Felicity Castagna
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Felicity Castagna is an Australian writer. She won the young adult fiction prize at the 2014
Prime Minister's Literary Awards The Australian Prime Minister's Literary Awards (PMLA) were announced at the end of 2007 by the incoming First Rudd ministry following the 2007 election. They are administered by the Minister for the Arts.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 ...
for her book, ''Girls in Boys' Cars''.


Early life and education

Castagna was born in Australia, but travelled with her family and lived in North America and Asia. She earned a BA at 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 ...
, followed by a GradDipEd 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 ...
. In 2015 she graduated from
Western Sydney University Western Sydney University, formerly the University of Western Sydney, is an Australian multi-campus public research university in the Greater Western region of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The university in its current form was founde ...
with a PhD for her thesis "Space, anxiety and the politics of belonging in suburban Australia".


Career

Castagna's career began as an English teacher. Since completing her PhD in 2015, she has been a lecturer in creative writing at Western Sydney University. In addition she has been active as a writing teacher and mentor with Writing NSW and a number of community-based cultural and literary groups.


Awards

Her first novel, ''The Incredible Here and Now'', won the Young Adult Fiction Prize at the 2014
Prime Minister's Literary Awards The Australian Prime Minister's Literary Awards (PMLA) were announced at the end of 2007 by the incoming First Rudd ministry following the 2007 election. They are administered by the Minister for the Arts. In 2014 it was shortlisted for the Ethel Turner Prize for Young People's Literature at 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 ...
, for the Children's Book of the Year Award: Older Readers, for the Writing for Young Adults prize at the
Western Australian Premier's Book Awards The Western Australian Premier's Book Awards is an annual book award provided by the Government of Western Australia, and managed by the State Library of Western Australia. History and format Annual literary awards were inaugurated by the Wes ...
and for the Young Adult Book Award at the
Queensland Literary Awards The Queensland Literary Awards is an awards program established in 2012 by the Queensland literary community, funded by sponsors and administered by the State Library of Queensland. Like the former Queensland Premier's Literary Awards, the QLAs ...
. It was also shortlisted for the 2016
Adelaide Festival Awards for Literature The South Australian Literary Awards, until 2024 known as the Adelaide Festival Awards for Literature, comprise a group of biennially-granted literary awards established in 1986 by the Government of South Australia. Formerly announced during A ...
Young Adult Fiction prize. In 2017 Castagna wrote a stage adaptation of the same name for the National Theatre of Parramatta. In 2018 her second novel, ''No More Boats'', was shortlisted 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
Voss Literary Prize The Voss Literary Prize is an annual award named in honour of historian Vivian Robert de Vaux Voss (1930–1963). It is awarded to the best novel published in the previous year and is managed and judged by the Australian University Heads of Engl ...
and the NSW Multicultural Award at the NSW Premier's Literary Awards. Her 2021 novel, ''Girls in Boys' Cars'', won the 2022 Victorian Premier's Prize for Writing for Young Adults'''' and the Griffith University Young Adult Book Award at the 2022
Queensland Literary Awards The Queensland Literary Awards is an awards program established in 2012 by the Queensland literary community, funded by sponsors and administered by the State Library of Queensland. Like the former Queensland Premier's Literary Awards, the QLAs ...
. It was also shortlisted for the 2022 Children's Book of the Year Award: Older Readers and for the 2022 Ethel Turner Prize for Young People’s Literature at the New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards.


Works


Novels

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Short story collection

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Play

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References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Castagna, Felicity Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Western Sydney University alumni 21st-century Australian women writers University of Sydney alumni Academic staff of Western Sydney University