Brenda Joanne Walker (1957 – 10 December 2024) was an Australian writer. Born in

Grafton, New South Wales Grafton ( Bundjalung: ''Gumbin Gir'') is a city in the Northern Rivers region of the Australian state of New South Wales. It is located on the Clarence River, on a floodplain, approximately by road north-northeast of the state capital Sydney. ...

, she studied at the

University of New England University of New England may refer to: * University of New England (Australia), in New South Wales, with about 26,000 students * University of New England (United States), in Biddeford, Maine, with about 6,000 students See also * New England Coll ...

Armidale Armidale is a city in the Northern Tablelands, New South Wales, Australia. Armidale had a population of 23,967 as of the 2021 census. Estimated resident population, 30 June 2018. It is the administrative centre for the Northern Tablelands reg ...

and, after gaining a PhD in English (on the work of

Samuel Beckett Samuel Barclay Beckett (; 13 April 1906 – 22 December 1989) was an Irish writer of novels, plays, short stories, and poems. Writing in both English and French, his literary and theatrical work features bleak, impersonal, and Tragicomedy, tra ...

) at the

Australian National University The Australian National University (ANU) is a public university, public research university and member of the Group of Eight (Australian universities), Group of Eight, located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton, A ...

, she moved to

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

in 1984. She was a Winthrop Professor of English and Cultural Studies at the

University of Western Australia University of Western Australia (UWA) is a public research university in the Australian state of Western Australia. The university's main campus is in Crawley, Western Australia, Crawley, a suburb in the City of Perth local government area. UW ...

. She had also been a visiting fellow at

Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...

and the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson and contains his The Lawn, Academical Village, a World H ...

. Walker was the sister of songwriter and musician Don Walker, and the daughter of author Shirley Walker. Walker was killed on 10 December 2024 while crossing Kings Park Road in Perth by a driver speeding at . The driver was moments earlier seen driving at , while the speed limit on Kings Park Road is . The driver was charged with dangerous driving causing death in circumstances of aggravation.

Awards

* 2011:

Nita Kibble Literary Award The Kibble Literary Awards comprise two awards—the Nita B Kibble Literary Award, which recognises the work of an established Australian female writer, and the Dobbie Literary Award, which is for a first published work by a female writer. The Awa ...

, winner for "Reading by Moonlight" * 2010: Victorian Premier's Awards, Nettie Palmer Prize for Non-Fiction, winner for "Reading by Moonlight" * 2010: Queensland Premier's Literary Awards, shortlisted for "Reading by Moonlight" * 2007:

Asher Award The Asher Award was a biennial Australian literary award administered by the Australian Society of Authors between 2005 and 2017. It was established by the Australia Council after a bequest from the late author Helen Asher. It was disestablished ...

, winner for ''The Wing of Night''Other Award Winners
* 2006:

, winner for ''The Wing of Night'' * 2006:

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 (law), will of Miles Franklin ...

, shortlisted for ''The Wing of Night'' * 2006:

New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards The New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards, also known as the NSW Premier's Literary Awards, were first awarded in 1979. They are among the richest literary awards in Australia. Notable prizes include the Christina Stead Prize for Fiction, th ...

, Christina Stead Prize, shortlisted for ''The Wing of Night'' * 2006: Waverley Library Award for Literature, The Alex Buzo Shortlist Prize: winner for ''The Wing of Night''Waverley Library Creates Award to Honour Buzo
* 2000:

Victorian Premier's Literary Award The Victorian Premier's Literary Awards were created by the Victorian Government with the aim of raising the profile of contemporary creative writing and Australia's publishing industry. As of 2013, it is reportedly Australia's richest literary ...

, shortlisted for ''Poe's Cat'' * 2000:

, Christina Stead Prize, Shortlisted for "Poe's Cat" * 1990: T.A.G. Hungerford Award for an unpublished manuscript, winner for ''Crush''

Bibliography

Novels

* ''Crush'' (1991) * ''One More River'' (1993) * ''Poe's Cat'' (1999) * '' The Wing of Night'' (2005)

Memoir

* ''Reading by Moonlight: How Books Saved a Life'' (2010)

Edited

* ''The Writer's Reader: A Guide to Writing Fiction and Poetry'' (2002)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Walker, Brenda 1957 births 2024 deaths Writers from New South Wales Australian women novelists Pedestrian road incident deaths Road incident deaths in Western Australia