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Craig Silvey (born 1 January 1982) is an Australian novelist. Silvey has twice been named one of the Best Young Australian Novelists by ''
The Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid newspaper published in Sydney, Australia, and owned by Nine Entertainment. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuous ...
'' and has been shortlisted for the
International Dublin Literary Award The International Dublin Literary Award (), established as the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award in 1996, is presented each year for a novel written or translated into English. It promotes excellence in world literature and is solely ...
. His 2009 second novel was selected by the
American Library Association The American Library Association (ALA) is a nonprofit organization based in the United States that promotes libraries and library education internationally. It is the oldest and largest library association in the world. History 19th century ...
as Best Fiction for Young Adults in their 2012 list, and was made into the movie '' Jasper Jones'' in 2017.


Education

Silvey grew up in a town in the south-west of
Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...
called Dwellingup. His father was an
industrial arts Industrial arts is an educational program that features the fabrication of objects in wood or metal using a variety of hand, power, or machine tools. Industrial Arts are commonly referred to as Technology Education. It may include small engine ...
teacher, and his mother was a teacher-librarian. Educated at the Independent Pioneer Village School, Silvey describes the experience as unusual in that it is located in Armadale's Pioneer Village which is an
open-air museum An open-air museum is a museum that exhibits collections of buildings and artifacts outdoors. It is also frequently known as a museum of buildings or a folk museum. Definition Open air is "the unconfined atmosphere ... outside buildings" ...
"...in the style of an 1800s gold mining town with an old mine shaft".
"It was certainly weird", says Silvey. "The girls had straw hats and big white socks, the boys had black cricket-style caps. Other than that it was standard private-school fare. The classes were small and the teachers great."
Silvey's secondary education was at the independent Frederick Irwin Anglican School in Mandurah. Rather than going to university, Silvey took on menial labouring and cleaning jobs to support his writing.


Literary career

He published his first novel, ''Rhubarb'', in 2004, after writing it when he was only 19 years old. This novel would place Silvey on ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' Best Young Australian Novelists list in 2005. Silvey's second novel '' Jasper Jones'' was completed in early 2008 with the aid of an
Australia Council for the Arts Creative Australia, formerly known as the Australia Council for the Arts and the Australia Council, is the country's official arts council, serving as an arts funding and advisory body for the Government of Australia. The council was announ ...
New Work Grant. The novel was described as conforming "to the conventions of Australian Gothic, which projects contemporary experience onto … dysfunctional families in small, remote towns.... where young protagonists encounter violence or death, and where outsiders are punished for their difference". ''Jasper Jones'' is Silvey's most successful novel, selling well (half a million copies), and having won or been shortlisted for several prominent literary awards. A film adaptation of the novel, based on a screenplay written by Silvey and Shaun Grant, was released in 2017. The film was directed by Rachel Perkins and stars
Toni Collette Toni Collette (born Collett; 1 November 1972) is an Australian actress, singer, and songwriter. Known for her work in television, blockbusters and independent films, her accolades include a Primetime Emmy Award and a Golden Globe Award, wit ...
, Levi Miller, Aaron McGrath, and Angourie Rice. In 2010, Silvey was once again named one of ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' Best Young Australian Novelists of the year. Silvey says of his literary influences that "I've always been attracted to
Southern Gothic Southern Gothic is an artistic subgenre of Gothic fiction, fiction, Popular music, music, Gothic film, film, theatre, and television that are heavily influenced by Gothic fiction, Gothic elements and the Southern United States, American South. ...
fiction. There's something very warm and generous about those regional American writers like Twain and Lee and Capote, and it seemed to be a literary ilk that would lend itself well to the Australian condition." Australian authors Silvey admires include Shaun Tan,
Markus Zusak Markus Zusak (born 23 June 1975) is an Australian-German writer. He is best known for ''The Book Thief'' and ''The Messenger (Zusak novel), The Messenger'', two novels that became international bestsellers. He won the Margaret Edwards Award in 2 ...
,
Christos Tsiolkas Christos Tsiolkas is an Australian author, playwright, and screenwriter. He is especially known for '' The Slap'', which was both well-received critically and highly successful commercially. Several of his books have been adapted for film and t ...
,
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 ...
and Gail Jones who he says "write such distinct, brave and beautiful books that simply render me awestruck". A film, ''
Runt In a group of animals (usually a litter of animals born in multiple births), a runt is a member which is significantly smaller or weaker than the others.. Owing to its small size, a runt in a litter faces disadvantage, including difficulties in c ...
,'' based on Silvey's novel of the same name, was released in September 2024.


Personal life

He currently lives in
Fremantle Fremantle () () is a port city in Western Australia located at the mouth of the Swan River (Western Australia), Swan River in the metropolitan area of Perth, the state capital. Fremantle Harbour serves as the port of Perth. The Western Australi ...
. Silvey is a musician and outside of writing novels is a singer and songwriter who plays the electric
ukulele The ukulele ( ; ); also called a uke (informally), is a member of the lute (ancient guitar) family of instruments. The ukulele is of Portuguese origin and was popularized in Hawaii. The tone and volume of the instrument vary with size and con ...
in The Nancy Sikes!, an indie band.


Works


Novels

*2004: ''Rhubarb'' *2009: '' Jasper Jones'' *2012: ''The Amber Amulet'' *2020: ''Honeybee'' *2022: ''Runt''


Other

* 2007: ''The World According to Warren'' (children's book) * 2017: '' Jasper Jones'' (screenplay co-written with Shaun Grant) *Date TBA: ''The Prospector'' (screenplay)


Awards

''Rhubarb'' was selected as the inaugural book for the "One Book" series of events at the 2005 Perth International Arts Festival, and was included in the Australian national "Books Alive" campaign. ''Jasper Jones'' was shortlisted for the 2011
International Dublin Literary Award The International Dublin Literary Award (), established as the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award in 1996, is presented each year for a novel written or translated into English. It promotes excellence in world literature and is solely ...
. The novel was shortlisted for the Michael L. Printz Award in 2012 by the
American Library Association The American Library Association (ALA) is a nonprofit organization based in the United States that promotes libraries and library education internationally. It is the oldest and largest library association in the world. History 19th century ...
. ''Honeybee'' won the Fiction prize at the 2021 Indie Book Awards and was shortlisted for the 2021 Literary fiction book of the year at the Australian Book Industry Awards.' ''Runt'' won the Book of the Year and the Children's prize at the 2023 Indie Book Awards. It also won the Children's book award at the 2023 BookPeople Book of the Year Awards and the 2023 CBCA Children's Book of the Year Award: Younger Readers. ''Runt'' also won the 2024 Young Australian Best Book Award for Fiction for older readers.


References


External links


Author page
at Allen & Unwin, including an extract from ''Jasper Jones'', author interview and publication information.
Review of ''Jasper Jones''
and interview with Craig Silvey.
Review of ''Rhubarb''
''Booklover Book Reviews''

a profile of Silvey that originally appeared in ''
The Big Issue ''The Big Issue'' is a United Kingdom–based street newspaper founded by John Bird and Gordon Roddick in September 1991 and published in four continents. ''The Big Issue'' is one of the UK's leading social businesses and exists to offer ho ...
'' in 2009. {{DEFAULTSORT:Silvey, Craig 1982 births 21st-century Australian novelists Australian male novelists Living people Writers from Western Australia People from Dwellingup, Western Australia 21st-century Australian male writers