Tony Birch (born 1957) is an Aboriginal Australian author, academic and activist. He regularly appears on ABC Local Radio and Radio National shows and at writers’ festivals. He was head of the honours programme for creative writing at the University of Melbourne before becoming the first recipient of the Dr Bruce McGuinness Indigenous Research Fellowship at Victoria University in Melbourne in June 2015.
In 2017, he became the first Indigenous writer to win the Patrick White Award. His 2019 novel The White Girl won the 2020 Indigenous Writers' Prize of the New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards.
Early life Birch's maternal great-grandfather was an Afghani who migrated to Australia in 1890, who had to get exemption from the Immigration Restriction Act 1901 to take his daughter to the Punjab to meet his family. He also has Barbadian convict (James "Prince" Moodie, transported to Tasmania for 14 years for "disobedience") and Aboriginal heritage.
Birch was born around 1957 and grew up around Fitzroy, a working-class suburb of Melbourne then considered a slum. After being expelled from school for the second time, he left school aged 15 and became a telegram boy.
Education After spending a decade as a firefighter, Birch attended the University of Melbourne as a mature student when he was 30 years old. He was the first Aboriginal student to graduate with a degree in history from the University of Melbourne, and the first to receive a Master of Arts in Creative Writing.
In 2004 he was awarded the University of Melbourne Chancellor's Medal for the best PhD in Humanities and Creative Arts for his 2003 thesis "'Framing Fitzroy': contesting and (de)constructing place and identity in a Melbourne suburb".
Career He taught Aboriginal history for several years before switching to writing. Birch also worked as a senior curator for the Bunjilaka Aboriginal Cultural Centre at Melbourne Museum.
Birch has appeared on ABC radio on shows such as Conversations, Life Matters and RN Afternoons.
In 2015 he became the first recipient of the Dr Bruce McGuinness Indigenous Research Fellowship at Victoria University in Melbourne. His work involves academic research, creative writing projects, student mentoring, lecturing and community engagement.
In 2019 he published the novel The White Girl.
Birch was appointed to the Boisbouvier Chair in Australian Literature at the University of Melbourne in December 2022.
Activism Birch is active in a variety of political and social movements, including climate justice, refugee issues and Indigenous issues. His novels integrate themes affecting Indigenous people, such as colonial oppression, dispossession, the Stolen Generations, and generational violence. He donates a portion of profits and prize money he receives to Seed Mob, an Indigenous youth organisation dedicated to climate justice.
Bibliography
Novels
Short story collections
Poetry
Anthology contributions
Selected book reviews YearReview articleWork(s) reviewed2021
Awards and honours +YearNominated workAwardCategoryResultRef.2006ShadowboxingQueensland Premier's Literary AwardsArts Queensland Steele Rudd AwardShortlisted2011Kate Challis RAKA AwardCommendedBloodFellowship of Australian Writers Victoria Inc. National Literary AwardsChristina Stead AwardHighly commended2012Melbourne Prize for LiteratureBest WritingFinalistCivic Choice AwardWinnerMiles Franklin AwardShortlisted2015Victoria University Dr Bruce McGuinness Indigenous Research FellowshipRecipient2014The PromiseQueensland Literary AwardsSteele Rudd AwardShortlistedVictorian Premier's Literary AwardsIndigenous Writing2016Ghost RiverMiles Franklin AwardLonglisted2017Victorian Premier's Literary AwardsIndigenous WritingWinnerPatrick White AwardWinner2019Common PeopleVictorian Premier's Literary AwardsIndigenous WritingShortlisted2020The White GirlMiles Franklin AwardNew South Wales Premier's Literary AwardsIndigenous WriterWinner2022Dark as Last NightChristina Stead Prize for FictionPrime Minister's Literary AwardsFictionShortlistedQueensland Literary AwardsSteele Rudd AwardWinner2023Royal Society of LiteratureInternational WriterRecipient2024Women & ChildrenThe Age Book of the Year AwardsFictionWinnerARA Historical Novel PrizeAdultShortlistedAustralian Academy of the HumanitiesFellowElected
References
External links Sovereign Storytelling: Tony Birch on inspiration, and the power of telling your own story, State Library of Queensland blog