Mirandi Riwoe Mirandi Riwoe i(A129285 works by)
Also writes as: M.J. Tjia
Gender: Female
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BiographyHistory

Mirandi Riwoe holds a Masters degree and a PhD in Creative Writing and Literary Studies (both from Queensland University of Technology), and has tutored in literary studies and creative writing at QUT. In 2017, she was planning work that focused on Australian women and Chinese migrant gold diggers during the Australian gold rush period.

Her work has appeared in Rex, Peril, Shibboleth, and Other Stories. Her debut novel, an historical crime novel set in Victorian London that formed part of her PhD, was published in 2017, and has since been followed by a number of sequels involving the same sleuth. Her 2017 novella, The Fish Girl, was shortlisted for the Stella Prize.

Most Referenced Works

Personal Awards

2022 recipient Cultural Fund Fellowships Author Fellowship for 'A Short History of Longans'.
2020 shortlisted Peter Carey Short Story Award for 'What Would Kim Do'.
2020 recipient Australia Council Grants, Awards and Fellowships Literature Arts Projects for Individuals and Groups     $48,000 

Awards for Works

y separately published work icon Sunbirds St Lucia : University of Queensland Press , 2023 26234016 2023 single work novel historical fiction

'1941, West Java. Love and revolution are in the air. And war is on its way.

'Shortly before the Japanese invade, the van Hoorn family throws their famous Sinterklaas party at their tea plantation. One of their guests, Mattijs, a Dutch pilot, hopes to forge a future in the Dutch East Indies, possibly with the family's daughter, Anna, but she is torn between her dreams of Holland and her desire to belong.

'Meanwhile the housekeeper, Diah, keenly observes the goings-on around the plantation, wondering how much to tell her freedom-fighter brother. When the Japanese forces finally arrive on Java's doorstep, they all have to make decisions that will affect the rest of their lives.

'Sunbirds depicts the intricate web of identities and loyalties created by war and imperialism, and the heartbreaking compromises that so often ensue.'(Publication summary)

2024 shortlisted Barbara Jefferis Award
y separately published work icon The Burnished Sun St Lucia : University of Queensland Press , 2022 23603525 2022 selected work short story

'This stunning story collection includes two prize-winning novellas along with an impressive range of historical and contemporary stories, all written by characters who yearn to belong and find acceptance.

'From the award-winning author of Stone Sky Gold Mountain come these superbly crafted stories that explore the inner lives of those who are often ignored or misunderstood.

'We follow a migrant mother who yearns to feel welcomed at a kids' party in a local park; a young skateboarder caught between showing loyalty and being accepted; and an Indonesian maid working far from home who longs for the son she's left behind. Bookending this collection are two stunning novellas: Annah the Javanese re-imagines the world of one of Paul Gauguin's models in nineteenth-century Paris, while the highly acclaimed The Fish Girl reworks a classic W Somerset Maugham story from the perspective of a young Indonesian woman.

'With rich emotional insight and a light touch, these wide-ranging stories reveal hidden desires and human fragility.' (Publication summary)

2022 shortlisted Queensland Literary Awards Queensland Premier's Award for a Work of State Significance
2022 shortlisted Queensland Literary Awards University of Southern Queensland Australian Short Story Collection – Steele Rudd Award
2022 winner UQP Quentin Bryce Award
y separately published work icon Stone Sky Gold Mountain St Lucia : University of Queensland Press , 2020 18132113 2020 single work novel

'Tragic family circumstances force siblings Ying and Lai Yue to flee their home in China to seek their fortunes in North Queensland. Life on the gold fields is hard, and they soon abandon the diggings and head to nearby Maytown. Once there, Lai Yue finds a job as a carrier on expeditions, taking him far away from his sister. Ying remains in the township, where she works in a local store and strikes up an unlikely friendship with Meriem, a young white woman with a troubled past. Maytown is a place where violence frequently erupts and, when a serious crime is committed, suspicion falls on all those who are considered outsiders.

'Evoking the rich, unfolding tapestry of Australian life in the late nineteenth century, Stone Sky Gold Mountain is a heartbreaking and timeless story about those exiled from family and place who encounter discrimination yet yearn for acceptance.'   (Publication summary)

2021 longlisted Voss Literary Prize
2021 shortlisted Davitt Award Best Adult Crime Novel
2021 longlisted Miles Franklin Literary Award
2021 shortlisted The Stella Prize
2021 shortlisted APA Book Design Awards Best Designed Literary Fiction / Poetry Cover designed by Sandy Cull
2021 shortlisted Australian Book Industry Awards (ABIA) Small Publishers' Adult Book of the Year
2020 inaugural winner HNSA Historical Novel Prize
2020 shortlisted Queensland Literary Awards Queensland Premier's Award for a Work of State Significance
2020 winner Queensland Literary Awards Fiction Book Award
2020 shortlisted Queensland Literary Awards The Courier-Mail People's Choice Queensland Book of the Year
Last amended 13 Sep 2021 11:20:40
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