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Chris Womersley Chris Womersley i(A1765 works by)
Born: Established: 1968 Melbourne, Victoria, ;
Gender: Male
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BiographyHistory

Chris Womersley's fiction and reviews have appeared in numerous journals and anthologies, including Granta New Writing 14, Best Australian Stories 2006, the Monthly and the Age.

In 2007, he released his first novel, The Low Road. He has since published three more novels, most recently City of Crows. A winner of a Ned Kelly Award for his debut novel, he has been shortlisted for a range of prestigious Australian and international literary awards, including the Miles Franklin Award (2011), the ALS God Medal (2011), and the CWA Gold Dagger (2012). His work has been taught at the Australian National University and RMIT.

Most Referenced Works

Personal Awards

2023 recipient Cultural Fund Fellowships Author Fellowship for 'The Empire'.
2022 recipient Varuna Fellowships Varuna Residential Fellowships for novel ‘The Empire’
2020 recipient Australia Council Grants, Awards and Fellowships Individuals and groups ($43,100)

Awards for Works

y separately published work icon A Lovely and Terrible Thing Sydney : Picador , 2019 15594865 2019 selected work short story

'Around you the world is swirling - you pass through a submerged town; the bakery, a wheelbarrow, a bike floating on its side on the main street, its steeples and trees barely visible through the thick water.

'In the distance the wreck of the gunship HMS Elizabeth lolls on a sandbank a couple of miles from the shore. Oil slicks the canals of the capital and even now in the midst of the bombing, the old men still tell tales of mermaids in the shallows.

'A pool, empty of water save for a brackish puddle at one end that has escaped the summer heat. A mess of fine bones and hanks of fur - the remains of mice or possums that have tumbled in, lured perhaps by the water. Two boys stand by its edge, watching a stolen bracelet flash through the humid air into the deep end.

'In bestselling author Chris Womersley's first short fiction collection, twenty macabre and deliciously enjoyable tales linked by the trickle of water that runs through them all will keep readers spellbound until their final, unexpected and unsettling twist...'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

2020 longlisted Colin Roderick Award
y separately published work icon City of Crows Sydney : Picador , 2017 11521834 2017 single work novel historical fiction fantasy

'A woman's heart contains all things. Her heart is tender and loving, but it has other elements. It contains fire and intrigue and mighty storms. Shipwreck and all that has ever happened in the world. Murder, if need be...'

'1673. Desperate to save herself and her only surviving child Nicolas from an outbreak of plague, Charlotte Picot flees her tiny village in the French countryside. But when Nicolas is abducted by a troop of slavers, Charlotte resorts to witchcraft and summons assistance in the shape of a malevolent man. She and her companion travel to Paris where they become further entwined in the underground of sorcerers and poisoners - and where each is forced to reassess their ideas of good and evil. Before Charlotte is finished she will wander hell's halls, trade with a witch and accept a demon's fealty. Meanwhile, a notorious criminal is unexpectedly released from the prison galleys where he has served a brutal sentence for sacrilege...' (Synopsis)

2018 shortlisted Indie Awards Fiction
A Lovely and Terrible Thing 2012 single work short story
— Appears in: The Best Australian Stories 2012 2012; (p. 85-96) The Australian , 2 January 2013; (p. 15)
2012 shortlisted BBC International Short Story Award
Last amended 16 Sep 2021 11:32:15
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