Cirrus@Austlit

Born in Melbourne of Spanish and English parentage, Nuri Mass spent seven years of her childhood in Argentina and returned to Australia at the age of twelve. She obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Sydney with first class honours and the University Medal in 1942. Mass went on to attain a Master of Arts at the University of Sydney.

Mass edited the magazine, Australian Children's World, 1945-1946 and worked as a reader and editor for various publishers, including Angus and Robertson, Consolidated Press and the Sydney Sun. In 1955 she established her own press, The Writer's Press, which operated from her own home in Summer Hill, Sydney. Michael Denholm's Small Press Publishing in Australia : The Early 1970s (1979): 49-50 asserts that her motivation was 'disillusionment with Australian publishers and her desire to make a contribution towards the encouragement of Australian authorship at a time when such encouragement was sorely needed.' The publications were printed on her own printing press in the garage of her home and in some cases handset. The Writer's Press operated sporadically into the 1970s with most items being priced unrealistically and losing money according to Denholm. On her husband's death she took over the family photo-engraving business, subsequently training (graduating in 1979) and working as a chiropractor.

As well as fiction for adults, she wrote fiction for children, travel books and studies of Australian flora and fauna. These include Where the Incas Trod (1956), China the Waking Giant (1966), Australian Wildflower Magic (1967), and Flowers of the Australian Alps (1967).

Source: A Bibliography of Australian Multicultural Writers compiled by Sneja Gunew et.al.(1992) and The Oxford Companion to Australian Children's Literature (1993) edited by Stella Lees and Pam Macintyre.)