Christos Tsiolkas

Last updated

Christos Tsiolkas
Born
Education University of Melbourne
Occupation(s)Author, playwright, screenwriter

Christos Tsiolkas is an Australian author, playwright, and screenwriter. He is especially known for The Slap , which was both well-received critically and highly successful commercially. Several of his books have been adapted for film and television.

Contents

Early life

Tsiolkas was born and raised in Melbourne with his Greek immigrant parents, [1] and was educated at Blackburn High School. Tsiolkas completed his Arts Degree at the University of Melbourne in 1987. [2]

He edited the student newspaper Farrago in 1987.[ citation needed ]

Career

Tsiolkas' first novel, Loaded (1995), about an alienated gay youth in Melbourne, was adapted as the feature film Head On (1998) by director Ana Kokkinos, starring Alex Dimitriades. [3]

His fourth novel, The Slap , was published in 2008, and won several awards [4] [5] as well as being longlisted for the Man Booker Prize and shortlisted for the Miles Franklin Literary Award. It was also highly successful commercially; it was the fourth-highest selling book by an Australian author in 2009. [6]

Awards

Personal life

Tsiolkas is a Richmond Football Club supporter [11] and openly Greek. [12]

Books

Theatre

Screenplays

Film and TV adaptations

• Loaded was first published in 1995 and was adapted into the 1998 film Head On, starring Alex Dimitriades.

Footnotes

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alex Dimitriades</span> Australian actor (born 1973)

Alex Dimitriades is an Australian actor and DJ. He is perhaps best known for his roles as Nick Polides in the 1993 romantic comedy film The Heartbreak Kid and as Nick Poulos in the 1994 television teen drama spin-off Heartbreak High.

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 (1879–1954), who is best known for writing the Australian classic My Brilliant Career (1901). She bequeathed her estate to fund this award. As of 2016, the award is valued at A$60,000.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Australian literature</span> Literature by Australian writers

Australian literature is the written or literary work produced in the area or by the people of the Commonwealth of Australia and its preceding colonies. During its early Western history, Australia was a collection of British colonies; as such, its recognised literary tradition begins with and is linked to the broader tradition of English literature. However, the narrative art of Australian writers has, since 1788, introduced the character of a new continent into literature—exploring such themes as Aboriginality, mateship, egalitarianism, democracy, national identity, migration, Australia's unique location and geography, the complexities of urban living, and "the beauty and the terror" of life in the Australian bush.

<i>Head On</i> (1998 film) 1998 Australian film

Head On is a 1998 Australian LGBT-related drama film directed by Ana Kokkinos, who wrote the screenplay with Andrew Bovell and Mira Robertson. The film is based on the 1995 novel Loaded by Christos Tsiolkas. The film stars Alex Dimitriades, Paul Capsis, Julian Garner and Tony Nikolakopoulos. The film tells the story of Ari, a dissolute 19-year-old gay Greek-Australian drug addict living in St Kilda, Victoria. The film gained notoriety upon its release for its sexual explicitness, including a graphic masturbation scene performed by Dimitriades and numerous sex scenes. The film received mixed reviews from critics, with positive reviewers praising its stark realism, the lead performance by Dimitriades and the uncompromising subject matter.

Ana Kokkinos is an Australian film and television director and screenwriter of Greek descent. She is known for her breakthrough feature film Head On (1998), and has directed television shows such as The Secret Life of Us, The Time of Our Lives and Ten Pound Poms.

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 14 categories with prizes up to $25,000 in some categories. The awards upon their establishment incorporated a number of pre-existing awards including the Steele Rudd Award for the best Australian collection of new short fiction and the David Unaipon Award for unpublished Indigenous writing.

The Australian Literature Society Gold Medal is awarded annually by the Association for the Study of Australian Literature for "an outstanding literary work in the preceding calendar year." From 1928 to 1974 it was awarded by the Australian Literature Society, then from 1983 by the Association for the Study of Australian Literature, when the two organisations were merged.

<i>The Slap</i> (novel) 2008 novel by Australian author Christos Tsiolkas

The Slap is a 2008 novel by Australian author Christos Tsiolkas. The narrative is presented through the viewpoints of eight individual characters, and focuses on their reactions after a man controversially reprimands his friend's son by slapping him during a social gathering. The novel won the Commonwealth Writer's Prize in 2009, and was adapted into two miniseries, in Australia and the United States.

Andrew Bovell is an Australian writer for theatre, film and television.

<i>Blessed</i> (2009 film) 2009 Australian film

Blessed is a 2009 Australian drama film directed by Ana Kokkinos and starring Miranda Otto and Frances O'Connor. It was released in Australia on 10 September 2009. It is a film adaptation of the play Who's Afraid of the Working Class?

Emily Ballou is an Australian-American poet, novelist and screenwriter. Her poetry collection The Darwin Poems, a verse portrait of Charles Darwin, was published by University of Western Australia Press in 2009. It was written as part of an Australia Council for the Arts residency at the Tyrone Guthrie Centre in County Monaghan, Ireland.

<i>The Slap</i> (Australian TV series) 2011 Australian TV drama series

The Slap is an Australian television drama series. It was first broadcast on ABC1 from 6 October to 24 November 2011. The series is based on The Slap, a 2008 novel by Australian author Christos Tsiolkas, which explores what happens when a man slaps a child, who is not related to him, at a suburban barbecue.

Patricia Cornelius is an Australian playwright and co-founder of Melbourne Workers Theatre.

Angela Savage is an Australian author.

Loaded is the first novel by Australian writer Christos Tsiolkas. It was first published in 1995, and was adapted into the 1998 film Head On.

Barracuda is an Australian drama miniseries, first broadcast on ABC TV starting 10 July 2016. The series is based on Barracuda, the 2013 novel by Australian author Christos Tsiolkas, which explores a brutal clash of cultures, dreams and expectations and the relentless demands that are placed upon young athletes, their families, friends, schools and coaches.

The AWGIE Award for Stage is awarded by the Australian Writers' Guild at the annual AWGIE Awards for Australian performance writing. The award is for the playscript. To be eligible, the play must have had its first professional production in the previous year.

<i>Dead Europe</i> (novel) 2005 novel by Christos Tsiolkas

Dead Europe is a 2005 magical realist, Gothic novel written by Australian LGBT author Christos Tsiolkas. It is his third novel and was published by Vintage Random House.

Aaron Wilson is an Australian filmmaker, known for the 2013 suspense war drama Canopy and the 2021 period drama Little Tornadoes.

Bryony Marks is an Australian composer of film scores and theatre music, for which she has won several awards and been nominated for many others. Among her television credits are Please Like Me and Barracuda, and films include Berlin Syndrome and 2040. She has also composed the music for many of the films directed by her husband, Matthew Saville.

References

  1. Tsiolkas, Christos (9 July 2010). "Christos Tsiolkas: My Greek grandma". The Guardian. Retrieved 27 May 2022.
  2. Austlit. "Christos Tsiolkas". Austlit . Retrieved 7 July 2020.
  3. Head On at the National Film and Sound Archive colsearch.nfsa.afc.gov.au. Retrieved 22 July 2007.
  4. 1 2 "2009 Overall Winners". Commonwealth Foundation. 2009. Archived from the original on 27 May 2009. Retrieved 27 May 2022.
  5. 1 2 "The Slap' wins booksellers' choice award". Boomerang Books. 2009. Archived from the original on 26 June 2009. Retrieved 27 May 2022.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Christos Tsiolkas: The Utopian Vision By Jessica Gildersleeve". Cambria Press Official Website. Retrieved 27 May 2022.
  7. 1 2 "Chris Tsiolkas". Smart Artists. Archived from the original on 16 July 2007. Retrieved 27 May 2022.
  8. "Winners & Shortlist: 2009 Premier's Literary Awards". State Library of Victoria. Archived from the original on 5 May 2010. Retrieved 27 May 2022.
  9. "Victorian Premier's Literary Awards 2020". The Wheeler Centre. Archived from the original on 4 March 2020. Retrieved 31 January 2020.
  10. Burke, Kelly (10 November 2021). "Christos Tsiolkas wins $60,000 Melbourne prize for literature". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 10 November 2021. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  11. 1998 Telstra Adelaide Festival Archived 13 April 2005 at the Wayback Machine www.adelaidefestival.com.au. Retrieved 22 July 2007.
  12. Watts, Richard (3 July 2005), "A fortunate son", The Age, retrieved 19 August 2007
  13. Christos Tsiolkas: the utopian vision. Cambria Press. 8 January 2018. ISBN   9781604979787 . Retrieved 27 May 2022.{{cite book}}: |website= ignored (help)
  14. Saturn's Return at IMDb OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
  15. "Aaron Wilson: Chasing Little Tornadoes". FilmInk. 30 April 2022. Retrieved 27 May 2022.
  16. "Little Tornadoes trailer and release date sweeps in". Cinema Australia. 24 January 2022. Retrieved 27 May 2022.
  17. "Who's Afraid of the Working Class now Blessed film". BigPond Movies. Archived from the original on 15 September 2009. Retrieved 27 May 2022.
  18. Rigg, Julie (15 November 2012). "Dead Europe". ABC Radio National. Retrieved 27 May 2022.
  19. Neutze, Ben (5 July 2016). "Barracuda review (ABC TV): Christos Tsiolkas pulls sport and contemporary Australia into sharp focus". Daily Review. Retrieved 27 May 2022.
External videos
Nuvola apps kaboodle.svg One Plus One: Christos Tsiolkas, One Plus One, ABC News