Sydney, Australia: 2006 - Writers
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Ian Perlman (Judges' Prize Winner)
Like a farmer, Ian’s life changes with the season. In summer he makes maps, writes documentaries, carves wood and plays his drums. In winter he writes about architectural and urban planning topics (he has a degree in architecture) for a teetering pile of periodicals. In spring and autumn he leads walking and cultural tours abroad (he is restless, curious, obsessed with maps). One more season in the year would suit him fine; time to just hang with his wife and their new daughter. Yet another season and he would happily devote himself to studying clouds. He reads fast and writes slow, and prays that maturity will reverse those tendencies. He is happy to talk your ear off about movies you have never seen, especially silent films. He thought the world was flying apart even before 9/11. But when it does, he’ll still be drumin’, writin’ and walkin’. Maybe also fishin’. And hog callin’. Shootin’ is a distinct possibility.
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Lewie JPD (Bryce Courtenay Award)
Lewie JPD was born in Kings Cross on Elvis’s birthday, grew up in the Aussie bush until ten, then spent the next eight years in Tokyo, Japan.
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Anthony Ackroyd
Anthony is one of Australia's most successful comedy writer-performers. He rose to prominence as a star of the ABC's legendary comedy series "The Big Gig" and has performed and written for over sixty Australian and international TV shows, radio programmes, and feature films (he's even been a question on "Wheel Of Fortune"!).
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Joy Aimee
The author of So, What’s Today’s Brilliant Excuse? and the soon-to-be released So Where’s My Happy Ever After? Joy is a storyteller who found her voice once she stopped writing advertising copy (despite its laryngitis-inducing effect, Joy is grateful that advertising taught her to be succinct and understand the value of a good headline) and ghost writing books for clients (she’s written six books for others, including Open for Inspection and Black Belt of the Mind.)
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JC Burke
J.C. Burke was born in Sydney in 1965. After working as an Oncology Sister she decided to do a Creative Writing Course with Libby Gleeson in 1999, which inspired her to apply for a mentorship with The Australian Society of Authors in 2000. Successful, Burke undertook writing her first novel White Lies, which was published in 2002 and mentioned as a CBCA Notable Book for 2003.
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Ruth Hessey
Ruth is currently working on two screen projects set in different periods of Australian history. Over the last fifteen years Ruth has juggled commitments as a performer, fiction writer, and journalist working in film, television, radio and print journalism.
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Ian McKean
Ian has not won any literary awards but, with a mid-life crisis looming just around the corner, he would desperately like to. The fame, money and private jets that would undoubtedly flow from such an achievement would allow him to travel and embrace a more superficial, materialistic lifestyle that is so difficult to find in inner-city Sydney today. He spent his formative years in the literary capital of North West Queensland – Mt Isa, a town which has given us such great sporting stars as Greg Norman and Pat Rafter.
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Tara June Winch
Tara was born in 1983. She is a Wiradjuri woman. In 2004 she won the David Unaipon Award for Indigenous Writers, for her novel Swallow the Air (UQP). In 2006 she was awarded the Victorian Premiers Literary Award for Indigenous Writing, and also nominated for The Age Book of the Year Award for Fiction, The Queensland Premiers Literary Award for Short Story Collection and a Deadly Award. Her work has appeared in Best Australian Stories 2005. She has written and is currently writing for The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald, The Bulletin and Good Reading Magazine. She lives outside of Sydney with her darling daughter Lila and their garden.
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