Tracy Sorensen (17 October 1963 – 5 May 2025) was an Australian novelist, filmmaker and academic.

Career

Sorensen was a tutor and lecturer at

Charles Sturt University Charles Sturt University is an Australian multi-campus public university located in New South Wales, Australian Capital Territory and Victoria, Australia, Victoria. Established in 1989, it was named in honour of Captain (British Army and Royal ...

and published five academic papers. In February 2018, her debut novel '' The Lucky Galah'' was published through

Pan MacMillan Pan Books is a British publishing imprint that first became active in the 1940s and is now part of the British-based Macmillan Publishers, owned by the Georg von Holtzbrinck Publishing Group of Germany. History Pan Books began as an indepe ...

. It was shortlisted and longlisted in multiple awards (see below). It is narrated by a flightless pet

galah The galah (; ''Eolophus roseicapilla''), less commonly known as the pink and grey cockatoo or rose-breasted cockatoo, is an Australian species of cockatoo and the only member of the genus ''Eolophus''. The galah is adapted to a wide variety of m ...

observing characters from a family's back verandah in a small Western Australian town. In August 2019, Sorensen was awarded the Judy Harris Writer in Residence Fellowship 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 ...

Charles Perkins Centre The Charles Perkins Centre (CPC) is an Australian medical research institute, clinic and education hub that primarily focuses on diabetes, cardiovascular disease and obesity, as well as other related conditions. The centre is affiliated with the ...

. In July 2023, Sorensen's second book ''The Vitals'' was published through Pan MacMillan. It deals with her experience of cancer in 2014 from the point of view of her affected abdominal organs.

Personal life

Sorensen was born on 17 October 1963. She grew up in Carnarvon on the north coast of Western Australia, and lived in Bathurst from 2003. In 2013 she was diagnosed with

peritoneal cancer Primary peritoneal cancer or carcinoma is also known as serous surface papillary carcinoma, primary peritoneal carcinoma, extra-ovarian serous carcinoma, primary serous papillary carcinoma, and psammomacarcinoma. It was historically classified und ...

, spurring her into writing two novels. After treatment the cancer went into remission, but returned 8 1/2 years later. She graduated with a PhD in 2024 from

School of Communication and Creative Industries, with her research focused on the role of handicrafts such as crochet in climate change communication. Sorenson died on 5 May 2025, at the age of 61.

Bibliography

Novels

*'' The Lucky Galah'' (

, 2018) *''The Vitals'' (Pan MacMillan, 2023)

Awards

''The Lucky Galah''

* The UTS Glenda Adams Award for New Writing ( 2019 NSW Premier's Literary Awards) — Shortlisted * The Readings Prize for New Australian Fiction (2018) — Shortlisted * The Indie Book Award for Debut Fiction (2019) — Longlisted *

Russell Prize The Russell Prize (Russell Prize for Humour Writing) is an Australian literary prize awarded every second year by the State Library of New South Wales The State Library of New South Wales, part of which is known as the Mitchell Library, is a ...

(2019) — 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 ...

(2019) — Longlisted

References

External links

Sorensen's blog ''The Squawkin Galah''
1963 births 2025 deaths 21st-century Australian novelists 21st-century Australian women writers Australian women novelists Writers from Western Australia Academic staff of Charles Sturt University {{Australia-writer-stub