Melissa Ashley

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Melissa Ashley (born 1973) is an Australian novelist. In the 2017 Queensland Literary Awards, her novel The Birdman's Wife won the University of Queensland Fiction Book Award.[1] It also received the Australian Booksellers Association Nielsen BookData 2017 Booksellers Choice Award.[2]

Biography[edit]

Ashley was born 1973 in Christchurch, New Zealand[3] and arrived in Australia aged eight. Ashley has two children and is a self-confessed committed "twitcher".[4]

Ashley's interest in birds motivated her 2016 historical novel The Birdman's Wife, about Elizabeth Gould who illustrated and drew specimens of birds for her husband John Gould's various books on birds.[4] Ashley wrote the novel as part of her PhD whilst studying at the University of Queensland.[5]

The Bee and the Orange Tree was shortlisted for the 2020 Davitt Award for best debut crime book.[6]

At the 2022 Queensland Literary Awards, Ashley was awarded a Queensland Writers Fellowship valued at $15,000.[7]

Works[edit]

  • Cvetkovic, Lidija; Johnson, Ruth; Ashley, Melissa, 1973- (1996), Desire In Difference, Hetaira Press, ISBN 978-0-646-29022-5{{citation}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  • Ashley, Melissa (2003), The Hospital For Dolls, Post Pressed, ISBN 978-1-876682-50-7
  • Ashley, Melissa Jane (2009), The Girl Without Hands: Extract From The Manuscript Of A Novel. The Maiden Without Hands: From Folktale And Fairy Tale To Contemporary Novel, St. Lucia, Qld, retrieved 9 October 2017 (M.Phil Thesis)
  • Ashley, Melissa Jane (2016), The Birdman's Wife, South Melbourne, VIC Affirm Press, ISBN 978-1-925344-99-8
  • Ashley, Melissa (2019), The Bee and the Orange Tree, South Melbourne, VIC Affirm Press, ISBN 978-1-925712-01-8

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Winners and finalists". Queensland Literary Awards. 2017. Archived from the original on 9 October 2017. Retrieved 9 October 2017.
  2. ^ "The Nielsen BookData 2017 Booksellers' Choice Award". Australian Booksellers. Retrieved 6 December 2017.
  3. ^ "Melissa Ashley". AustLit: Discover Australian Stories. Retrieved 8 September 2022.
  4. ^ a b Baum, Caroline (14 October 2016). "The Birdman's Wife by Melissa Ashley: Elizabeth Gould's forgotten talent". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 9 October 2017.
  5. ^ "UQ graduate brings trailblazing woman out of shadows". UQ News. University Of Queensland. 10 February 2017. Retrieved 9 October 2017.
  6. ^ "Davitt Awards 2020 shortlists announced". Books+Publishing. 17 July 2020. Retrieved 19 July 2020.
  7. ^ "Queensland Literary Awards winners for 2022". Queensland Government. 8 September 2022. Retrieved 8 September 2022.

External links[edit]