Helen Asher (also known as Helen Ulrich, 1927 – 19 October 2001) was an Australian novelist and short story writer.
Biography
Born Waltraud Helene Rosalie Ulrich, Asher migrated to Australia from Germany as a post-
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
refugee. Asher and her husband Mervyn were active in the Australian literary scene.
Asher published ''Tilly's Fortunes'' through Penguin in 1986. She also wrote under the name Helen Ulrich, and her short stories were featured in numerous anthologies.
Asher bequeathed money to the
Australia Council
The Australia Council for the Arts, commonly known as the Australia Council, is the country's official arts council, serving as an arts funding and advisory body for the Government of Australia. The council was announced in 1967 as the Austra ...
for the establishment of a biennial prize to be awarded to “a female author whose work carries an anti-war theme”. The $12,000
Asher Award
The Asher Award was a biennial Australian literary award administered by the Australian Society of Authors between 2005 and 2017. It was established by the Australia Council after a bequest from the late author Helen Asher. It was disestablished ...
was administered by the
Australian Society of Authors
The Australian Society of Authors (ASA) was formed in 1963 as the organisation to promote and protect the rights of Australia's authors and illustrators. The Fellowship of Australian Writers played a key role it its establishment. The organisat ...