Beverley Anne Farmer (also known as B. Christou) (7 February 1941 – 16 April 2018) was an Australian novelist and short story writer.

Personal life

Beverley Farmer was born in Melbourne. She was educated at Mac.Robertson Girls' High School and at the University of Melbourne, where she graduated with a BA in 1960. She worked in various jobs, mainly secondary-school teaching and running a restaurant, before becoming a professional writer.Virginia Blain, Patricia Clements and Isobel Grundy: ''The Feminist Companion to Literature in English. Women Writers from the Middle Ages to the Present'' (London: Batsford, 1990), p. 357. She was married a Greek migrant, Christos Talihmanidis, for thirteen years 1965-78, three of them spent in Greece. They returned to Australia for their son to be born in 1972 and they were subsequently divorced. Farmer's autobiographical novella ''Alone'' (1980) reworked a story which had appeared in '' Westerly'' (1968). It was published by the firm of Sisters and "gives a sensitive portrayal of the breakup of a lesbian relationship." While she is best known for her fiction, Farmer also wrote essays, poetry, reviews and criticism. Her writing has appeared in several magazines, journals and newspapers, including '' Overland'', ''Westerly'', '' Meanjin'', '' Island Magazine'', and ''

The Bulletin Bulletin or The Bulletin may refer to: Periodicals (newspapers, magazines, journals) * Bulletin (online newspaper), a Swedish online newspaper * ''The Bulletin'' (Australian periodical), an Australian magazine (1880–2008) ** Bulletin Debate, ...

''. Loss features as a central theme in Farmer's stories. She described it as the "touchstone" of her work. The "experience of being foreign" was also favoured. Several stories in her 1985 book ''Home Time'' show growing awareness of the relation between life and fiction, writers and readers. She was an admirer of her fellow Australian novelist Marjorie Barnard. Beverley Farmer died on 16 April 2018, aged 77.

Awards and nominations

*1984 – New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards, Christina Stead Prize for Fiction for ''Milk'' *1996 – ''The House in the Light'' was shortlisted for the

Miles Franklin Award The Miles Franklin Literary Award is an annual literary prize awarded to "a novel which is of the highest literary merit and presents Australian life in any of its phases". The award was set up according to the will of Miles Franklin (1879–195 ...

*2009 – Patrick White Award *2018 – ''This Water'' was long-listed for The

Stella Prize The Stella Prize is an Australian annual literary award established in 2013 for writing by Australian women in all genres, worth $50,000. It was originally proposed by Australian women writers and publishers in 2011, modelled on the UK's Baileys W ...

Selected works

Short story anthologies

* ''Snake'' (1982) * ''Milk'' (1983) * ''Home Time'' (1985) * ''Collected Stories'' (1987) * ''This Water: Five Tales'' (2017)

Novellas

* ''Alone'' (1980) * ''The Seal Woman'' (1992) * ''The House in the Light'' (1995)

Other