National Library Fellow in Australian Literature, author Dr Gabrielle Carey explores the inspiring and unique influence the Australian writer Ivan Southall had on a generation of young readers.
In the 1960s and 70s Ivan Southall’s books for young adults sold in the hundreds of thousands and he remains significant in the imaginations of countless Australians today. But Southall was also an object of controversy, his novels criticised for being too dark and pessimistic. Southall argued that he was trying to write about life realistically and to teach children resilience. It was a lesson that his readers responded to mightily.
Dr Carey’s research focuses on the hundreds of letters sent to Southall from his devoted readers and attempts to understand this unique reader-writer relationship.
She is author of several books, the earliest her much loved book Puberty Blues co-authored with Kathy Lette, and her most recent publication, 'Moving Among Strangers: Randolph Stow and My Family', which was the co-winner of the 2014 Prime Minister's Literary Award for Non-Fiction.
Dr Gabrielle Carey is a National Library of Australia Fellow in Australian Literature, supported by the Ray Mathew and Eva Kollsman Trust.
