Tony Birch

Tony Birch (born c.1957) is an Aboriginal Australian author, academic and activist. He regularly appears on ABC local radio and Radio National shows and at writers’ festivals. He was head of the honours programme for creative writing at the University of Melbourne before becoming the first recipient of the Dr Bruce McGuinness Indigenous Research Fellowship at Victoria University in Melbourne in June 2015.

Tony Birch
Bornc.1957
Melbourne, Victoria
OccupationAuthor, academic
LanguageEnglish
NationalityAustralian
EducationPhD in Urban cultures and histories
Alma materThe University of Melbourne
Years active1989–
Notable awardsPatrick White Award

In 2017 he became the first Indigenous writer to win the Patrick White Award.

Background, early life and education

Birch's maternal great-grandfather was an Afghan who migrated to Australia in 1890, who had to get exemption from the Immigration Restriction Act 1901 to take his wife home to meet the family. He also has Barbadian convict (James "Prince" Moodie, transported to Tasmania for 14 years for "disobedience") and Aboriginal heritage.[1]

Birch was born around 1957[1] and has grown up around Fitzroy, a working-class suburb of Melbourne considered a slum.[2] After being expelled from school for the second time, he left school aged 15 and became a telegram boy on a bicycle.[1]

Career

After spending a decade as a firefighter, Birch attended Melbourne university as a mature student when he was 30 years old. In 2003 he was awarded the Chancellor's Medal for the best PhD in Arts.[1]

Birch has appeared on ABC radio on shows such as Conversations with Richard Fidler,[2] Life Matters[3] and RN Afternoons.[4][5]

He became the first recipient of the Dr Bruce McGuinness Indigenous Research Fellowship at Victoria University in Melbourne in June 2015[6] and as of June 2018 is still a research fellow there.[1] His work involves academic research, creative writing projects, student mentoring, lecturing and community engagement.[6]

Birch was appointed Boisbouvier Chair in Australian Literature at the University of Melbourne in December 2022.[7]

Activism

Birch is politically active in the climate change and native title movements. In his novels, he has incorporated themes affecting Indigenous people, such as colonial oppression, dispossession, the Stolen Generations and generational violence, but weaves them creatively into the stories.[1] He donates a portion of any prize money to the Indigenous youth organisation dedicated to climate justice, Seed.[8][9]

Bibliography

Novels
  • Blood. 2011.
  • Ghost River (2015) ISBN 9780702253775
  • Shadowboxing (Scribe, 2006) ISBN 9781921753909, reissued by Scribe Publications in 2010, ISBN 9781921640155
  • The White Girl (University of Queensland Press, 2019) ISBN 9780702260384

Short story collections
  • Father's Day (Hunter Publishers, 2009) ISBN 9780980517972
  • The Promise: Stories (University of Queensland Press, 2014), ISBN 9780702252112
  • Common People (University of Queensland Press, 2017)[10]
  • Dark as Last Night, (University of Queensland Press, 2021)[11]

Poetry
  • Broken Teeth (Cordite Books, 2016) ISBN 9780980517972
  • Whisper Songs (University of Queensland Press, 2021)[12]

Anthologies

Book reviews
Year Review article Work(s) reviewed
January–February 2021 Birch, Tony (January–February 2021). "Disher country". Australian Book Review. 428: 40. Disher, Garry (2020). Consolation. Text Publishing.

Awards and honours

References
  1. Daley, Paul (7 June 2019). "Tony Birch on The White Girl: 'No Aboriginal person I know is intact'". The Guardian. Books. Retrieved 8 June 2019.
  2. "Tony Birch". ABC RN. Conversations with Richard Fidler. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 11 July 2013. Retrieved 6 June 2019.
  3. "Meet Tony Birch". ABC RN. Life Matters. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 27 October 2011. Retrieved 6 June 2019.
  4. "UQP - Author - Tony Birch". Retrieved 6 June 2019.
  5. "Tony Birch (Australia)". Internationales literaturfestival, Berlin. 11–21 September 2019. Retrieved 6 June 2019.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  6. "Tony Birch joins VU as research fellow". Victoria University. 3 June 2015. Retrieved 8 June 2019.
  7. Ling, Susanna (14 December 2022). "Tony Birch named third Boisbouvier Chair in Australian Literature". University of Melbourne. Retrieved 14 December 2022.
  8. "Home". Seed. Retrieved 8 June 2019.
  9. Steger, Jason (15 November 2017). "Tony Birch wins the Patrick White Award". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 16 November 2017.
  10. Common People. 31 July 2017. ISBN 978-0-7022-5983-8.
  11. Dark as Last Night. 3 August 2021. ISBN 978-0-7022-6317-0.
  12. Whisper Songs. 1 June 2021. ISBN 978-0-7022-6327-9.
  13. Growing Up Aboriginal in Australia by Anita Heiss. 6 November 2017.
  14. "Lucashenko wins 2014 Vic Prem's Literary Award for Indigenous Writing". Books+Publishing. 4 September 2014. Retrieved 9 December 2020.
  15. "Birch wins 2016 Victorian Premier's Literary Award for Indigenous Writing". Books+Publishing. 9 September 2016. Retrieved 9 December 2020.
  16. "Victorian Premier's Literary Awards 2019 shortlists announced". Books+Publishing. 12 December 2018. Retrieved 9 December 2020.
  17. Evans, Kate Evans (26 April 2020). "Novel celebrating Wiradjuri language wins Book of the Year at major literary awards". ABC News. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
  18. "Miles Franklin Literary Award 2020 shortlist announced". Books+Publishing. 17 June 2020. Retrieved 17 June 2020.
  19. Cain, Sian (16 May 2022). "'Unflinching': Villawood graphic novel wins book of the year at NSW premier's literary awards". The Guardian. Retrieved 16 May 2022.
  20. Burke, Kelly (8 September 2022). "Queensland Literary awards: winners list reflects 'a moment of change for the nation'". The Guardian. Retrieved 8 September 2022.
  21. "Prime Minister's Literary Awards 2022 shortlists announced". Books+Publishing. 7 November 2022. Retrieved 8 November 2022.
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