Paul Mitchell (born 1968) is an author of five books in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

Reception

His most recent book is the novel, '' We. Are. Family.'', dealing with the generational effect of family violence. ''

The Australian ''The Australian'', with its Saturday edition ''The Weekend Australian'', is a broadsheet daily newspaper published by News Corp Australia since 14 July 1964. As the only Australian daily newspaper distributed nationally, its readership of b ...

'' said the novel "asks us if it is possible to escape the subjectivity of our pasts, or do the male voices in our heads sentence us to a lifetime of judgment by their standards? Ultimately, ''We. Are. Family.'' might be read as a tale of redemption and hope.” and ''

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 ...

'' said "Mitchell is a terse and observant writer, as alive to the particulars of Aussie idiom and experience as Tim Winton, but less showy . . . It’s hard to write about the thwarts and flaws of conventional masculinity without coming across as either too harsh or too sentimental. Mitchell succeeds in doing so." Mitchell's 2014 poetry collection, ''Standard Variation'' ( Walleah Press) gained a short-listing for the 2016

Adelaide Writers' Week Adelaide Writers' Week, known locally as Writers' Week or WW, is a large and mostly free literary festival held annually in Adelaide, the capital of South Australia. It forms part of the Adelaide Festival of Arts, where attendees meet, listen, an ...

John Bray Poetry Award,, while his debut collection, ''Minorphysics'' (IP 2003), won the IP PIcks Award for an Unpublished Australian Poetry manuscript. Mitchell has appeared at the Melbourne Writers Festival, Australian Short Story Festival and others, and he has won national awards for his short fiction. His poetry, essays and stories have been published in newspapers, magazines and journals including ''

'', ''The Sunday Age'', ''Best Australian Stories'' and ''Poems'', ''Meanjin'', ''Griffith Review'', ''Overland'', ''ABC Religion and Ethics'' and ''The Big Issue''. Mitchell's 2015 play ''Ragdoll'' was a work of fiction that drew upon two Australian cases of patricide: Arthur Freeman throwing his child Darcy from Melbourne's Westgate Bridge, and

Robert Farquharson Robert Donald William Farquharson (born 1969) is an Australian man convicted of murdering his three sons on 4 September 2005, by deliberately driving his car into a farm dam. Farquharson was convicted in an earlier trial and was sentenced to ...

driving his three children into a dam near Winchelsea. The play, performed by Silas Aiton and directed by Debra Low, was staged at Melbourne's La Mama Theatre as part of the 2015 Melbourne Writer's Theatre/Hoi Polloy production of one-act plays called

DarkLight Dark Light or Darklight may refer to: Literature * Dark Light (novel), ''Dark Light'' (novel), a 2002 novel by Ken MacLeod * ''Dark Light'', a 2008 novel by Jayne Castle * ''Darklight'', a follow-up novel to ''Wondrous Strange'' by Lesley Livingst ...

Helen Garner Helen Garner (née Ford, born 7 November 1942) is an Australian novelist, short-story writer, screenwriter and journalist. Garner's debut novel, first novel, ''Monkey Grip (novel), Monkey Grip'', published in 1977, immediately established her ...

said of this work that it was "a challenging psychological and emotional exploration . . . a contribution to a desperately needed national conversation

hat A hat is a Headgear, head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorpor ...

will deepen and enrich it in very significant ways.”

Bibliography

Fiction

*''Dodging the Bull'' (short fiction), Wakefield Press, 2007 * ''We. Are. Family.'' (novel), MidnightSun Publishing, 2016

Poetry

*''Minorphysics'', Interactive Productions, 2003 *''Awake Despite the Hour'' (poetry), Five Islands Press, 2007 * ''Standard Variation'' (poetry), Walleah Press, 2014

Performance works

* ''Sleepless in Braybrook'' (writer, performer) — Yarraville Festival 2002 * ''Get the Word'' (writer, performer, with Bill Buttler) — Melbourne University Festival 2005; Gasworks Theatre * ''Elemental'' (writer and performer) — Melbourne Festival 2009 * ''Being a Wheel Family'' (writer, performer) —

Melbourne Fringe Festival The Melbourne Fringe Festival is an annual independent arts festival in Melbourne, Australia, usually over three weeks from late September to early October. Held since 1982, the Festival includes a wide variety of art forms, including theatre, co ...

2013 * ''Ragdoll'' (writer; performed by Silas Aiton, directed by Debra Low) — La Mama Theatre 2015

References

External links

Interview with Paul Mitchell ''Good Reading'' magazine

A review of We. Are. Family. in ''Rochford Street Review''

A review of ''We. Are. Family.'' in ''The War Cry'' magazine
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mitchell, Paul Australian male novelists Living people 1968 births