Alexander McPhee Miller (born 27 December 1936) is an Australian novelist.Dixon, R, (Ed), 2012, 'The Novels of Alex Miller, An Introduction', Allen & Unwin, Sydney. Miller is twice winner of the Miles Franklin Award, in 1993 for ''

The Ancestor Game ''The Ancestor Game'' is a 1992 Miles Franklin literary award-winning novel by the Australian author Alex Miller. Abstract Writer Steven Muir, August Spiess and his daughter Gertrude, work together to understand the puzzle of Lang Tzu, an exile ...

'' and in 2003 for '' Journey to the Stone Country''. He won the overall award for the Commonwealth Writer's Prize for ''The Ancestor Game'' in 1993. He is twice winner of the

New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards The New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards, also known as the NSW Premier's Literary Awards, were first awarded in 1979. They are among the richest literary awards in Australia. Notable prizes include the Christina Stead Prize for Fiction, t ...

Christina Stead Prize for '' Conditions of Faith'' in 2001 and for ''Lovesong'' in 2011. In recognition of his impressive body of work and in particular for his novel ''Autumn Laing'' he was awarded the

Melbourne Prize for Literature The Melbourne Prize for Literature is an award given by the ''Melbourne Prize Trust'', which was founded by Simon Warrender in 2005. The trust grants awards on a rolling three-year basis for Urban Sculpture, Literature and Music, in that order. The ...

in 2012.

Life

Alex Miller was born in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

to a Scottish father and Irish mother. After working as a farm labourer in

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

he migrated alone to Australia at the age of 16. He worked as a ringer in

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

and as a horse breaker in New Zealand before studying at night school to gain university entrance. Miller graduated from the

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb nor ...

in English and History in 1965. In 1975 he published his first short story, 'Comrade Pawel' in ''

Meanjin Quarterly ''Meanjin'' (), formerly ''Meanjin Papers'' and ''Meanjin Quarterly'', is an Australian literary magazine. The name is derived from the Turrbal word for the spike of land where the city of Brisbane is located. It was founded in 1940 in Brisban ...

''. In 1980 he was a co-founder of the Anthill Theatre and a founding member of the Melbourne Writers' Theatre. Miller taught writing courses at

Holmesglen TAFE Holmesglen Institute is a vocational education and higher education institute situated primarily in the South-Eastern suburbs of Melbourne, Australia. History Since its inception in 1982, Holmesglen has grown from a delivery of 90 programs to 7, ...

and

La Trobe University La Trobe University is a public research university based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Its main campus is located in the suburb of Bundoora. The university was established in 1964, becoming the third university in the state of Victoria an ...

between 1986 and 1997. Miller has written full-time since 1998. In this time he has written nine of his thirteen published novels and his non-fiction, ''Max''. His work has received wide critical acclaim. Alex Miller lives in country Victoria with his wife Stephanie. ''

'' was re-published by Allen & Unwin in 2016 as a celebratory edition to mark 25 years since its publication and to honour the author on his 80th birthday.

Writing

Miller's first novel, ''Watching the Climbers on the Mountain'', was published in 1988 and republished by Allen & Unwin in 2012. Major national and international recognition came with the publication of ''The Ancestor Game'', his third novel and the winner of both the Miles Franklin Award and overall winner of the

Commonwealth Writers' Prize Commonwealth Foundation presented a number of prizes between 1987 and 2011. The main award was called the Commonwealth Writers' Prize and was composed of two prizes: the Best Book Prize (overall and regional) was awarded from 1987 to 2011; the Best ...

in 1993. Since then Miller has published on average a major novel every two years, his tenth being ''Autumn Laing'' published in 2011. The Melbourne critic Peter Craven, writing in ''

The Australian ''The Australian'', with its Saturday edition, ''The Weekend Australian'', is a broadsheet newspaper published by News Corp Australia since 14 July 1964.Bruns, Axel. "3.1. The active audience: Transforming journalism from gatekeeping to gatew ...

'' on 14 July 2012, describes ''Autumn Laing'' as "superb" and says of it, "it is the novel that is liable to burn brightest in the whole of his oeuvre." Professor

Brenda Walker Brenda Walker (born 1957 in Grafton, New South Wales) is an Australian writer. She studied at the University of New England in Armidale and, after gaining a PhD in English (on the work of Samuel Beckett) at the Australian National University ...

suggests that 'Alex Miller may be Australia's greatest living writer'. Robert Dixon, Professor of Australian Literature at Sydney University writes that Miller's 'novels are by and large accessible to the general reading public yet manifestly of high literary seriousness - substantial, technically masterly and assured, intricately interconnected, and of great imaginative, intellectual and ethical weight'. ''The Novels of Alex Miller'', edited and with an introduction by Robert Dixon was published in 2012 following a two-day Symposium at the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's si ...

in 2011 as a major critical study devoted to Miller’s works. In 2014 Robert Dixon published the first sole-authored critical survey of the respected author's eleven novels. Robert Dixon's ''Alex Miller: the ruin of time'' is the first of the Sydney Studies in Australian Literature serie

Miller's novel ''Autumn Laing'' was inspired by his lifelong interest in art and is loosely based on the relationship between

Sidney Nolan Sir Sidney Robert Nolan (22 April 191728 November 1992) was one of Australia's leading artists of the 20th century. Working in a wide variety of mediums, his oeuvre is among the most diverse and prolific in all of modern art. He is best known ...

and

Sunday Reed Sunday Reed (born Lelda Sunday Baillieu) (15 October 190515 December 1981) was an Australian patron of the arts. Along with her husband, Reed established what is now the Heide Museum of Modern Art. Personal life Reed was born on 15 October 1905 ...

. '' Coal Creek'', published in 2013 by Allen & Unwin won the 2014

Victorian Premier's Literary Award The Victorian Premier's Literary Awards were created by the Victorian Government with the aim of raising the profile of contemporary creative writing and Australia's publishing industry. As of 2013, it is reportedly Australia's richest literary p ...

. In 2015 Alex Miller published a collection of short stories and essays drawn from forty years of writing, '' The Simplest Words A Storyteller's Journey''. Peter Pierce describes this collection as 'a rich, generous compilation that enticingly refracts our perceptions of one of Australia's finest novelists'. '' The Passage of Love'', published by Allen & Unwin in 2017

was described by Michael Cathcart, when interviewing Alex Miller on ABC Radio, as 'The most candid, sharing, generous book I've read in a long, long time.'Michael Cathcart, (14 November 2017)

Books and Arts, ABC Radio National '' Max (Alex Miller book), Max'' is a work of non-fiction which tells of Alex Miller's friendship with his mentor, Max Blatt, and his search to understand Max's life. The book was published by Allen & Unwin in 2020. Writing in The Age/Sydney Morning Herald, Michael McGirr says ' ''Max'' is haunted by devastating insights. Blatt told Miller that the hardest part of torture was the realisation that the torturer was also your brother. It is the same generosity that makes Max such a compelling argument against narrowness and division. Blatt’s life has deep and wide ramifications. Miller’s intelligent love has created a tale for the ages.' '' A Brief Affair'', published by Allen & Unwin in 2022, is Alex Miller's most recent novel

Awards

* 1990 Winner, the Braille Book of the Year Award for ''The Tivington Nott'' * 1993 Winner, the Miles Franklin Award for ''The Ancestor Game'' * 1993 Winner, the

, Overall Best Book Award for ''The Ancestor Game'' * 1996 Shortlisted, the

Miles Franklin Stella Maria Sarah Miles Franklin (14 October 187919 September 1954), known as Miles Franklin, was an Australian writer and feminist who is best known for her novel ''My Brilliant Career'', published by Blackwoods of Edinburgh in 1901. While ...

award for ''The Sitters'' * 2001 Shortlisted, the

award for ''Conditions of Faith'', * 2001 Winner, the

Christina Stead Prize for Fiction for ''Conditions of Faith'' * 2003 Winner, the Miles Franklin Award for ''Journey to the Stone Country'' * 2005 Winner, State Library of Tasmania's People's Choice Award for '' Journey to the Stone Country'' * 2005 Shortlisted, the Tasmania Pacific Fiction Prize for ''Journey to the Stone Country'' * 2006 Longlisted, the

award for ''Prochownik's Dream'' * 2008 Shortlisted, the

award for ''Landscape of Farewell'' * 2008 Winner, the Manning Clark House National Cultural Award for an outstanding contribution to the quality of Australian cultural life for ''Landscape of Farewell'' * 2008 Winner, the Weishanhu Award for Best Foreign Novel in the 21st Century from the

People's Literature Publishing House The People's Literature Publishing House () is a large-scale publishing house in China. It was established in March 1951, and was attached to the (). It is known for scholarly publications, editions of classical Chinese literature, dictionaries, ...

in China for ''Landscape of Farewell'' * 2010 Shortlisted, the

award for ''Lovesong'' * 2010 Winner,

The Age Book of the Year ''The Age'' Book of the Year Awards were annual literary awards presented by Melbourne's ''The Age'' newspaper. The awards were first presented in 1974. After 1998, they were presented as part of the Melbourne Writers Festival. Initially, two awar ...

award for ''Lovesong'' * 2010 Winner, The Age Fiction Prize for ''Lovesong'' * 2010 Shortlisted, the Australian Prime Minister's Literary Award for Fiction for ''Lovesong'' * 2011 Winner, the

Christina Stead Prize for Fiction for ''Lovesong'' * 2011 Winner, the New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards, People's Choice Award for ''Lovesong'' * 2012 Shortlisted, the Australian Prime Minister's Literary Award for ''Autumn Laing'' * 2012 Longlisted, the

award for ''Autumn Laing'' * 2012 Winner, the

* 2014 Winner, the

for ''Coal Creek'' * 2021 Shortlisted, the National Biography Award for ''Max'

Miller is a recipient of the Centenary Medal, and in 2008 the Manning Clark Medal for "An outstanding contribution to Australian cultural life." Miller is a Fellow of the Australian Academy of the Humanities.

Bibliography

Novels

* ''

Watching the Climbers on the Mountain ''Watching the Climbers on the Mountain'' is a novel by the Australian author Alex Miller. It was first published in 1988 by Pan Books Australiand was republished by Allen & Unwin in 2012. Reviews Interviews Jane Sullivan, 'Interview: Alex Mi ...

'' (1988) * ''

The Tivington Nott ''The Tivington Nott'' is a novel by the Australian author Alex Miller and is based on the lives of real people in Somerset on the borders of Exmoor. Miller tells his own story of a young labourer swept up in the adventure of riding second horse ...

'' (1989) * ''

'' (1992) * '' The Sitters'' (1995) * '' Conditions of Faith'' (2000) * '' Journey to the Stone Country'' (2002) * '' Prochownik's Dream'' (2005) * ''

Landscape of Farewell ''Landscape of Farewell'' is a 2007 novel by the Australian author Alex Miller. Awards and nominations *Commonwealth Writers Prize, South East Asia and South Pacific Region, Best Book, 2008: shortlisted *Miles Franklin Literary Award, 2008: sh ...

'' (2007) * '' Lovesong'' (2009) * '' Autumn Laing'' (2011) * '' Coal Creek'' (2013) * '' The Passage of Love'' (2017) * '' A Brief Affair'' (2022)

Collections

* '' The Simplest Words'' (2015)

Non-Fiction

* '' Max (Alex Miller book), Max'' (2020)

Major short essays and short stories

*'Comrade Pawel', 1975, ''Meanjin Quarterly'', No 1, Vol 34. *'How to Kill Wild Horses', 1976, ''Quadrant'', No 103, Vol XX, No 2. *'The Wine Merchant of Aarhus', 1993, ''Kunapipi'', Vol XV, No 3. *'Inside Buckingham Palace', 1994, ''Brick'', No 48. *'Impressions of China', 1996, ''Meridian'', Vol 15, No 1. *'The Last Sister of Charity', 2000, ''The Age'', 18 Nov. *'Chasing My Tale, 2003, ''Kunapipi'', Vol XV, No 3. *'The Black Mirror', 2006, ''Art & Australia'', Vol 43, No 3. *'Written in Our Hearts, 2006, Thinking about Truth in Fiction and History', ''The Australian'', 16–17 Dec. *'Caught Behind My Imagination', 2006, ''The Age'', Summer Age, Friday 29 Dec. *'Salem Lodge,' 2008, ''Meanjin Quarterly'', Vol 67, No 3. *'The Artist to Himself', 2008, ''Rick Amor: A Single Mind'', Heide Museum of Modern Art, Australia. *'John Masefield's Attic', 2009, Closing Address to The Flight of the Mind, Conference National Library of Australia, 25 Oct. *'The End', 2009, Cotter, J and Williams M, (Eds), ''Readings and Writings, Forty Years in Books'', Readings, Australia. *'The Circle of His Art', 2011, Skovron, A, Gaita, R, and Miller, A, ''Singing for All He's Worth, Essays in Honour of Jacob G Rosenberg'', Picador, Australia. *'Ringroad', Sonya Hartnett, Ed, 2012, ''The Best Australian Short Stories'', Black Inc. *'Asylum: A Secure Place of Refuge', 2013, Rosie Scott and Tom Keneally, Eds, ''A Country Too Far'', Viking, Australia. *'The Rule of The First Prelude', 2015, Alex Miller, ''The Simplest Words'', Allen & Unwin, Australia. *'The Compound', 2019, ''Griffith Review'', No 67.

Drama

* ''Kitty Howard'' (1978), Melbourne Theatre Company * ''Exiles'' (1981), Anthill Theatre

Reviews

Morag Fraser Morag Fraser is an Australian journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainl ...

, 2011, 'A Space of Its Own Creation, Alex Miller's Indispensable New Novel', "Australian Book Review"

accessed 1 July 2013. *

Jem Poster Jem Poster (born 1949) is a British poet and novelist. His works include the collection of poetry ''Brought to Light'' (2001) and the novels ''Courting Shadows'' (2003) and ''Rifling Paradise'' (2006). Early life Poster was born in Cambridge, En ...

, 2010, 'Lovesong by Alex Miller', "The Guardian"

accessed 1 July 2013. * Perry Middlemiss, 2010, 'Combined Reviews: Lovesong by Alex Miller, "Matilda

accessed 1 July 2013. * * Geordie Williamson, 'Lovesong', 2009,

The Monthly ''The Monthly'' is an Australian national magazine of politics, society and the arts, which is published eleven times per year on a monthly basis except the December/January issue. Founded in 2005, it is published by Melbourne property developer ...

accessed November 2012. * Reviews of Alex Miller's novels

accessed 1 July 2013. * Geordie Williamson, 'Alex Miller's 'Coal Creek', September 2003, "The Monthly"

accessed November 2013. * Brian Matthews, 'Hanging on the Cross, Alex Miller's Journey of the Imagination', October 2013, "Australian Book Review"

accessed November 2013. * Anthony Lynch, "Real Men Roll Their Own", "Coal Creek" by Alex Miller, 14 March 2014, ''

Sydney Review of Books The ''Sydney Review of Books'' is an online literary magazine established in 2013. According to the journal's editor James Ley it was created to address shortcomings in Australian book reviews. Awards In 2019 SRB contributor Fiona Kelly McGr ...

''

accessed 11 August 2014. * Dimitri Nasrullah, 'Coal Creek by Alex Miller: review', 17 July 2014, "The Toronto Star"

accessed 11 August 2014. * Brenda Walker, 'Brenda Walker Reviews 'The Simplest Words', March 2016, no 379, "Australian Book Review", accessed 30 December 2016. * The Simplest Words: A Storyteller’s Journey is perhaps a frame for each of these parts of Alex Miller — the artist and thinker — to meet and wander beside one another in contemplative conversation. Niki Tulk, 'Between Two Dreamings', Antipodes, Aug 16, 2019

* Kirkus Reviews, 'A rich addition to the growing shelf of autofiction from a seasoned storyteller', June 18, 2018

* Bridget Delaney, 'Alex Miller evokes lost Melbourne and past loves in 'private and personal' novel', ''The Guardian'', 13 Dec 2017

Interviews

* Jonathan Pearlman, 'Australia's treatment of refugees is 'cruel and mean-spirited', ''The Telegraph'', 26 December 201

accessed January 2014. * Oliver Milman, 'Novelist Alex Miller attacks Australia's 'cruel and inhumane' refugee treatment', ''The Guardian'', 27 December 2013

accessed January 2014. * Jane Sullivan, 'Interview: Alex Miller', ''The Sydney Morning Herald'', 5 October 2013

accessed January 2014. * Michael Cathcart, ABC Radio,'Alex Miller on 'The Passage of Love', 14 November 2017, * Jason Steger, 'I can't keep going forever: Has Alex Miller given us his last story?', ''The Sydney Morning Herald'', 16 October 2020

Critical works on Alex Miller

* Robert Dixon, Ed, 2012, ''The Novels of Alex Miller, An Introduction'', Allen & Unwin, Sydney

* Robert Dixon, 2014, ''Alex Miller: the ruin of time'', Sydney University Press, Sydney.

*

Nicholas Birns Nicholas Birns is a scholar of literature, including fantasy and Australian literature. As a Tolkien scholar he has written on a variety of topics including The Scouring of the Shire and Tolkien's biblical sources. His analysis of the writings of A ...

, 2015, 'Failing to Be Separate: Race, Land, Concern', in ''Contemporary Australian Literature'', Sydney Studies in Australian Literature, Sydney University Press, pp 121–155

* Joseph Cummins, 2019, 'Sound and Silence: Listening and Relation in the Novels of Alex Miller', in ''The 'Imagined Sound' of Australian Literature and Music'', Anthem Press, London, pp 65–82

References

External links

* * Alex Miller, AustLit, http://www.austlit.edu.au/austlit/page/A12971. Accessed June 2013 * Information and critical comment: Alex Miller, http://alexmiller.com.au/default.html. Accessed November 2012. * Author profile page at Allen & Unwin:

Allen & Unwin George Allen & Unwin was a British publishing company formed in 1911 when Sir Stanley Unwin purchased a controlling interest in George Allen & Co. It went on to become one of the leading publishers of the twentieth century and to establish an ...

https://www.allenandunwin.com/authors/m/alex-miller. Accessed September 2015. * Alex Miller's Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Alex-Miller/564855286903403?ref=hl Accessed August 2014. {{DEFAULTSORT:Miller, Alex 1936 births Living people Australian dramatists and playwrights Miles Franklin Award winners Writers from Melbourne University of Melbourne alumni 20th-century Australian novelists 21st-century Australian novelists Australian male novelists English emigrants to Australia