Julia Leigh Julia Leigh i(A5042 works by)
Born: Established: 1970 Sydney, New South Wales, ;
Gender: Female
The material on this page is available to AustLit subscribers. If you are a subscriber or are from a subscribing organisation, please log in to gain full access. To explore options for subscribing to this unique teaching, research, and publishing resource for Australian culture and storytelling, please contact us or find out more.

BiographyHistory

The eldest of three daughters of a doctor and a maths teacher, Julia Leigh studied Arts/Law at the University of Sydney and in 1989 was editor of the University's student paper, Honi Soit. After some time off she returned to work at the Australian Society of Authors where she met Frank Moorhouse, who became a mentor for the emerging writer (Bodey).

Leigh's first novel, The Hunter, was published to national and international acclaim and reviewed widely. The novel was named as one of the New York Times Notable Books of the Year in 2001 and was longlisted for the National Book Critics Circle Award in the US. In the UK it was longlisted for the Orange Prize in 2000 and Leigh was nominated by the Observer as one of the 21 writers for the 21st century. In Canada The Hunter was listed in the Top Ten International Fiction for 2000 by Globe & Mail. Her national and international awards are listed below.

Exhibitions

17022329
17457043

Most Referenced Works

Awards for Works

y separately published work icon Avalanche : A Love Story New York (City) : W. W. Norton , 2016 9187071 2016 single work autobiography

'In this brave and lucid account, Julia Leigh broaches a challenging life event often left undiscussed: how the struggle to have a child can take an agonizing toll. Leigh’s experience at the vanguard of medical science is acutely rendered, physically and emotionally, transmitting what it feels like to so desperately wish for a child while knowing that the odds are stacked against you. From the daily shots she puts herself through at home, to hopes raised and dashed, and finally to the decision to stop treatment, Avalanche bears witness to Leigh’s raw desire, suffering, strength, and, in the end, transformation―a shift to a different kind of love. The reader looks behind the scenes of a clinic and discovers how things really work: reality is a far cry from the slick marketing of the billion-dollar infertility industry. As for so many women, Leigh’s treatment failed, but her ghost child lingers in memory.' (Publication summary)

2016 winner Australian Centre Literary Awards Peter Blazey Fellowship
2017 shortlisted New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards Douglas Stewart Prize for Non-Fiction
2017 longlisted The Stella Prize
form y separately published work icon Sleeping Beauty ( dir. Julia Leigh ) Australia : Screen Australia Spectrum Films , 2011 Z1773548 2011 single work film/TV 'Death-haunted, quietly reckless, Lucy is a young university student who takes a job as a Sleeping Beauty. In the Sleeping Beauty Chamber old men seek an erotic experience that requires Lucy's absolute submission. This unsettling task starts to bleed into Lucy's daily life and she develops an increasing need to know what happens to her when she is asleep.'

Source: Sleeping Beauty website, http://www.sleepingbeautyfilm.com/
Sighted: 18/04/2011
2011 official selection Festival de Cannes Palme d'Or
y separately published work icon Disquiet Camberwell : Penguin , 2008 Z1457081 2008 single work novella (taught in 3 units) An elegant young woman stands with her two children at the gate of an austere chateau, locked out. The three have come from Australia, escaping violence, and their arrival is unexpected. The two children have never been here before. The woman, Olivia, has come home. But home is not what it was. Even when Olivia gains entry, what she finds is not what she left. While the children are entranced by the house, the formal gardens and the inviting lake, Olivia learns that members of her estranged family have experienced tragedies they cannot openly discuss - just as she has, herself - leading them to behave in ways that destabilise a world of exquisite artifice and control. - from dust jacket flap
2009 highly commended Prime Minister's Literary Awards Fiction
2008 shortlisted Western Australian Premier's Book Awards Fiction
2010 shortlisted Festival Awards for Literature (SA) Adelaide Festival Awards for Literature South Australian Literary Awards Award for Fiction
2009 winner Le Prix Indications Passa Porta
2009 winner Encore Award
2008 winner Shirley Jackson Awards Novella
2009 shortlisted New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards Christina Stead Prize for Fiction
2009 shortlisted New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards People's Choice Award
Last amended 15 Nov 2021 11:33:51
Other mentions of "" in AustLit:
    X