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Alice Pung Alice Pung i(A98119 works by)
Born: Established: 1981 Melbourne, Victoria, ;
Gender: Female
Heritage: Cambodian ; Chinese
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Works By

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1 1 y separately published work icon Millie Mak the Maker Alice Pung , Sydney : HarperCollins Australia , 2023 26806255 2023 single work children's fiction children's

'An inspiring series for young and old makers by the award-winning author-illustrator team Alice Pung and Sher Rill Ng.

'Nine-year-old Millie Mak has discovered she has a superpower!

'Using everyday objects, Millie turns them into something new, beautiful and useful. Who would ever think that a sunhat could be made from an old bedsheet, a skirt from a tea-towel, or some hair scrunchies from a scarf?

'Through her creativity and clever thinking, Millie also deals with different friendships, tricky family challenges, and contributes to the school fete.

'You can make the special objects Millie creates from the detailed and yet easy-to-follow instructions included in the book. And best of all, nothing needs to be bought!

'From award-winning author-illustrator team, Alice Pung and Sher Rill Ng, comes the first book in an inspiring new series for young and old makers.' (Publication summary)

1 y separately published work icon Millie Mak Alice Pung , 2023 Sydney : HarperCollins Australia , 2023- 26806220 2023 series - author children's fiction
1 y separately published work icon Emergence : The 30 Best New Voices with Powerful Must-read Stories Alice Pung , Christos Tsiolkas , Richmond : Hardie Grant Books , 2023 26215653 2023 anthology short story

'Emergence brings us thirty of the best short stories chosen from the thousands of entries in the SBS Emerging Writers’ Competition.

'Now in its third year, the anthology features stories by thirty emerging writers, each speaking to the theme of ‘Emergence’ and each offering a unique snapshot of contemporary Australia. Judged by Alice Pung and Christos Tsiolkas, the stories explore themes such as sense of place, family, loss, culture, sexual awakening and the abiding connections to people and place that make us who we are. Told with utterly fresh perspectives and a rich vein of literary talent, these stories are an invitation into the unique worlds of everyday Australians.

'Hardie Grant and SBS champion the voices of a diverse Australia, and support the discovery and development of emerging talent to contribute to Australian storytelling.' (Publication summary)

1 The Registrar of Births, Deaths and Marriages Alice Pung , 2022 single work prose
— Appears in: Family : Stories of Belonging 2022;
1 y separately published work icon Be Careful, Xiao Xin! Alice Pung , Sher Rill Ng (illustrator), Sydney South : Working Title Press , 2022 24386047 2022 single work picture book children's

'Xiao Xin believes he is a red fire warrior but his family are always telling him to be careful. They believe the world is a dangerous place. Too dangerous for a little boy on his own.

'They don't understand what I can do!

'They don't understand what I can be!

'Renowned storytellers Alice Pung and Sher Rill Ng bring to life a beautiful and tender story about learning to conquer your own fears - as a child, and as an adult.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

1 Whose Feelings Matter in Literature? Alice Pung , 2022 single work essay
— Appears in: Meanjin , Autumn vol. 81 no. 1 2022; Meanjin Online 2022;

Epigraph: I want to write with ‘true emotion’, not just technically well. I want to write from the heart. I want to make people feel something.

—Shu-Ling Chua

1 y separately published work icon When Granny Came To Stay Alice Pung , Randa Abdel-Fattah (editor), Sydney : Pan Macmillan Australia , 2022 23667583 2022 single work children's fiction children's

'OUR STORIES is a funny, relatable and engaging new early-chapter book series that celebrates Australia's multicultural society with authors and illustrators from a diverse range of backgrounds. Everything changes when Granny comes to stay. She doesn't drive, she cooks strange foods, and she thinks Destroyer Discs are just toys! But when Granny finally leaves, will things go back to the way they were?' (Publication summary)

1 form y separately published work icon My Heart Will Go On Alice Pung , Australia : ABC Radio National , 2021 23337385 2021 single work radio play
1 One Hundred Days : An Extract Alice Pung , 2021 single work extract novel
— Appears in: Kill Your Darlings [Online] , June 2021;
1 10 y separately published work icon One Hundred Days Alice Pung , Carlton : Black Inc. , 2021 20866648 2021 single work novel

'One hundred days. It’s no time at all, she tells me. But she’s not the one waiting.

'In a heady whirlwind of independence, lust and defiance, sixteen-year-old Karuna falls pregnant. Not on purpose, but not entirely by accident, either. Incensed, Karuna’s mother, already over-protective, confines her to their fourteenth-storey housing-commission flat, to keep her safe from the outside world – and make sure she can’t get into any more trouble.

'Stuck inside for endless hours, Karuna battles her mother and herself for a sense of power in her own life, as a new life forms and grows within her. As the due date draws ever closer, the question of who will get to raise the baby – who it will call Mum – festers between them.

'One Hundred Days is a fractured fairytale exploring the fault lines between love and control. At times tense and claustrophobic, it is nevertheless brimming with humour, warmth and character. It is a magnificent new work from one of Australia’s most celebrated writers.' (Publication summary)

1 Friday Essay: Alice Pung - How Reading Changed My Life Alice Pung , 2020 single work essay
— Appears in: The Conversation , 30 October 2020;
'Having survived starvation and been spared execution, my father arrived in this new country, vassal-eyed and sunken-cheeked.'
1 The Australian Book You Should Read Next : Too Much Lip by Melissa Lucashenko Alice Pung , 2020 single work review
— Appears in: The Guardian Australia , 17 July 2020;

— Review of Too Much Lip Melissa Lucashenko , 2018 single work novel

'A rare and powerful voice of a woman who has been poor and rich, with a lived understanding of the fickleness of each.'

1 The Shop Alice Pung , 2019 single work essay
— Appears in: Split : True Stories of Leaving, Loss and New Beginnings 2019;
1 The Last Stop Alice Pung , 2018 single work short story
— Appears in: Meet Me at the Intersection 2018;
1 y separately published work icon Close to Home : Selected Writings Alice Pung , Collingwood : Black Inc. , 2018 14796086 2018 selected work prose

'This delightful collection brings together Alice Pung’s most loved writing, on migration, family, identity, art and more. Warm, funny, moving and unfailingly honest, this is Alice Pung at her best – an irresistible delight for fans and new readers alike.

'In 2006, Alice Pung published Unpolished Gem, her award-winning memoir of growing up Chinese-Australian in working-class Footscray. Since then, she has written on everything from the role of grandparents to the corrosive effects of racism; from the importance of literature to the legacy of her parents’ migration from Cambodia as asylum seekers. In all of this, a central thread is the idea of home: how the places we live and the connections we form shape who we become, and what homecoming can mean to those who build their lives in Australia.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

1 Home Truths Alice Pung , 2017 single work prose
— Appears in: The Monthly , December no. 140 2017; (p. 18-20)
1 Don’t Say Teenagers Aren’t Ready for Dark Fiction. With the Right Teacher, It Can Change Lives Alice Pung , 2017 single work column
— Appears in: The Guardian Australia , 2 October 2017;

'When Alice Pung first read John Marsden, she recognised the painful, violent world he portrayed. But not all teachers were comfortable with it.'

1 1 y separately published work icon Alice Pung on John Marsden Alice Pung , Carlton : Black Inc. , 2017 11466033 2017 single work essay

'‘I keep coming back to John Marsden. What makes him so fascinating to me is that he approaches writing for young adults with a whole philosophy of what it means to be a teenager – a philosophy that’s embedded in the two schools he runs, but also in his early experiences with mental illness and hospitalisation. His perspective raises interesting questions about YA fiction – how much darkness is allowed, before you are considered a “bad influence”?’

'An original and moving look by award-winning writer Alice Pung at one of her biggest influences – the much-loved and hugely successful writer John Marsden.

'In the Writers on Writers series, leading authors reflect on an Australian writer who has inspired and fascinated them. Provocative and crisp, these books start a fresh conversation between past and present, shed new light on the craft of writing, and introduce some intriguing and talented authors and their work.' (Publication summary)

1 y separately published work icon In a Heartbeat Alice Pung , Sydney South : HarperCollins Australia , 2017 11362189 2017 single work short story
1 Guide to the Classics : Alice Pung on Robin Klein’s The Sky in Silver Lace Alice Pung , 2017 single work criticism
— Appears in: The Conversation , 20 February 2017;
'I can still remember reading All in the Blue Unclouded Weather when I was 12, and then the excitement I felt when the librarian at our tiny Catholic school, Mrs Kerr, told me that there was a sequel. She put it on reserve for me, and I read Dresses of Red and Gold when I was 13. Finally, when I read The Sky in Silver Lace at 16, I remember the curious melancholy I felt long afterwards.' (Introduction)
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