Melissa Ashley

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Melissa Ashley (born 1973) is an Australian novelist. In the 2017 Queensland Literary Awards, her novel The Birdman's Wife won the University of Queensland Fiction Book Award. [1] It also received the Australian Booksellers Association Nielsen BookData 2017 Booksellers Choice Award. [2]

Contents

Biography

Ashley was born 1973 in Christchurch, New Zealand [3] and arrived in Australia aged eight. Ashley has two children and is a self-confessed committed "twitcher". [4]

Ashley's interest in birds motivated her 2016 historical novel The Birdman's Wife, about Elizabeth Gould who illustrated and drew specimens of birds for her husband John Gould's various books on birds. [4] Ashley wrote the novel as part of her PhD whilst studying at the University of Queensland. [5]

The Bee and the Orange Tree was shortlisted for the 2020 Davitt Award for best debut crime book. [6]

At the 2022 Queensland Literary Awards, Ashley was awarded a Queensland Writers Fellowship valued at $15,000. [7]

Works

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References

  1. "Winners and finalists". Queensland Literary Awards . 2017. Archived from the original on 9 October 2017. Retrieved 9 October 2017.
  2. "The Nielsen BookData 2017 Booksellers' Choice Award". Australian Booksellers. Retrieved 6 December 2017.
  3. "Melissa Ashley". AustLit: Discover Australian Stories. Retrieved 8 September 2022.
  4. 1 2 Baum, Caroline (14 October 2016). "The Birdman's Wife by Melissa Ashley: Elizabeth Gould's forgotten talent". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 9 October 2017.
  5. "UQ graduate brings trailblazing woman out of shadows". UQ News. University Of Queensland. 10 February 2017. Retrieved 9 October 2017.
  6. "Davitt Awards 2020 shortlists announced". Books+Publishing. 17 July 2020. Retrieved 19 July 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  7. "Queensland Literary Awards winners for 2022". Queensland Government. 8 September 2022. Retrieved 8 September 2022.