Brian Albert Castro (born 1950) is an Australian novelist and essayist.

Early life and education

Castro was born at sea, between

Macau Macau or Macao is a special administrative regions of China, special administrative region of the People's Republic of China (PRC). With a population of about people and a land area of , it is the most List of countries and dependencies by p ...

and

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

, in 1950. His father was of Spanish, Portuguese, and English descent, and born in

Shanghai Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...

. His mother was the daughter of a Chinese farmer and an English missionary. His first language was Cantonese Chinese, but his maternal grandmother taught him English, and he also learnt

Macanese Portuguese Macanese Portuguese () is a Portuguese dialect spoken in Macau, where Portuguese is co-official with Cantonese. Macanese Portuguese is spoken, to some degree either natively or as a second language, by roughly 2.3% of the population of Macau ...

(spoken in Macao) and French. He moved to Australia in 1961, first attending a boarding school in

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

,at

St Joseph's College, Hunters Hill St Joseph's College (abbreviated as SJC and commonly called ''Joeys'') is an independent Catholic secondary day and boarding school for boys, conducted in the Marist Brothers tradition, located in Hunters Hill, a suburb on the Lower North Sh ...

and the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD) is a public university, public research university in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in both Australia and Oceania. One of Australia's six sandstone universities, it was one of the ...

, after which he worked in Australia, France and Hong Kong as a teacher and writer.

Career

He was Chair of Creative Writing (2008–2019) at the

University of Adelaide The University of Adelaide is a public university, public research university based in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third-oldest university in Australia. Its main campus in the Adelaide city centre includes many Sa ...

and director of the J. M. Coetzee Centre for Creative Practice there. His first novel, ''Birds of Passage'' (1983), won

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

. ''Double-Wolf'' (1991) won ''

The Age ''The Age'' is a daily newspaper in Melbourne, Australia, that has been published since 1854. Owned and published by Nine Entertainment, ''The Age'' primarily serves Victoria (Australia), Victoria, but copies also sell in Tasmania, the Austral ...

'' Fiction Prize, the Vance Palmer Prize and the Innovative Writing Prize at the

Victorian Premier's Literary Awards 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 ...

. ''After China'' (1992) again won the Victorian Premier's Literary Award. His sixth novel, ''Stepper'' (1997), was awarded the National Book Council Prize (Banjo Award) for Fiction. ''Shanghai Dancing'' was published by Giramondo in March 2003, winning the

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 ...

and the

NSW Premier's Award 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 ...

, and was named NSW Book of the Year. ''The Garden Book'' won the 2006 Queensland Premier's Literary Award, and ''The Bath Fugues'' was short-listed 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 (law), will of Miles Franklin ...

, the South Australian Premier's Award, the Queensland Premier's Fiction Prize and the Victorian Premier's Literary Award. In 2012 he published ''Street To Street'', inspired by the life of the poet Christopher Brennan (Giramondo). ''Blindness and Rage'' won the Prime Minister's Award for Poetry in 2018. In 2014 he won the Patrick White Award for Literature for his contribution to Australian Literature.

Awards and nominations

* 1982: Australian/Vogel Literary Award for his first novel, ''Birds of Passage'' (shared award) * 1991:

Vance Palmer Prize for Fiction, plus the Innovative Writing Award.

The Age Book of the Year ''The Age'' Book of the Year Awards were annual literary awards presented by Melbourne's ''The Age'' newspaper. The awards were first presented in 1974. After 1998, they were presented as part of the Melbourne Writers Festival Melbourne Writer ...

. Three prizes for his third novel ''Double-Wolf'' +

(Shortlisted) * 1992:

for ''After China''

(Shortlisted) * 1997: Banjo Award for ''Stepper'' * 2004:

for Fiction, and the

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 Fiction Prize and Book of the Year for ''Shanghai Dancing'' * 2006:

(Shortlisted), and the

Queensland Premier's Literary Awards The Queensland Premier's Literary Awards were an Australian suite of literary awards inaugurated in 1999 and disestablished in 2012. It was one of the most generous suites of literary awards within Australia, with $225,000 in prize money across ...

Fiction Book Award for ''The Garden Book'' * 2010:

(Shortlisted), ''The Bath Fugues'' * 2014: Adelaide Festival Awards for Literature (Shortlisted), ''Street To Street'' * 2014: Patrick White Award for Literature, Contribution to Australian Literature * 2018:

Prime Minister's Literary Award The Australian Prime Minister's Literary Awards (PMLA) were announced at the end of 2007 by the incoming First Rudd ministry following the 2007 Australian federal election, 2007 election. They are administered by the Minister for the Arts (Aust ...

for Poetry, for ''Blindness and Rage''

Bibliography

Novels and verse novels

*''Birds of Passage'' (1983) *''Pomeroy'' (1990) *'' Double-Wolf'' (1991) *'' After China'' (1992) *''Drift'' (1994) *''Stepper'' (1997) *'' Shanghai Dancing'' (2003) *'' The Garden Book'' (2005) *'' The Bath Fugues'' (2009) *''Street To Street'' (2012) *
Blindness and Rage
' (2017) *''Chinese Postman'' (2024)

Non-fiction

*''(Monograph) Writing Asia: two lectures'' (1995) *''Looking for Estrellita: Essays on Culture and Writing'' (1999)

Poetry

*''Macau Days'' (with John Young) (2017)

References

External links

*
'600 Lines of ''Blindness & Rage
by Brian Castro, ''Cordite Poetry Review''
OzArts – Brian Castro

Bernadette Brennan 'Unpacking Castro's Library, or Detours and Return in ''The Garden Book'' ' ''JASAL'' Special Issue 2007

Bernadette Brennan ''Brian Castro's Fiction: The Seductive Play of Language'' Cambria Press, 2008
{{DEFAULTSORT:Castro, Brian 1950 births Living people 20th-century Australian novelists 20th-century Australian male writers 21st-century Australian novelists Australian male novelists Australian non-fiction writers Australian people of English descent Australian people of Chinese descent People educated at St Joseph's College, Hunters Hill 21st-century Australian male writers Australian male non-fiction writers People educated at Oakhill College Patrick White Award winners