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Judy Johnson Judy Johnson i(A10878 works by)
Born: Established: 1961 ;
Gender: Female
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BiographyHistory

Author based in Newcastle.

Best known as a poet, Johnson has won the the Victorian Premier’s Award, the Wesley Michel Wright Prize (twice), the Val Vallis Award, and the Josephine Ulrick award. She has held a residency at the Tyrone Guthrie Centre in Ireland in 2011 (Varuna Alumni writers' exchange program), and her work has been funded by the Literature Board of the Australia Council. Johnson has also published novels: mostly recently, she published the three-part The Ripper's Net historical narrative through Xoum.

Johnson taught creative writing for several years at Newcastle University, and continues to reach in workshops and through writers' centres.

Most Referenced Works

Awards for Works

y separately published work icon Dark Convicts Crawley : UWA Publishing , 2017 10716488 2017 selected work poetry

'It is a little known fact that eleven African American convicts arrived in Australia on the First Fleet in 1788. Two of these ex-slaves were the author’s ancestors. In extensively researched poems, award-winning writer Judy Johnson vividly portrays scenes from her black forebears’ lives, both before transportation and afterwards, in the fledgling colony of New South Wales.' (Publication summary)

2018 shortlisted New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards Multicultural NSW
y separately published work icon Stone Scar Air Water North Hobart : Walleah Press , 2013 6566980 2013 selected work poetry
2013 winner Australian Centre Literary Awards Wesley Michel Wright Prize in Poetry For the collection of poems 'Irish Stone', part of this collection.
2014 shortlisted Western Australian Premier's Book Awards Poetry
y separately published work icon The Secret Fate of Mary Watson Pymble : Fourth Estate , 2011 Z1768500 2011 single work novel historical fiction

'A daring heroine tests her wits against secrets, spies and smugglers on a remote Australian island...

'1879, Queensland. Fleeing her family home, 19-year-old Mary Oxnam has few prospects and no connections. Plain and penniless, she must rely on her audacious wit and fierce intelligence to survive.

'Mary soon finds work as a pianist in a Cooktown brothel, a cover for more lucrative employment as a spy into smuggling operations. Within a year she has moved to Lizard Island, locked into a marriage of convenience. It′s a rough, isolated place, crawling with hidden enemies - and unexpected temptation.

'Mary dreams of making enough money to live on her own terms, far from the murky world of espionage in which she has become embroiled. But as the plot of her secret employers nears fruition, the stakes climb ever higher and Mary′s life is in great danger. Can her daring and luck save her one last time?' (From the publisher's website.)

2012 shortlisted Davitt Award Best Adult Crime Novel
Last amended 1 Feb 2021 12:59:56
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