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In conversation with Tony Birch

The Valley


Steve Hawke

Festival Hub, Maiwar Green

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#Performances


#About the event


#Artist

Steve Hawke

Steve Hawke

Steve Hawke grew up in Melbourne but found his way to the Northern Territory and then to the Kimberley as a nineteen-year-old in 1978. Captivated by the country, the history and the people, he stayed for almost fifteen years working for Aboriginal communities and organisations. He now lives in the hills outside Perth, but continues his strong association with the Kimberley, returning most years. His writings on the Kimberley include Noonkanbah: Whose Land, Whose Law (1989), the children’s novel Barefoot Kids (2007), the play Jandamarra that premiered at the Perth International Arts Festival in 2008 and toured the Kimberley in 2011, and A Town Is Born: The Fitzroy Crossing Story (2013). The Valley is his first novel for adults. 

He has also written a biography of the great Aussie Rules footballer, Graham ‘Polly’ Farmer, and has published short fiction and occasional feature journalism, and has three other manuscripts at various stages of their journeys. 

If he had his rathers he would be out bush somewhere; preferably in a remote corner of the Kimberley. But the jarrah and grass tree scrub near home is a decent substitute on a Perth morning.

#Moderator

Tony Birch

Tony Birch

TONY BIRCH is the author of Ghost River, which won the Victorian Premier’s Literary Award for Indigenous Writing and Blood, which was shortlisted for the Miles Franklin Award. He is also the author of Shadowboxing and three short story collections, Father’s Day, The Promise and Common People. In 2017 he was awarded the Patrick White Literary Award. Tony is a frequent contributor to ABC local and national radio and a regular guest at writers’ festivals. He lives in Melbourne and is a Senior Research Fellow at Victoria University. His latest novel is The White Girl.

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