Cirrus@Austlit

Thomas Arthur Guy Hungerford grew up in Perth during the Depression of the 1930s. He served in the AIF in New Guinea, New Britain and Bougainville in World War II, and in the occupation force in Japan from 1946 to 1947. As a journalist and public servant, Hungerford worked in Canberra, Hong Kong, Perth, and for the Australian Consulate-General in New York. In 1954-1955 he accompanied the Australian Antarctic Expedition, with the Australian News and Information Bureau. He also worked as the press secretary to former Prime Minister Hughes.

Hungerford has written novels, literary criticism, autobiographical works, short stories, children's fiction, journalism and radio plays. He edited and contributed to the stories in Stand Easy, a series published by the Australian War Memorial. Non-fiction works include A Million Square : Western Australia (1969), Tall Stories: An Anecdotal History of Guildford Grammar School 1896-1996 (1996) and Why I Live Where I Live (1996).

Hungerford's war literature examines the day-to-day experience of combat, but also takes a longer view, looking at the cultural repercussions of wartime exploitation. Other fictional works explore childhood and adolescent memories, and aspects of Australian culture.

The inaugural T. A. G. Hungerford prize was presented in 1990 to Brenda Walker for Crush.