Tony Birch (born 1957) is an

Aboriginal Australian Aboriginal Australians are the various indigenous peoples of the Australian mainland and many of its islands, excluding the ethnically distinct people of the Torres Strait Islands. Humans first migrated to Australia 50,000 to 65,000 year ...

author, academic and activist. He regularly appears on

ABC local radio ABC Local Radio is a network of publicly owned radio stations in Australia, operated by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. ABC Local Radio stations broadcast across the continent using terrestrial transmitters and satellites. Its programm ...

and

Radio National ABC Radio National, more commonly known as Radio National or simply RN, is an Australian nationwide public service radio network run by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). From 1947 until 1985, the network was known as ABC Radio 2. ...

shows and at writers’ festivals. He was head of the honours programme for creative writing at the

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne (colloquially known as Melbourne University) is a public university, public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in the state ...

before becoming the first recipient of the Dr Bruce McGuinness Indigenous Research Fellowship at

Victoria University Victoria University may refer to: * Victoria University (Australia), a public research university in Melbourne, Australia * Victoria University, Toronto, a constituent college of the federal University of Toronto in Canada * Victoria University of ...

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 ...

in June 2015. In 2017, he became the first Indigenous writer to win the

Patrick White Award The Patrick White Award is an annual literary prize established by Patrick White. White used his 1973 Nobel Prize in Literature award to establish a trust for this prize. The $25,000 cash award is given to a writer who has been highly creative o ...

. His 2019 novel ''The White Girl'' won the 2020 Indigenous Writers' Prize in 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 ...

Background, early life and education

Birch's maternal great-grandfather was an

Afghan Afghan or Afgan may refer to: Related to Afghanistan *Afghans, historically refers to the Pashtun people. It is both an ethnicity and nationality. Ethnicity wise, it refers to the Pashtuns. In modern terms, it means both the citizens of Afghanist ...

who migrated to Australia in 1890, who had to get exemption from the ''

Immigration Restriction Act 1901 The ''Immigration Restriction Act 1901'' (Cth) was an Act of the Parliament of Australia which limited immigration to Australia and formed the basis of the White Australia policy which sought to exclude all non-Europeans from Australia. The l ...

'' to take his wife home to meet the family. He also has Barbadian convict (James "Prince" Moodie, transported to

Tasmania Tasmania (; palawa kani: ''Lutruwita'') is an island States and territories of Australia, state of Australia. It is located to the south of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland, and is separated from it by the Bass Strait. The sta ...

for 14 years for "disobedience") and Aboriginal heritage. Birch was born around 1957 and has grown up around Fitzroy, a working-class suburb of Melbourne once considered a slum. After being expelled from school for the second time, he left school aged 15 and became a

telegram boy In many English-speaking countries, a telegram delivery boy, telegraph boy or telegram boy was a young man employed to deliver telegrams, usually on bicycle. In the United Kingdom, these messengers were employed by the General Post Office; in the ...

on a bicycle.

Career

After spending a decade as a

firefighter A firefighter (or fire fighter or fireman) is a first responder trained in specific emergency response such as firefighting, primarily to control and extinguish fires and respond to emergencies such as hazardous material incidents, medical in ...

, Birch attended the University of Melbourne as a

mature student An adult learner—or, more commonly, a mature student or mature-age student—is a person who is older and is involved in forms of learning. Adult learners fall in a specific criterion of being experienced, and do not always have a high school di ...

when he was 30 years old. He was the first Aboriginal student to graduate with a degree in History from the University of Melbourne, and the first to receive an MA in Creative Writing. He taught Aboriginal history for several years before switching to Creative Writing. In 2003 he was awarded the Chancellor's Medal for the best

PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

in Arts. During this period, Birch also worked as the Senior Indigenous Curator for Southeastern Australia at Museum Victoria. Birch has appeared on ABC radio on shows such as '' Conversations with Richard Fidler'', ''

Life Matters ''Life Matters'' is a magazine-style radio program that has been broadcast on Radio National by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation since 1992. The first presenter was Geraldine Doogue, and the program is presented Monday to Thursday by Te ...

'' and RN Afternoons. In 2015 he became the first recipient of the Dr Bruce McGuinness Indigenous Research Fellowship at Victoria University in Melbourne. His work involves academic research, creative writing projects, student mentoring, lecturing and community engagement. In 2019 he published '' The White Girl''. Birch was appointed to the Boisbouvier Chair in Australian Literature at the University of Melbourne in December 2022.

Activism

Birch is active in a variety of political and social movements, including climate justice,

climate change Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in Global surface temperature, global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth's climate system. Climate variability and change, Climate change in ...

, refugee-related issues and Indigenous issues. His novels integrate themes affecting Indigenous people, such as colonial oppression, dispossession, the

Stolen Generations The Stolen Generations (also known as Stolen Children) were the children of Aboriginal Australians, Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders, Torres Strait Islander descent who were removed from their families by the Australian Gover ...

, and generational violence. He donates a portion of any prize money to the Indigenous youth organisation dedicated to

climate justice Climate justice is a type of environmental justice that focuses on the unequal impacts of climate change on marginalized or otherwise vulnerable populations. Climate justice seeks to achieve an equitable distribution of both the burdens of clima ...

Seed In botany, a seed is a plant structure containing an embryo and stored nutrients in a protective coat called a ''testa''. More generally, the term "seed" means anything that can be Sowing, sown, which may include seed and husk or tuber. Seeds ...

Bibliography

Novels

* * * *

Short story collections

* * * * *

Poetry

* *

Anthologies

Selected book reviews

Awards and honours

Literary

* ''Shadowboxing'', shortlisted

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 ...

— Arts Queensland Steele Rudd Award 2006 * ''Shadowboxing'', commended,

Kate Challis RAKA Award The Kate Challis RAKA Award is an arts award worth , awarded annually by the University of Melbourne in Victoria, Australia to Indigenous Australian creative artists. It is awarded in a five-year cycle, each year in a different area of the arts: c ...

2011 * ''Blood'', highly commended

FAW Christina Stead Award The Fellowship of Australian Writers (FAW) is a collection or federation of state-based organizations aiming to support and promote the interests of Australian writers. It was established in Sydney in 1928, with the aim of bringing writers togethe ...

2011 * ''Blood'', finalist

Melbourne Prize for Literature The Melbourne Prize Trust is a charitable foundation in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It was founded in 2004 by Simon H. Warrender for the specific purpose of awarding three arts awards on a rotating three-year basis: the Melbourne Prize for Ur ...

— Best Writing Award 2012 * ''Blood'', winner

— Civic Choice Award 2012 * ''Blood'', shortlisted

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 ...

2012 * ''The Promise: Stories'', 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 ...

— Steele Rudd Award 2014 * ''The Promise: Stories'', shortlisted

Victorian Premier's Literary Award for Indigenous Writing The Victorian Premier's Prize for Indigenous Writing is a prize category in the annual Victorian Premier's Literary Award. The award commenced in 2004 and in 2012 the prize was valued at A$20,000. The winner of this category prize competes with th ...

2014 * ''Ghost River'', longlisted

2016 * ''Ghost River'', winner

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 ...

— Prize for Indigenous Writing 2017 *''Common People'', shortlisted

— Prize for Indigenous Writing 2019 *'' The White Girl'', shortlisted,

2020 *''The White Girl'', winner,

Indigenous Writers' Prize 2020 *''Dark as Last Night'', winner,

Christina Stead Prize for Fiction 2022 *''Dark as Last Night,'' shortlisted,

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 ...

for Fiction 2022 *''Dark as Last Night,'' winner,

— Steele Rudd Award 2022

Other honours

* First recipient of the Dr Bruce McGuinness Indigenous Research Fellowship at

Victoria University, Melbourne Victoria University (VU or Vic Uni) is an Australian public university, public research university based in Melbourne, Victoria. It is a dual-sector university, providing courses in both higher education and technical and further education (TAFE) ...

, June 2015 *

2017 (first Indigenous writer to receive the award) * Elected a

Royal Society of Literature The Royal Society of Literature (RSL) is a learned society founded in 1820 by King George IV to "reward literary merit and excite literary talent". A charity that represents the voice of literature in the UK, the RSL has about 800 Fellows, elect ...

International Writer in 2023 * Elected Fellow of the

Australian Academy of the Humanities The Australian Academy of the Humanities was established by Royal Charter in 1969 to advance scholarship and public interest in the humanities in Australia. It operates as an independent not-for-profit organisation partly funded by the Australi ...

in 2024

References

External links

Sovereign Storytelling: Tony Birch on inspiration, and the power of telling your own story

State Library of Queensland State Library of Queensland (State Library) is the state public reference and research library of Queensland, Australia, operated by the Government of Queensland, state government. The Library is governed by the Library Board of Queensland, whi ...

blog {{DEFAULTSORT:Birch, Tony 1957 births 21st-century Australian novelists Australian Book Review people Australian firefighters Australian people of Afghan descent Australian people of Barbadian descent Australian people of Irish descent Australian people of Punjabi descent Australian poets Indigenous Australian writers Living people People from Fitzroy, Victoria Urban historians Writers from Melbourne Patrick White Award winners Fellows of the Australian Academy of the Humanities