Alison Croggon (born 1962) is a contemporary

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Au ...

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral or writte ...

playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays. Etymology The word "play" is from Middle English pleye, from Old English plæġ, pleġa, plæġa ("play, exercise; sport, game; drama, applause"). The word "wright" is an archaic English ...

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving Magic (supernatural), magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy ...

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living writing novels and other fiction, while others aspire to ...

, and

librettist A libretto (Italian for "booklet") is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major litu ...

Life and career

Born in the

Transvaal Transvaal is a historical geographic term associated with land north of (''i.e.'', beyond) the Vaal River in South Africa. A number of states and administrative divisions have carried the name Transvaal. * South African Republic (1856–1902; af, ...

, South Africa, Alison Croggon's family moved to

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before settling in

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, first in

Ballarat Ballarat ( ) is a city in the Central Highlands (Victoria), Central Highlands of Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. At the 2021 Census, Ballarat had a population of 116,201, making it the third largest city in Victoria. Estimated resid ...

then

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

. She has worked as a

journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...

for the ''

Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily compact newspaper published in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, and owned by Nine. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper i ...

''. Her first volume of poetry, ''This is the Stone'', won the

Anne Elder Award The Anne Elder Trust Fund Award for poetry was administered by the Victorian branch of the Fellowship of Australian Writers from its establishment in 1976 until 2017. From 2018 the award has been administered by Australian Poetry. It is awarded ann ...

and the

Mary Gilmore Prize __NOTOC__ The Mary Gilmore Award is currently an annual Australian literary award for poetry, awarded by the Association for the Study of Australian Literature. Since being established in 1956 as the ACTU Dame Mary Gilmore Award, it has been award ...

. Her novella ''Navigatio'' was highly commended in the 1995

The Australian/Vogel Literary Award ''The Australian''/Vogel Literary Award is an Australian literary award for unpublished manuscripts by writers under the age of 35. The prize money, currently A$20,000, is the richest and most prestigious award for an unpublished manuscript in ...

. Four novels of the fantasy

genre Genre () is any form or type of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially-agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other for ...

series ''

Pellinor Pellinor is a fantasy series by Australian author Alison Croggon, spanning four books and a prequel. The series is the retelling of the "Naraudh Lar-Chanë", the Riddle of the Treesong, set in the fictional world of Edil-Amarandh. The story m ...

'' have been published. She also founded and edits the online writing magazine ''Masthead'' and writes

theatre criticism Theatre criticism is a genre of arts criticism, and the act of writing or speaking about the performing arts such as a play or opera. Theatre criticism is distinct from drama criticism, as the latter is a division of literary criticism whereas the ...

. Croggon has also written

libretti A libretto (Italian for "booklet") is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major litu ...

for

Michael Smetanin Michael may refer to: People * Michael (given name), a given name * Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael Given name "Michael" * Michael (archangel), ''first'' of God's archangels in the Jewish, Christian an ...

's operas ''Gauguin: A Synthetic Life'' and ''The Burrow'', which premiered respectively at the 2000

Melbourne Festival Melbourne International Arts Festival, formerly Spoleto Festival Melbourne – Festival of the Three Worlds, then Melbourne International Festival of the Arts, becoming commonly known as Melbourne Festival, was a major international arts festi ...

and

Perth Festival Perth Festival, named Perth International Arts Festival (PIAF) between 2000 and 2017, and sometimes referred to as the Festival of Perth, is Australia's longest-running cultural festival, held annually in Western Australia. The program features ...

, produced by ChamberMade. In 2014,

Iain Grandage Iain Grandage is an Australian composer and music director, best known for his compositions for theatre, dance and concert. In May 2018, the Perth Festival appointed Grandage as Artistic Director. Early life Grandage initially lived in Brisbane ...

(composer) and Croggon (librettist) collaborated to present ''The Riders,'' based on

Tim Winton Timothy John Winton (born 4 August 1960) is an Australian writer. He has written novels, children's books, non-fiction books, and short stories. In 1997, he was named a Living Treasure by the National Trust of Australia, and has won the Miles ...

's novel ''

The Riders ''The Riders'' (1994) is a novel by Australian author Tim Winton published in 1994. It was shortlisted for the Booker Prize in 1995. Winton has won several literary awards. Plot summary ''The Riders'' tells the story of an Australian man, Fred ...

.'' Its world premiere was in Melbourne. Other poems by Croggon have been set to music by Smetanin, Christine McCombe, Margaret Legge-Wilkinson, and Andrée Greenwell. Her plays have been produced by the

, The Red Shed Company (

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

) and ABC Radio. She currently lives in Melbourne, Australia with her husband

Daniel Keene Daniel Keene (born 1955) is an Australian playwright whose work has been performed throughout the world. Career Keene's plays have been performed in Australia, France, Poland and the United States. Many of his plays have been published in Fr ...

and three children.

Awards and nominations

*2009

Pascall Prize The Pascall Prize for Arts Criticism, formerly known as the Pascall Prize and then the Walkley-Pascall Award or Walkley-Pascall Award for Arts Criticism, is one of two annual Walkley Arts Journalism prizes awarded by the Walkley Foundation. The ...

for Critical Writing for her

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''Theatre Notes''

Works

Poetry

* * * *
excerpt
* * * * *

Memoir

* ''Monsters: A reckoning''. Scribe. 2021.

Novella

Fantasy novels

The Books of Pellinor

* (Published in the US as ''The Naming'' (Candlewick Press, ) * * * * (Cadvan's Story: Prequel to the Books of Pellinor)

Standalone

* *

Libretti

* (1995) ''The Burrow'', * (2000) ''Gauguin (a synthetic life)'' * (2014) ''The Riders''

Plays

* ''Monologues for an Apocalypse'' (2000) * ''Blue'' (2001) * ''My Dearworthy Darling'' (2019) *

References

External links