Wanda Koolmatrie
Wanda Koolmatrie
i(A29203 works by)
(a.k.a.
Leon Carmen)
Writing name for:
Leon Carmen
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Most Referenced Works
Notes
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In the 'About the Author' note in the novel My Own Sweet Time, Wanda Koolmatrie is described as being 'born in the far north of South Australia in 1949. Removed from her Pitjantjatjara mother in 1950, she was raised by foster parents in the western suburbs of Adelaide, where she went to school.'
This ostensibly autobiographical work won the Nita May Dobbie Award for a first novel by a woman writer.
In March 1997, a controversy erupted when it was revealed that this autobiography was, in fact, the fictional creation of Leon Carmen and his literary agent John Bayley.
A full account of the hoax is given in Bayley's book, Daylight Corroboree, and Carmen's own version in his article 'Wanda and Me.'
Awards for Works
Last amended 4 Apr 2012 09:49:14