Elliot Perlman (born 7 May 1964) is an Australian author and

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include taking cases in superior courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, researching law and ...

. He has written four novels ('' Three Dollars'', ''

Seven Types of Ambiguity ''Seven Types of Ambiguity'' is a work of literary criticism by William Empson which was first published in 1930. It was one of the most influential critical works of the 20th century and was a key foundation work in the formation of the New Crit ...

'', ''The Street Sweeper'' and ''Maybe the Horse Will Talk''), one short story collection (''The Reasons I Won't Be Coming'') and a book for children.

Life

Perlman is the son of second-generation

Jewish Australians Judaism is a minority religion in Australia. 99,956 Australians identified as Jewish in the 2021 census, which accounts for about 0.4% of the population. This is a 9.8% increase in numbers from the 2016 census. There are many estimates of how ...

of East European descent."Meet the writers: Elliot Perlman"
/ref> He studied law at Monash University in Melbourne, graduating in 1989.Monash Law Matters 2005/06
/ref> He was called to the Bar in 1997, but while working as a judge's associate in the early 1990s he started writing short stories. He lives in Melbourne.

Writing career

In 1994 he won ''The Age'' Short Story Award for "The Reasons I Won't Be Coming", a short story that later gave the title to his first collection of short stories, published in 1999. In 1998, his first novel, '' Three Dollars'', was published. It won ''The Age'' Book of the Year and the

Betty Trask Prize The Betty Trask Prize and Awards are for first novels written by authors under the age of 35, who reside in a current or former Commonwealth nation. Each year the awards total £20,000, with one author receiving a larger prize amount, called the ...

.Betty Trask prize
His second novel, ''

'', was shortlisted for the

Miles Franklin Award The Miles Franklin Literary Award is an annual literary prize awarded to "a novel which is of the highest literary merit and presents Australian life in any of its phases". The award was set up according to the will of Miles Franklin (1879–195 ...

, Australia's most prestigious literary award, in 2004."Announcing the 2004 Miles Franklin Literary Award Winner"
Perlman's third novel, ''The Street Sweeper'', was published in 2011. In an interview in 2001 he named Graham Greene as one of the writers who inspire him, describing Greene as "a master of beautifully crisp, clean and spare prose".Byrne, Madeleine (2001), "The world is closing in: an interview with Elliot Perlman", ''Antipodes'', 15 (1): 10–12 He has been called a post-grunge lit writer, a reference to his works being written following the 1990s genre of grunge lit.

Themes and style

His work "condemns the economic rationalism that destroys the humanity of ordinary people when they are confronted with unemployment and poverty."Perlman, Elliot, ''austlit.edu.au''
/ref> This is not surprising in a writer who admires Raymond Carver and Graham Greene because they "write with quite a strong moral centre and a strong sense of compassion." However, he says, "Part of my task is to entertain readers. I don't want it to be propaganda at all. I don't think that for something to be political fiction it has to offer an alternative; I think just a social critique is enough." He describes himself, in fact, as being interested in "the essence of humanity" and argued that exploring this often means touching on political issues. Perlman often uses music, and song lyrics, in his work to convey an idea or mood, or to give a sense of who a character is. However, he recognises that this is "a bit of a risk because the less familiar the reader is with the song, the smaller the pay off."

Adaptations

His novel '' Three Dollars'' was produced as a

film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

in 2005. It was directed by Robert Connolly, and starred David Wenham and

Frances O'Connor Frances Ann O'Connor (born 12 June 1967) is a British–born Australian actress and director. She is known for her roles in the films ''Mansfield Park'' (1999), '' Bedazzled'' (2000), ''A.I. Artificial Intelligence'' (2001), ''The Importance of ...

. Perlman and Connolly jointly adapted the novel. A six-part series based on ''

'' was screened on ABC Television in 2017.

Awards and nominations

*2019:

Children's Peace Literature Award Children's Peace Literature Award is an Australian literary prize awarded every other year by the South Australian Psychologists for Peace, an interest group of the Australian Psychological Society. The Children's Peace Literature Award was ina ...

: shortlisted for ''The Adventures of Catvinkle'' *2012:

: longlisted for ''The Street Sweeper'' *2005:

Australian Film Institute The Australian Film Institute (AFI) was founded in 1958 as a non-profit organisation devoted to developing an active film culture in Australia and fostering engagement between the general public and the Australian film industry. It is responsib ...

(AFI) Awards, Best Adapted Screenplay: winner for ''Three Dollars'' *2005: Film Critics Circle of Australia, Best Screenplay – Adapted: winner for ''Three Dollars'' *2005: AWGIE Awards, Film Award, Feature: shortlisted for ''Three Dollars'' *2004: Commonwealth Writers Prize, South East Asia and South Pacific Region, Best Book: shortlisted for ''Seven Types of Ambiguity'' *2004:

Queensland Premier's Literary Awards The Queensland Premier's Literary Awards were an Australian suite of literary awards inaugurated in 1999 and disestablished in 2012. It was one of the most generous suites of literary awards within Australia, with $225,000 in prize money across ...

, Best Fiction Book: shortlisted for ''Seven Types of Ambiguity'' *2004:

: shortlisted for ''Seven Types of Ambiguity'' *2000:

Arts Queensland Steele Rudd Australian Short Story Award The Queensland Premier's Literary Awards were an Australian suite of literary awards inaugurated in 1999 and disestablished in 2012. It was one of the most generous suites of literary awards within Australia, with $225,000 in prize money across ...

: joint winner for ''The Reasons I Won't Be Coming'' *1999:

Betty Trask Award The Betty Trask Prize and Awards are for first novels written by authors under the age of 35, who reside in a current or former Commonwealth nation. Each year the awards total £20,000, with one author receiving a larger prize amount, called the ...

for Commonwealth Writers Under 35 Years: winner for ''Three Dollars'' *1999:

, Best Literary Work Advancing Public Debate: joint winner for ''Three Dollars'' *1999:

: shortlisted for ''Three Dollars'' *1998: The Age Book of the Year Award, Book of the Year: winner for ''Three Dollars'' *1998: The Age Book of the Year Award, Fiction Prize: winner for ''Three Dollars'' *1994: The Age Short Story Award: winner for ''The Reasons I Won't Be Coming''

Bibliography

Novels

* '' Three Dollars'' (1998) * ''

'' (2003) * ''The Street Sweeper'' (2011) * ''Maybe the Horse Will Talk'' (2019)

Short story collection

* ''The Reasons I Won't Be Coming'' (1999)

For children

* ''The Adventures of Catvinkle'', illustrated by Laura Stitzel (2018) * ''Catvinkle and the Missing Tulips'', illustrated by Laura Stitzel (2020)

External links

Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man
a
barristers.com.au

at the

State Library of Victoria State Library Victoria (SLV) is the state library of Victoria, Australia. Located in Melbourne, it was established in 1854 as the Melbourne Public Library, making it Australia's oldest public library and one of the first free libraries in the ...

website
2012 radio interview
(one hour) at The Bat Segundo Show

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Perlman, Elliot 1964 births Living people 20th-century Australian novelists Jewish Australian writers Writers from Melbourne Monash University alumni 21st-century Australian novelists Australian male novelists Australian male short story writers 20th-century Australian short story writers Australian barristers 20th-century Australian lawyers 21st-century Australian lawyers 20th-century Australian male writers 21st-century Australian male writers