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Thornton McCamish Thornton McCamish i(A79464 works by)
Gender: Male
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BiographyHistory

Freelance journalist and writer.

McCamish was the editor of The Big Issue from 1996 to 1999, and has published long-form non-fiction including Supercargo: A Journey Among Ports (Lonely Planet, 2002). His 2016 biography of Alan Moorehead was partially supported by a 2013 Merlyn Myer Biography stipend.

Most Referenced Works

Personal Awards

2017 shortlisted Hazel Rowley Literary Fellowship For a life of Robert Hughes.

Awards for Works

y separately published work icon Our Man Elsewhere : In Search of Alan Moorehead Carlton : Black Inc. , 2016 9320028 2016 single work biography

'A world-famous Australian writer, an inspiration to Robert Hughes and Clive James, a legendary war correspondent who also wrote bestselling histories of exploration and conservation . . . and yet forgotten? In this dazzling book, Thornton McCamish delves into the past to reclaim a remarkable figure, Alan Moorehead.

'As a reporter, Moorehead witnessed many of the great historical events of the mid-20th century: the Spanish Civil War and both world wars, Cold War espionage, and decolonisation in Africa. He debated strategy with Churchill and Gandhi, fished with Hemingway, and drank with Graham Greene, Ava Gardner and Truman Capote. As well as being a regular contributor to the New Yorker, in 1956 Moorehead wrote the first significant book about the Gallipoli campaign.

'With its countless adventures, its touch of jet-set glamour and its tragic arc, Moorehead’s story is a beguiling one. Thornton McCamish tells it as a quest – intimate, perceptive and superbly entertaining. His funny, ardent book reveals an extraordinary Australian and takes its place in a fresh tradition of contemporary biography.' (Publication summary)

2018 shortlisted Festival Awards for Literature (SA) Adelaide Festival Awards for Literature South Australian Literary Awards Award for Non-Fiction
2017 shortlisted Prime Minister's Literary Awards Non-Fiction
2017 winner New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards Douglas Stewart Prize for Non-Fiction
2016 longlisted Walkley Award Best Non-Fiction Book
Last amended 13 Mar 2018 09:38:55
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