Gillian Mears
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Lismore, New South Wales, Australia
Near Grafton, New South Wales, Australia
Gillian Mears | |
|---|---|
| Born | 21 July 1964 Lismore, New South Wales, Australia |
| Died | 16 May 2016 (aged 51) Near Grafton, New South Wales, Australia |
| Occupation | Writer |
| Language | English |
| Nationality | Australian |
Gillian Mears (21 July 1964 – 16 May 2016) was an Australian short story writer and novelist. Her books Ride a Cock Horse and The Grass Sister won a Commonwealth Writers' Prize, shortlist, in 1989 and 1996, respectively. The Mint Lawn won The Australian/Vogel Award.[1] In 2003, A Map of the Gardens won the Steele Rudd Award.[2]
Mears was born at Lismore Base Hospital, and raised in Grafton, New South Wales where she was school dux of Grafton High School.[3]
She moved to Sydney to study at university, beginning a degree in archaeology at the University of Sydney having been inspired to pursue a career in archaeology after reading Gods, Graves and Scholars by C. W. Ceram. At the age of 18, she withdrew from the course, and instead completed a degree in communications at University of Technology, Sydney.[3]
She lived near Grafton, New South Wales. She died in May 2016 after living with multiple sclerosis for seventeen years.[4]
Bernadette Brennan has written a biography of Gillian Mears.[5]
Awards and honours
- 1989 Commonwealth Writers' Prize, shortlist, Ride a Cock Horse
- 1990 The Australian/Vogel Literary Award, winner, The Mint Lawn
- 1996 Commonwealth Writers' Prize, shortlist, The Grass Sister
- 2003 Steele Rudd Award, winner, A Map of the Gardens
- 2011 Colin Roderick Award, winner, Foal's Bread
- 2012 ALS Gold Medal, Foal's Bread[6]
- 2012 Barbara Jefferis Award, shortlist, Foal's Bread[7]
- 2012 Miles Franklin Award, shortlist, Foal's Bread
- 2012 Prime Minister's Literary Awards, Fiction Award, Foal's Bread[8]
Works
Novels
- —— (1991). The Mint Lawn. Allen & Unwin. ISBN 9781863730167.
- —— (1995). The Grass Sister. Alfred A. Knopf. ISBN 9780091831219.
- —— (2011). Foal's Bread. Allen & Unwin. ISBN 9781742376295.
Children's book
- —— (2015). The Cat with the Coloured Tail. Walker Books. ISBN 9781922077400. Illust. Dinale Dabarera
Short story collections
- —— (1988). Ride a Cock Horse. Pascoe Publishing. ISBN 9780947087128.
- —— (1990). Fineflour. University of Queensland Press. ISBN 9780702223112.
- —— (1997). Collected Stories. University of Queensland Press. ISBN 9780702229503.
- —— (2002). A Map of the Gardens: Stories. Pan Macmillan Australia. ISBN 9780330363464.[9]
Non-fiction
- —— (1997). Paradise Is a Place. Random House Australia. ISBN 9780091836412. Phot. Sandy Edwards
Essays
- Alive in Ant and Bee
- Fairy Death
