Kathryn Heyman
Encyclopedia
Kathryn Heyman is an Australia
n writer
, born in Lismore, New South Wales
.
Heyman is the author of four novels: The Breaking (1997), Keep Your Hands on the Wheel (1999), The Accomplice (2003) and Captain Starlight's Apprentice (2006). She is also a playwright for theatre and radio and has held a number of creative writing fellowships in the UK and Australia. Her short stories have appeared in a number of collections and also on radio.
Heyman's first novel, The Breaking, was longlisted for the Orange Prize, and shortlisted for the Scottish Writer of the Year Award. Her third, The Accomplice, won an Arts Council England
Writer's Award and was shortlisted for the Western Australian Premier's Book Awards
. The Accomplice is a fictional account of the wreck of the Dutch flagship the Batavia
off the Australian coast in the 17th century. As a meditation on complicity with evil
it has been compared with the work of Joseph Conrad
and William Golding
.
Her most recent novel, Captain Starlight's Apprentice, features a woman bushranger
, the birth (and near death) of the Australian film industry
, and a British migrant to Australia who undergoes electroconvulsive therapy
. In 2007 the novel was shortlisted for the Nita Kibble Literary Award
.
Heyman's writing has been compared with that of Angela Carter
, Peter Carey and Kate Grenville
.
Heyman's work regularly appears on BBC Radio 4
, and a five-part dramatic adaptation of Captain Starlight's Apprentice was broadcast on Woman's Hour
in April 2007.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n writer
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
, born in Lismore, New South Wales
Lismore, New South Wales
Lismore is a subtropical town in northeastern New South Wales, Australia. Lismore is the main population centre in the City of Lismore local government area. Lismore is a regional centre in the Northern Rivers region of the State.-History:...
.
Heyman is the author of four novels: The Breaking (1997), Keep Your Hands on the Wheel (1999), The Accomplice (2003) and Captain Starlight's Apprentice (2006). She is also a playwright for theatre and radio and has held a number of creative writing fellowships in the UK and Australia. Her short stories have appeared in a number of collections and also on radio.
Heyman's first novel, The Breaking, was longlisted for the Orange Prize, and shortlisted for the Scottish Writer of the Year Award. Her third, The Accomplice, won an Arts Council England
Arts Council England
Arts Council England was formed in 1994 when the Arts Council of Great Britain was divided into three separate bodies for England, Scotland and Wales. It is a non-departmental public body of the Department of Culture, Media and Sport...
Writer's Award and was shortlisted for the Western Australian Premier's Book Awards
Western Australian Premier's Book Awards
The Western Australian Premier's Book Awards is an award for books, scripts, digital narrative and a People's Choice. Awards are provided by the Government of Western Australia, and the awards process is managed by the State Library of Western Australia...
. The Accomplice is a fictional account of the wreck of the Dutch flagship the Batavia
Batavia (ship)
Batavia was a ship of the Dutch East India Company . It was built in Amsterdam in 1628, and armed with 24 cast iron cannons and a number of bronze guns. Batavia was shipwrecked on her maiden voyage, and was made famous by the subsequent mutiny and massacre that took place among the survivors...
off the Australian coast in the 17th century. As a meditation on complicity with evil
Evil
Evil is the violation of, or intent to violate, some moral code. Evil is usually seen as the dualistic opposite of good. Definitions of evil vary along with analysis of its root motive causes, however general actions commonly considered evil include: conscious and deliberate wrongdoing,...
it has been compared with the work of Joseph Conrad
Joseph Conrad
Joseph Conrad was a Polish-born English novelist.Conrad is regarded as one of the great novelists in English, although he did not speak the language fluently until he was in his twenties...
and William Golding
William Golding
Sir William Gerald Golding was a British novelist, poet, playwright and Nobel Prize for Literature laureate, best known for his novel Lord of the Flies...
.
Her most recent novel, Captain Starlight's Apprentice, features a woman bushranger
Bushranger
Bushrangers, or bush rangers, originally referred to runaway convicts in the early years of the British settlement of Australia who had the survival skills necessary to use the Australian bush as a refuge to hide from the authorities...
, the birth (and near death) of the Australian film industry
Cinema of Australia
Cinema of Australia, more commonly referred to as the Australian film industry, refers to the system of production, distribution, and exhibition of films in Australia. Film production commenced in Australia in 1906 with the production of The Story of the Kelly Gang, the earliest feature film made...
, and a British migrant to Australia who undergoes electroconvulsive therapy
Electroconvulsive therapy
Electroconvulsive therapy , formerly known as electroshock, is a psychiatric treatment in which seizures are electrically induced in anesthetized patients for therapeutic effect. Its mode of action is unknown...
. In 2007 the novel was shortlisted for the Nita Kibble Literary Award
Nita Kibble Literary Award
The Kibble Literary Awards comprise two awards which are presented annually: the Nita B Kibble Literary Award, which recognises the work of an established Australian female writer, and the Dobbie Literary Award, which is for a first published work by a female writer. The Awards recognise the works...
.
Heyman's writing has been compared with that of Angela Carter
Angela Carter
Angela Carter was an English novelist and journalist, known for her feminist, magical realism, and picaresque works...
, Peter Carey and Kate Grenville
Kate Grenville
Kate Grenville is one of Australia's best-known authors. She's published nine novels, a collection of short stories, and four books about the writing process....
.
Heyman's work regularly appears on BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...
, and a five-part dramatic adaptation of Captain Starlight's Apprentice was broadcast on Woman's Hour
Woman's Hour
Woman's Hour is a radio magazine programme broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in the United Kingdom.-History:Created by Norman Collins and originally presented by Alan Ivimey the programme was first broadcast on 7 October 1946 on the BBC's Light Programme . It was transferred to its current home in 1973...
in April 2007.
Books
- The Breaking. Phoenix House (1997)
- Keep Your Hands on the Wheel. Phoenix House (1999)
- The Accomplice. Hodder Headline (2003)
- Captain Starlight's Apprentice. Hodder Headline (2006). ISBN 0-7553-0217-6 (hardback), ISBN 0-7553-3115-X (trade paperback)
Plays
- The Princess Who Couldn't Fly (and a Word or Two About the Crippled King) (1990)
- Unreal (1991)
- Sex, Lies and Model Aeroplanes (1991) with David Lennie and Paul Tolton
- Exodus (1993) with David Purveur
- Dancing on the Word (1993)
- That's The Way to Do It (1994) with Josephine Enright
- Far Country (2002) starring Kerry FoxKerry FoxKerry Fox is a New Zealand actress. She came to prominence playing author Janet Frame in the movie An Angel at My Table directed by Jane Campion, which gained her a Best Actress Award from the New Zealand Film and Television Awards....
- Keep Your Hands on the Wheel (2003) starring Kerry FoxKerry FoxKerry Fox is a New Zealand actress. She came to prominence playing author Janet Frame in the movie An Angel at My Table directed by Jane Campion, which gained her a Best Actress Award from the New Zealand Film and Television Awards....
- Moonlight's Boy (2005)
- Captain Starlight's Apprentice (2007)