Ryan O'Neill (born 1975) is an Australian writer of fiction and academic. He is especially known for '' Their Brilliant Careers: The Fantastic Lives of Sixteen Extraordinary Australian Writers'', which won the

Prime Minister's Literary Award The Australian Prime Minister's Literary Awards (PMLA) were announced at the end of 2007 by the incoming First Rudd ministry following the 2007 Australian federal election, 2007 election. They are administered by the Minister for the Arts (Aust ...

in 2017.

Early years and education

Ryan O'Neill was born in

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

, Scotland, in 1975, and spent the first 25 years of his life in

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

. He received a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) from the

University of Strathclyde The University of Strathclyde () is a public research university located in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded in 1796 as the Andersonian Institute, it is Glasgow's second-oldest university, having received its royal charter in 1964 as the first techn ...

in Scotland, and Master of Science (Accounting) from the

University of Bristol The University of Bristol is a public university, public research university in Bristol, England. It received its royal charter in 1909, although it can trace its roots to a Merchant Venturers' school founded in 1595 and University College, Br ...

in England. He undertook a Certificate in English Language Teaching to Adults through International House in

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 ...

, Australia, and later earned his PhD at the University of Newcastle in

Newcastle, New South Wales Newcastle, also commonly referred to as Greater Newcastle ( ; ), is a large Metropolitan area, metropolitan area and the second-most-populous such area of New South Wales, Australia. It includes the cities of City of Newcastle, Newcastle and Ci ...

Career

O'Neill first worked as an English language teacher in Lithuania, China, and Rwanda, and later settled in Newcastle.

Writing

O'Neill became known for writing

short stories A short story is a piece of prose fiction. It can typically be read in a single sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the old ...

. "An Australian Short Story", first published online in issue 14 of '' The Lifted Brow'' in October 2012, is compiled entirely of lines from 149 other stories by Australian authors and poets published between 1850 and 2011. His debut collection of stories was ''The Weight of a Human Heart'', published in 2012. Several of his stories make reference to Africa, in particular the

Rwandan genocide The Rwandan genocide, also known as the genocide against the Tutsi, occurred from 7 April to 19 July 1994 during the Rwandan Civil War. Over a span of around 100 days, members of the Tutsi ethnic group, as well as some moderate Hutu and Gre ...

of the mid-1990s. In 2016 he published a novel based on interconnected fictional biographies of invented Australian writers, titled '' Their Brilliant Careers: The Fantastic Lives of Sixteen Extraordinary Australian Writers''. In it, O'Neill adopts the playful works of the French literary group

Oulipo Oulipo (, short for ; roughly translated as "workshop of potential literature", stylized ''OuLiPo'') is a loose gathering of (mainly) French-speaking writers and mathematicians who seek to create works using constrained writing techniques. It wa ...

(''Ouvroir de Littérature Potentielle''), specifically

Georges Perec Georges Perec (; 7 March 1936 – 3 March 1982) was a French novelist, filmmaker, documentalist, and essayist. He was a member of the Oulipo group. His father died as a soldier early in the Second World War and his mother was killed in the Ho ...

, as his model. The novel satirises various aspects of Australian literature over the past 150 years, and went on to win the 2017

for Fiction. '' The Drover's Wives'' (2018) comprises 99 reinterpretations of the 1892 short story " The Drover's Wife" by Australian author

Henry Lawson Henry Archibald Hertzberg Lawson (17 June 1867 – 2 September 1922) was an Australian writer and bush poet. Along with his contemporary Banjo Paterson, Lawson is among the best-known Australian poets and fiction writers of the colonial period ...

. O'Neill dedicated the book to both Lawson and French novelist

Raymond Queneau Raymond Auguste Queneau (; ; 21 February 1903 – 25 October 1976) was a French novelist, poet, critic, editor and co-founder and president of Oulipo (), notable for his wit and cynical humour. Biography Queneau, the only child of Auguste Que ...

, who was a co-founder of Oulipo in 1960. His fiction has also been published in ''The Best Australian Stories'', ''The Sleepers Almanac'', ''

Meanjin ''Meanjin'' (), formerly ''Meanjin Papers'' and ''Meanjin Quarterly'', is one of Australia's longest-running literary magazines. Established in 1940 in Brisbane, it moved to Melbourne in 1945 and as of 2008 is an editorially independent impri ...

'', ''New Australian Stories'', ''

Wet Ink ''Wet Ink'' magazine was an Australian magazine devoted to publishing new Australian writing, with an emphasis on new and emerging writers. Published quarterly, it featured fiction, poetry and creative non-fiction, plus an interview with a writer ...

'', ''Etchings'' and '' Westerly''.

Academia

O'Neill is the Newstep Academic Literacies coordinator at the Callaghan campus of the University of Newcastle, working as an associate professor in the Department of Education and Innovation.

Recognition and awards

In 2010, writer Alec Patric called Ryan "the most prominent exponent of experimental short fiction in the country". His work has been widely published, and has won the

Hal Porter Harold Edward "Hal" Porter (16 February 1911 – 29 September 1984) was an Australian novelist, playwright, poet, and short story writer. He is known for his 1963 memoir, ''The Watcher on the Cast Iron Balcony''. The Hal Porter Short Story Comp ...

award 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 ...

'' Short-Story Prize. Other awards include: * 2006: Shortlisted,

Steele Rudd Award The Queensland Premier's Literary Awards were an Australian suite of literary awards inaugurated in 1999 and disestablished in 2012. It was one of the most generous suites of literary awards within Australia, with $225,000 in prize money across ...

in the

Queensland Premier's Literary Awards The Queensland Premier's Literary Awards were an Australian suite of literary awards inaugurated in 1999 and disestablished in 2012. It was one of the most generous suites of literary awards within Australia, with $225,000 in prize money across ...

, for ''A Famine in Newcastle'' * 2007: Winner, Roland Robinson Literary Award, for "A Speeding Bullet" * 2013: Recipient of

Australia Council 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 ...

Grants, Awards and Fellowships, New Work – Emerging Writers Fiction * 2017: ''Their Brilliant Careers: The Fantastic Lives of Sixteen Extraordinary Australian Writers'' **Winner,

**Shortlisted,

Miles Franklin Literary 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 of Miles Franklin (1879–195 ...

**Shortlisted,

Christina Stead Prize for Fiction 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 ...

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 ...

* 2019: ''The Drover's Wives'' ** Shortlisted, Russell Prize for Humour Writing ** Shortlisted,

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 ...

Selected works

* ''A Famine in Newcastle'' (2006) * ''The Weight of a Human Heart'' (2012) * '' Their Brilliant Careers: The Fantastic Lives of Sixteen Extraordinary Australian Writers'' (2016) * '' The Drover's Wives'' (2018)

Personal life

O'Neill is married and has two daughters.

References

External links

Ryan O'Neill
on

Austlit AustLit: The Australian Literature Resource (also known as AustLit: Australian Literature Gateway; and AustLit: The Resource for Australian Literature) is a national bio-bibliographical database of Australian literature. It is an internet-based, ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:ONeill, Ryan 21st-century Australian short story writers Academic staff of the University of Newcastle (Australia) University of Newcastle (Australia) alumni Living people 1975 births Australian writers 21st-century Australian writers