Emily Maguire (born 1976) is an Australian

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living wage, living writing novels and other fiction, while other ...

and

journalist A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism. Roles Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...

Early life and education

Maguire was born in

Canberra Canberra ( ; ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the Federation of Australia, federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's list of cities in Australia, largest in ...

in 1976. She grew up in the western suburbs of

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 ...

in a church-going family, but she now describes herself as agnostic. Maguire married in her early twenties to Jeff Maguire, whom she had known since the age of 14, over the initial objections of her family. She has an MA in literature. She became a professional writer in her mid twenties after working for the

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and

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Writing

Maguire's articles and essays on sex, religion and culture have been published in newspapers and journals including ''

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 ...

'', ''

The Australian Financial Review The ''Australian Financial Review'' (''AFR'') is an Australian compact daily newspaper with a focus on business, politics and economic affairs. The newspaper is based in Sydney, New South Wales, and has been published continuously since its foun ...

'', ''

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 ...

'' and ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. First published in 1791, it is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper. In 1993 it was acquired by Guardian Media Group Limited, and operated as a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' ...

''. In 2007, the Women's Electoral Lobby awarded her the Edna Ryan Award (Media Category) for her writing about women's issues. Maguire served as writer in residence at the Djerassi Artists Program in

northern California Northern California (commonly shortened to NorCal) is a geocultural region that comprises the northern portion of the U.S. state of California, spanning the northernmost 48 of the state's List of counties in California, 58 counties. Northern Ca ...

in 2009, as an Asialink Literature Resident in Vietnam in 2008, and as a Tasmanian Writers' Centre resident in

Hobart Hobart ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the island state of Tasmania, Australia. Located in Tasmania's south-east on the estuary of the River Derwent, it is the southernmost capital city in Australia. Despite containing nearly hal ...

in 2006. Her first novel, '' Taming the Beast'' (

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

), was nominated for the

Dylan Thomas Prize The Dylan Thomas Prize is a leading prize for young writers presented annually. The prize, named in honour of the Welsh writer and poet Dylan Thomas, brings international prestige and a remuneration of £30,000 (~$46,000). It is open to published w ...

and received a Special Commendation in the

Kathleen Mitchell Award The Kathleen Mitchell Award is a bi-annual Australian literature prize for young authors. It was established in 1996 and is awarded every second year with prize money originally being A$5000, by 2012 that amount had grown to A$ 15,000 and in 201 ...

s. The novel aroused controversy for its graphic depiction of a sexual relationship between a young woman and her high school teacher. Her second novel, ''The Gospel According to Luke'' is an account of a relationship between a young

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

pastor and an atheist abortion clinic worker, and deals with the theme of

religious terrorism Religious terrorism (or, religious extremism) is a type of religious violence where terrorism is used as a strategy to achieve certain religious goals or which are influenced by religious beliefs and/or identity. In the modern age, after the d ...

. It was also awarded a special commendation in the 2008 Kathleen Mitchell Awards. Her 2008 non-fiction book, ''Princesses and Pornstars: Sex, Power, Identity'', is an examination of how the treatment of young women as fragile and in need of protection can be just as objectifying and damaging to them as pornography and raunch culture. A revised young adult version called ''Your Skirt's Too Short: Sex, Power, Choice'' was released in 2010. ''Fishing for Tigers'', published in September 2012 by Picador Australia, is Maguire's fourth. Set in present-day Vietnam, it explores issues of exploitation in developing nations – cultural, racial, sexual and economic – placing Australian expats and tourists at the centre of the frame. In May 2013, Emily Maguire was named as one of ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' Best Young Australian Novelists. In 2016 her book '' An Isolated Incident'' was published by Picador, Pan MacMillan Press. It was highly commended in the Victorian Premier's Literary Awards 2017; and was shortlisted for the 2017 Stella Prize, the 2017 Ned Kelly Awards, the ABIA 2017 Shortlist and the 2017 Miles Franklin literary award. Maguire was awarded the 2018 Charles Perkins Centre Writer in Residence Fellowship, receiving a $100,000 grant. Her novel ''Rapture'' was longlisted for the 2025

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 Bailey ...

Bibliography

Fiction

*''Taming the Beast'' (2004) *''The Gospel According to Luke'' (2006) *''Smoke in the Room'' (2009) *''Fishing for Tigers'' (2012) * '' An Isolated Incident'' (2016) *''Love Objects'' (2021) *''Rapture'' (2024)

Non Fiction

*''Princesses and Pornstars: Sex, Power, Identity'' (2008) *''Your Skirt's Too Short: Sex, Power, Choice'' (2010) *''This is What a Feminist Looks Like: The rise and rise of Australian feminism'' (2019)

Contributed chapter

* "Global destroyers", pp. 87–98, in: ''Destroying the joint'', edited by Jane Caro, Read How You Want (2015, ).

References

External links

Emily Maguire's Homepage
{{DEFAULTSORT:Maguire, Emily 1976 births 21st-century Australian novelists Australian atheists Australian feminist writers Australian journalists Australian women novelists Living people Writers from Sydney Writers from Canberra 21st-century Australian women writers Australian women journalists