Susan Varga Susan Varga i(A14840 works by) (birth name: ZsuZsi Schwimmer)
Born: Established: 1943
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Hungary,
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Eastern Europe, Europe, ;
Gender: Female
Arrived in Australia: 1948
Heritage: Hungarian
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BiographyHistory

Susan Varga received her Master of Arts (English) degree at the University of Sydney in 1973, followed by a law degree at the University of New South Wales. She worked as a teacher in the late 1970s and wrote scripts for training videos issued by the Office of Youth Affairs. She also worked as an arts administrator, journalist and lawyer, combining the last two when she interviewed Greg McIntyre, the solicitor for the Mabo case for the ABC's radio programme Law Report in 1986 (reproduced in the February 1987 issue of the Aboriginal Law Bulletin). Varga settled into full-time writing in 1990. A community activist, Varga was a co-founder of Rural Australians for Refugees, and the Chair of the Becher Foundation which funds social innovation projects.

Most Referenced Works

Notes

  • Author writes in these languages:ENGLISH, HUNGARIAN

Awards for Works

y separately published work icon Rupture Crawley : UWA Publishing , 2016 9635567 2016 selected work poetry
2016 commended Anne Elder Award
y separately published work icon Headlong : A Novel Crawley : UWA Publishing , 2009 Z1571451 2009 single work novel Julie has suddenly lost her husband and, along with him, her will to live. The vital, energetic old woman that her daughter Kati thought she knew has disappeared almost overnight. How is Kati to cope with a mother constantly on the verge of suicide? This finely wrought tale of love and conflict casts a searchlight into dark areas- how people deal with ageing, loss, death and grief. At what point are you allowed to say 'Life is not worth living'? (Publisher's Blurb).
2010 shortlisted Barbara Jefferis Award
y separately published work icon Happy Families Sydney : Hodder Headline Sceptre , 1999 Z266105 1999 single work novel

'Happy families are not always conventional. Conventional families are not always happy. A panorama in miniature of contemporary'Australian life in which different worlds connect and collide: city and country, 'old' Europe and 'new' Australia, black and white Australians and male and female values.

'A warm and compelling novel about women's lives, the past and its secrets and the different shapes families can take.' (Publication summary)
2000 winner Vision Australia Foundation Audio Book Awards — Adult Audio Book of the Year Also winner, Adult Narrator of the Year (Helen Morse) who read the story.
VIEW ALL AWARDS
Last amended 6 Jan 2009 08:36:34
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