Luke Davies (born 1962) is an Australian writer of poetry, novels and screenplays. His best known works are '' Candy: A Novel of Love and Addiction'' (which was adapted for the screen in 2006) and the screenplay for the film ''

Lion The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large Felidae, cat of the genus ''Panthera'', native to Sub-Saharan Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body (biology), body; a short, rounded head; round ears; and a dark, hairy tuft at the ...

'', which earned him a nomination for the

Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay The Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay is the Academy Award for the best screenplay adapted from previously established material. The most frequently adapted media are novels, but other adapted narrative formats include stage plays, mus ...

. Davies also co-wrote the screenplay for the film ''

News of the World The ''News of the World'' was a weekly national "Tabloid journalism#Red tops, red top" Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid newspaper published every Sunday in the United Kingdom from 1843 to 2011. It was at one time the world's highest-selling ...

.''

Life and career

Davies studied Arts 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 ...

.Jason Steger, "Love in the time of poetry", ''The Age'', 21 August 2004, Review, p. 3 His first poetry collection ''Four Plots for Magnets'' was published in 1982 by S. K. Kelen at Glandular Press. Long out of print, it was republished (with additional poetry and prose) by Pitt Street Poetry in 2013. He co-wrote the screenplay for the 2006 film ''

Candy Candy, alternatively called sweets or lollies, is a Confectionery, confection that features sugar as a principal ingredient. The category, also called ''sugar confectionery'', encompasses any sweet confection, including chocolate, chewing gum ...

'' with director Neil Armfield, based on his 1997 novel ''

''. The film stars

Heath Ledger Heath Andrew Ledger (4 April 1979 – 22 January 2008) was an Australian actor. After playing roles in several Australian television and film productions during the 1990s, he moved to the United States in 1998 to further develop his film care ...

and Abbie Cornish as struggling heroin addicts. Davies himself overcame

heroin Heroin, also known as diacetylmorphine and diamorphine among other names, is a morphinan opioid substance synthesized from the Opium, dried latex of the Papaver somniferum, opium poppy; it is mainly used as a recreational drug for its eupho ...

addiction in 1990. Davies' other works include the novels ''Isabelle the Navigator'' and ''God of Speed'', and several volumes of poetry – ''Four Plots for Magnets'', ''Absolute Event Horizon'', ''Running With Light'', ''Totem'' and ''Interferon Psalms'' – as well as the chatbooks ''The Entire History of Architecture ..and other love poems'' (Vagabond Press, 2001) and ''The Feral Aphorisms'' (Vagabond Press, 2011). Davies wrote the screenplays for ''Air'' (a 2009 short film which he also directed), ''

Life Life, also known as biota, refers to matter that has biological processes, such as Cell signaling, signaling and self-sustaining processes. It is defined descriptively by the capacity for homeostasis, Structure#Biological, organisation, met ...

'', ''

'', and the Felix van Groeningen drama '' Beautiful Boy''. He wrote the screenplay for the 2020 film ''

'', adapted from Paulette Jiles' novel, starring

Tom Hanks Thomas Jeffrey Hanks (born July 9, 1956) is an American actor and filmmaker. Known for both his comedic and dramatic roles, he is one of the most popular and recognizable film stars worldwide, and is regarded as an American cultural icon. Ha ...

. Davies is also a film critic for ''

The Monthly ''The Monthly'' is an Australian national magazine of politics, society and the arts, which is published eleven times per year on a monthly basis except the December/January issue. Founded in 2005, it is published by Melbourne property developer ...

'', and occasional book reviewer and essayist for other magazines and newspapers. In 2010, Davies won the John Curtin Prize for Journalism, at the Victorian Premier's Literary Awards, for his essay ''The Penalty Is Death'', about the lives inside prison of Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran, two drug runners on Bali's death row. (They would be executed by firing squad, to great public controversy, in 2015.) His children's book, ''Magpie'', was published by ABC Books in 2010. In May 2017, the ABC Television program '' Australian Story'' profiled Davies' life in a two-part episode.

Awards and nominations

*1995: Turnbull Fox Phillips Poetry Prize Shortlisted for ''Absolute Event Horizon'' *1998: A

Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily tabloid newspaper published in Sydney, Australia, and owned by Nine Entertainment. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper in ...

Young Writer of the Year *2000: Queensland Premier's Literary Awards, Judith Wright Poetry Prize for ''Running With Light'' *2004: The Age Poetry Book of the Year for ''

Totem A totem (from or ''doodem'') is a spirit being, sacred object, or symbol that serves as an emblem of a group of people, such as a family, clan, lineage (anthropology), lineage, or tribe, such as in the Anishinaabe clan system. While the word ...

'' *2004: Overall Age Book of the Year for ''

'' *2004: Grace Leven Prize for Poetry for ''

'' *2004: Philip Hodgins Memorial Medal at the Mildura Writer's Festival *2006: South Australian Premier's Awards, John Bray Poetry Award for ''Totem'' *2006: Awgie Award for Feature Film-Adaptation for

shared with Neil Armfield (Won) *2006: Australian Film Institute Award for Best Screenplay-Adapted for

shared with Neil Armfield (Won) *2010: John Curtin Prize for Journalism at the Victorian Premier's Literary Awards for the essay ''The Penalty Is Death'' *2011: Southern California Journalism Awards for the essay ''The Cisco Kid'' (Finalist) *2012: Prime Minister's Literary Awards Poetry Winner for ''Interferon Psalms'' *2016:

Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Adapted Screenplay The Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Adapted Screenplay is presented by the Critics Choice Association at the annual Critics' Choice Movie Awards. History The categories for screenplays have gone through several changes since their inception ...

for ''

'' (Nominated) *2016: Austin Film Festival Audience Award for Marquee feature for

(Won) *2016: WAFCA Award for Best Adapted Screenplay for

(Nominee) *2016: SLFCA Award for Best Adapted Screenplay for

(Nominee) *2016: SDFCS Award for Best Adapted Screenplay for

(Nominee) *2016: PFCS Award for Best Screenplay Adapted from Other Material for

(Nominee) *2016: Sierra Award for Best Screenplay, Adapted for

(Nominee) *2016: AFCA Award for Best Adapted Screenplay for

(Nominee) *2016: Capri Adapted Screenplay Award for

(Won) *2016: AWFJ EDA Award for Best Adapted Screenplay for ''

'' (Nominated) *2016: Hamilton Behind the Camera Awards for Breakthrough Screenwriter for ''

'' (Won) *2017: Satellite Award for Best Adapted Screenplay for ''

'' (Nominated) *2017: AACTA International Award for Best Screenplay for ''

'' (Nominated) *2017: USC Scripter Award for Best Screenplay for ''

'' (Nominated) *2017: Capri International Film Festival Award for Best Adapted Screenplay for ''

'' (Won) *2017: BAFTA for Best Adapted Screenplay for ''

'' (Won) *2017:

for ''

'' (Nominated) *2017: Online Film & Television Association Film Award for Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium for ''

'' (Nominated) *2017: AACTA Awards for Best Adapted Screenplay for ''

'' (Won) *2017: EDA Awards for Best Writing, Adapted Screenplay for ''

'' (Nominated) *2018:

Film Critics Circle of Australia Awards The Film Critics Circle of Australia (FCCA) is an association of film criticism, cinema critics and film review, reviewers. It includes journalists in "media, television, major national and state papers, radio, national and state, online and fr ...

for Best Screenplay for ''

'' (Nominated) *2018: Asia-Pacific Film Festival Awards for Best Screenplay for ''

'' (Won) *2021: Hawaii Film Critics Society Awards for Best Adapted Screenplay for

shared with Paul Greengrass (Nominated) *2021: National Board Of Review Award for Best Adapted Screenplay for

shared with Paul Greengrass (Won) *2021: Satellite Awards for Best Screenplay, Adapted for

shared with Paul Greengrass (Nominated) *2021: Critics Choice Awards for Best Adapted Screenplay for

shared with Paul Greengrass (Nominated) *2021: AARP Movies for Grownups Awards for Best Screenwriter for

shared with Paul Greengrass (Nominated) *2021: Writers Guild of America Awards for Adapted Screenplay for

shared with Paul Greengrass (Nominated)

Bibliography

Notes

References

''ABC TV Sunday Arts'' 30 July 2006
Accessed: 16 July 2007

Accessed: 16 July 2007
Candy Film Review

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Davies, Luke 1962 births Living people 20th-century Australian male writers 20th-century Australian novelists 20th-century Australian poets 21st-century Australian male writers 21st-century Australian novelists Australian male novelists Australian male poets Best Adapted Screenplay BAFTA Award winners The Monthly people Writers from Sydney