| Born | 1957 (age 66–67) Colombo, Ceylon |
| Citizenship | Australian |
| Alma mater | University of Melbourne |
| Notable works | The Hamilton Case; The Lost Dog; Questions of Travel; The Life to Come |
| Notable awards | Miles Franklin Award (2013, 2018) Christina Stead Prize for Fiction (2008, 2014, 2019) |
| Partner | Chris Andrews |
Michelle de Kretser (born 1957) is an Australian novelist who was born in Sri Lanka (then Ceylon), and moved to Australia in 1972 when she was 14.[1]
Education and literary career
[edit]De Kretser was educated at Methodist College, Colombo,[2] in Melbourne at Elwood College, and in Paris.
She worked as an editor for a travel guides company Lonely Planet, and while on a sabbatical in 1999, wrote and published her first novel, The Rose Grower. Her second novel, The Hamilton Case, was winner of the Tasmania Pacific Prize, the Encore Award (in the UK) and the Commonwealth Writers' Prize (Southeast Asia and Pacific). Her third novel, The Lost Dog, was published in 2007. It was one of 13 books on the longlist for the 2008 Man Booker Prize.
From 1989 to 1992, she was a founding editor of the Australian Women's Book Review. Her fourth novel, Questions of Travel, won several awards, including the 2013 Miles Franklin Award, the 2013 ALS Gold Medal, and the 2013 Prime Minister's Literary Award for Fiction. It was also shortlisted for the 2014 International Dublin Literary Award.
Her 2017 novel, The Life to Come, was shortlisted for the 2018 Stella Prize, and won both the Miles Franklin Award and the Christina Stead Prize for Fiction. This is the third time Michelle de Kretser has won this prize and equals Peter Carey's record of wins.[3]
Awards
[edit]- 2004 – Commonwealth Writers' Prize, South-East Asia and the Pacific for The Hamilton Case
- 2004 – Encore Award for The Hamilton Case
- 2005 – Tasmania Pacific Award for The Hamilton Case
- 2007 – Liberatur Award for The Hamilton Case
- 2008 – ALS Gold Medal for The Lost Dog
- 2008 – New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards – Christina Stead Prize for Fiction and Book of the Year for The Lost Dog
- 2013 – ALS Gold Medal for Questions of Travel
- 2013 – Miles Franklin Award for Questions of Travel
- 2013 – Prime Minister's Literary Awards Fiction Prize for Questions of Travel
- 2013 – Western Australian Premier's Book Awards Fiction Prize and Premier's Prize for Questions of Travel
- 2014 – New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards – Christina Stead Prize for Fiction and Book of the Year for Questions of Travel
- 2018 – Miles Franklin Award for The Life to Come
- 2019 – New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards – Christina Stead Prize for Fiction for The Life to Come[4]
- 2023 – Rathbones Folio Prize for Fiction for Scary Monsters[5]
Works
[edit]- The Rose Grower (1999)
- The Hamilton Case (2003)
- The Lost Dog (2007)
- Questions of Travel (2012)
- Springtime (2014)
- The Life to Come (2017)
- On Shirley Hazzard (2019)
- Scary Monsters (2021)
- Theory & Practice (2024)
References
[edit]- ^ "De Kretser, Michelle". AustLit. 1 November 2006. Retrieved 19 June 2013.
- ^ "Where she comes from". sundaytimes.lk. 24 January 2010. Retrieved 15 February 2017.
- ^ "The Stella Interview: Michelle de Kretser on The Life to Come · The Stella Prize". The Stella Prize. 23 March 2018. Retrieved 27 July 2018.
- ^ Jefferson, Dee (29 April 2019). "'I wanted to help change the conversation': History of Aboriginal archaeology wins literary prize". ABC News. Retrieved 29 April 2019.
- ^ "De Kretser wins 2023 Folio Prize". Books+Publishing. 28 March 2023. Retrieved 28 March 2023.
External links
[edit]- Interview
- obias Carroll, "Ghost Stories and Urban Disquiet: Talking 'Springtime' with Michelle De Kretser". Interview, Vol. 1 Brooklyn, 14 April 2016.
- 1957 births
- Living people
- 20th-century Australian novelists
- 20th-century Australian women writers
- 21st-century Australian novelists
- 21st-century Australian women writers
- Academic staff of the University of Melbourne
- ALS Gold Medal winners
- Alumni of Methodist College, Colombo
- Australian women novelists
- Burgher people
- Miles Franklin Award winners
- Sri Lankan emigrants to Australia
- University of Melbourne alumni