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April 2012 Issue
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World-class writers

 Arts & Culture Feature

Adelaide has some of the richest literary talent in the country within the University's Creative Writing discipline, boasting no less than eight award-winning writers among its staff as well as an impressive list of graduates making their mark as authors.

The Creative Writing program is chaired by Professor Brian Castro, twice short-listed for the Miles Franklin Literary Award for two of his novels (The Garden Book and The Bath Fugues) as well as a multi-award winner in literary competitions across NSW, Queensland, Victoria and South Australia.

The Creative Writing discipline is rated at the highest level by the Federal Government's official research measure ERA (Excellence in Research for Australia), with a 5-star rating.

This is reflected in its academic cohort, which includes 2003 Nobel Laureate for Literature, J.M. Coetzee. His novels Summertime and Disgrace were both shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize for Fiction and the latter was made into a successful film in 2008.

Professor Nick Jose returned to the 成人大片's Creative Writing program this year after a spell interstate and also at Harvard University as Chair of Australian Studies, where he taught courses in Australian fiction, fiction from the Asia-Pacific region, and creative writing. He has written eight critically-acclaimed novels (Avenue of Eternal Peace was shortlisted for the 1989 Miles Franklin Award) as well as two collections of short stories.

Professor Peter Goldsworthy joined Creative Writing as an Adjunct Professor in 2011. He has published more than half a dozen poetry collections, eight novels, film-scripts, (Maestro, The Kiss) and opera libretti (Summer of the Seventeenth Doll and Batavia), the latter winning the 2002 Robert Helpmann Award for Best Opera and Best New Australian Work.

Creative writing PhD graduates who have joined the staff as Research Fellows in recent years include Dr Eva Hornung (winner of three awards, including the Prime Minister's Literary Prize for her 2010 novel Dog Boy), Amy Matthews, (2010 Arts SA Unpublished Manuscript Award winner for End of the Night Girl) and Carol Le Fevre (short-listed for the Commonwealth Writers' Prize for Nights in the Asylum).

Other PhD alumni who are garnering literary acclaim include Filipino writer Miguel Syjuco (Illustrado), Julia Leigh (Disquiet), Stephan Laszczuk (The Goddam Bus of Happiness and I Dream of Magda), Rachel Hennesy (The Quakers), Patrick Allington (Potatoes in all their Glory) and Sean Williams (Star Wars: The Force Unleashed).

Award-winning poet and author Jill Jones, a senior lecturer in the Creative Writing program, won the 1993 Mary Gilmore Award for her first book of poetry (The Mask and the Jagged Star) as well as the 2003 Kenneth Slessor Poetry Prize for Screens, Jets, Heaven: New and Selected Poems.

Her work has been featured at the Festival International de la Po閟ie in Trois-Rivi鑢es in Quebec, Canada, and she has also been shortlisted for The Age Book of the Year, the Kenneth Slessor Poetry Prize, the National Book Council 'Banjo' Awards and the Adelaide Festival Awards.

Jill's work has been translated into Chinese, Dutch, Polish, French, Italian and Spanish and is widely published online.

Professor Castro said the quality of Adelaide's Creative Writing program attracted students from interstate and overseas, as well as established writers looking for a professional qualification.

成人大片 Pro Vice-Chancellor (Research) Professor Mike Brooks said the calibre of staff and PhD candidates within the Creative Writing discipline was on par with the world's best.

"The top ERA ranking of 5 for Creative Writing is solid proof that our expertise in this area is world class. The 成人大片 has built a rich tradition of excellence in creative writing, offering some of the most engaging and enriching programs in the country."

Story by Candy Gibson

Professor Nick Jose
Photo by Walter Bulgya.

Professor Nick Jose
Photo by Walter Bulgya.

Full Image (88.88K)

Professor Peter Goldsworthy
Photo by Walter Bulgya.

Professor Peter Goldsworthy
Photo by Walter Bulgya.

Full Image (67.03K)

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For more news on the research and educational achievements of the University & our alumni read the University's bi-annual magazine, Lumen.