Brian Albert Castro (born 16 January 1950) is an Australian novelist and essayist.

Biography

Castro was born in Hong Kong and has lived in Australia since 1961. He was Chair of Creative Writing (2008-2019) at the

University of Adelaide The University of Adelaide (informally Adelaide University) is a public research university located in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third-oldest university in Australia. The university's main campus is located on ...

and Director of the J.M. Coetzee Centre for Creative Practice. His publisher is Giramondo Publishing. Born in Hong Kong of Portuguese, Chinese and English parentage, Brian Castro was educated at St Joseph's College Hunter's Hill and the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public university, public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one o ...

, after which he worked in Australia, France and Hong Kong as a teacher and writer. His first novel ''Birds Of Passage'' (1983) won

The Australian/Vogel Literary Award ''The Australian''/Vogel Literary Award is an Australian literary award for unpublished manuscripts by writers under the age of 35. The prize money, currently A$20,000, is the richest and most prestigious award for an unpublished manuscript in ...

. ''Double-Wolf'' (1991) won The Age 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 p ...

. ''After China'' (1992) again won the Victorian Premier's Literary Award. His sixth novel, ''Stepper'' (1997), was awarded the National Book Council Prize for Fiction. ''Shanghai Dancing'' was published by Giramondo in March 2003, winning the Victorian Premier's Award, the NSW Premier's Award and was named NSW Book of the Year. ''The Garden Book'' won the 2006 Queensland Premier's 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 of Miles Franklin (1879– ...

, the South Australian Premier's Literary 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). His latest novel was ''Blindness and Rage'' which won the Prime Minister's Award for Poetry in 2018 (Giramondo, 2017.) He currently lives in the Adelaide Hills. 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:

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 p ...

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. Initially, two awa ...

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

(Shortlisted) * 1992:

for ''After China''

(Shortlisted) * 1997: National Book Council "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, t ...

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 The Adelaide Festival Awards for Literature comprise a group of biennially-granted literary awards established in 1986 by the Government of South Australia, announced during Adelaide Writers' Week, as part of the Adelaide Festival. The awards i ...

(Shortlisted), "Street To Street" * 2014: Patrick White Award for Literature, Contribution to Australian Literature * 2018: Prime Minister's Literary Award for Poetry, "Blindness and Rage"

Bibliography

Novels/Verse Novel

*'' Birds of Passage'' (1983) *'' Pomeroy'' (1990) *'' Double-Wolf'' (1991) *'' After China'' (1992) *'' Drift'' (1994) *''

Stepper A stepper is a device used in the manufacture of integrated circuits (ICs) that is similar in operation to a slide projector or a photographic enlarger. ''Stepper'' is short for step-and-repeat camera. Steppers are an essential part of the com ...

'' (1997) *'' Shanghai Dancing'' (2003) *''

The Garden Book ''The Garden Book'' is a 2005 novel by Australian author Brian Castro. Epigraph ::O where is the garden of Being that is only known in Existence ::As the command to be never there, the sentence by which ::Alephs of throbbing fact have been ban ...

'' (2005) *'' The Bath Fugues'' (2009) *'' Street To Street'' (2012) *
Blindness and Rage
' (2017)

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 Male non-fiction writers People educated at Oakhill College