Kerry Isabelle Greenwood (born 1954) is an Australian author and lawyer. She has written many plays and books, most notably a string of historical detective novels centred on the character of

Phryne Fisher The Honourable Phryne Fisher ( ), often called "Miss Fisher", is the main character in Australian author Kerry Greenwood's series of Phryne Fisher detective novels. The character later appeared in a television series called '' Miss Fisher's Mur ...

, which was adapted as the popular television series ''

Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries ''Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries'' is an Australian drama television series. It was first broadcast on ABC on 24 February 2012. It is based on author Kerry Greenwood's historical mystery novels, and it was created by Deb Cox and Fiona Eagger. ...

''. She writes mysteries, science-fiction, historical fiction, children's stories, and plays. Greenwood earned the Australian women's crime fiction

Davitt Award The Davitt Awards are literary awards which are presented annually by the Sisters in Crime Australia association. The awards are named in honour of Ellen Davitt (1812–1879) who wrote Australia's first mystery novel, ''Force and Fraud'' in 186 ...

in 2002 for her

young adult A young adult is generally a person in the years following adolescence. Definitions and opinions on what qualifies as a young adult vary, with works such as Erik Erikson's stages of human development significantly influencing the definition of ...

novel ''The Three-Pronged Dagger''.

Early life and education

Greenwood grew up in the

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

suburb of Footscray, where she still lives today. She attended Geelong Road State School (now Footscray Primary School),

Maribyrnong College Maribyrnong College, also known as Maribyrnong Secondary College, and formerly known as Maribyrnong High School, is a government-funded secondary day school that specialises in sports, located in Maribyrnong in the inner western suburbs of M ...

and 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 ...

, where she graduated with

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

(English) and

Bachelor of Laws Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Chi ...

degrees in 1979. Whilst at university, Greenwood worked at a women's refuge.

Career

In 1982, Greenwood was admitted as a

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 ...

and

solicitor A solicitor is a legal practitioner who traditionally deals with most of the legal matters in some jurisdictions. A person must have legally-defined qualifications, which vary from one jurisdiction to another, to be described as a solicitor and ...

of the

Supreme Court of Victoria The Supreme Court of Victoria is the highest court in the Australian state of Victoria. Founded in 1852, it is a superior court of common law and equity, with unlimited and inherent jurisdiction within the state. The Supreme Court comprises ...

, and worked full-time as a

criminal defence In the field of criminal law, there are a variety of conditions that will tend to negate elements of a crime (particularly the ''intent'' element), known as defenses. The label may be apt in jurisdictions where the ''accused'' may be assigned some ...

lawyer for

Victoria Legal Aid Victoria Legal Aid (VLA), formerly the Legal Aid Commission of Victoria, is an organisation that provides information, legal advice and education with a focus on the prevention and early resolution of legal problems. They prioritise intensive l ...

until becoming a professional writer. Since that time, she has remained a locum

duty solicitor A duty solicitor, duty counsel, or duty lawyer, is a solicitor whose services are available to a person either suspected of, or charged with, a criminal offence free of charge, if that person does not have access to a solicitor of their own and us ...

for Legal Aid, practising in the Sunshine Magistrates' Court. She began writing books at sixteen, but remained unpublished. In 1988 she entered one of her eight novels for the Vogel prize; although not successful, one of the judges offered her a contract for two detective novels. In the

2020 Australia Day Honours The 2020 Australia Day Honours are appointments to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by Australian citizens. The list was announced on 26 January 2020 by the Governor General of Australia, David Hurley. The Australia ...

Greenwood was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM).

Personal life

Greenwood lives with a "wizard", the mathematician and author David Greagg.

Books

Phryne Fisher historical mysteries

Corinna Chapman mysteries

Delphic Women

* ''Cassandra'' (1995) * ''Electra'' (1996) * ''Medea'' (1997)

Spinouts (with Michael Pryor and Catherine Randle)

* ''The Bold and The Brave'' (2000)

Stormbringer

''The Broken Wheel,'' ''Whaleroad,'' ''Cave Rats'' and ''Feral'' are prequels to the ''Stormbringer'' trilogy. Characters in ''Stormbringer'' refer to events in those books, but are otherwise independent. * ''The Rat and the Raven'' (2005) * ''Lightning Nest'' (2006) * ''Ravens Rising'' (2006)

Novels

Collections

* ''Recipes for Crime'' (1995) (with Jenny Pausacker)

Anthologies edited

* ''Bad to the Bones'' (2002)

Short fiction

"Jetsam" (1998) in ''

Dreaming Down-Under ''Dreaming Down-Under'' is a 1998 speculative fiction anthology edited by Jack Dann and Janeen Webb. Background ''Dreaming Down-Under'' was first published in Australia in November 1998 by Voyager Books in trade paperback format. In 1999 and ...

'' (ed.

Jack Dann Jack Dann (born February 15, 1945) is an American writer best known for his science fiction, an editor and a writing teacher, who has lived in Australia since 1994. He has published over seventy books, in the majority of cases as editor or co-edit ...

Janeen Webb Janeen Webb (''née'' Pemberton) is an Australian writer, critic and editor, working mainly in the field of science fiction and fantasy. Biography The daughter of a Second World War Australian Army commando and salesman, Webb was brought up in ...

)

Non-fiction

* ''On Murder: True Crime Writing in Australia'' (2000) * ''On Murder 2: True Crime Writing in Australia'' (2002) * ''Tamam Shud: The Somerton Man Mystery'' (2012)

TV and film

The ''

'' television series was filmed in and around Melbourne in 2011 and premiered on ABC1 on 24 February 2012. A second series was commissioned in August 2012 and filming began in February 2013 and aired starting 6 September 2013. A third series was commissioned in June 2014 and began airing on 8 May 2015.

Awards and nominations

Aurealis Award The Aurealis Award for Excellence in Speculative Fiction is an annual literary award for Australian science fiction, fantasy and horror fiction. Only Australians are eligible for the award. History The Aurealis Award was established in 1995 by ...

for Excellence in Australian Speculative Fiction, Young Adult Division, Best Novel, 1996: joint winner for ''The Broken Wheel'' * Children's Book Council of Australia Book of the Year Award, Book of the Year: Younger Readers, 2002: honour book for ''A Different Sort of Real : The Diary of Charlotte McKenzie, Melbourne 1918–1919'' *

, Best Young Fiction Book, 2002: winner for ''The Three-Pronged Dagger'' *

, Best Young Fiction Book, 2003: nominated for ''The Wandering Icon'' *

, Best Adult Novel, 2003: nominated for ''Murder in Montparnasse : A Phryne Fisher Mystery'' *

Ned Kelly Award The Ned Kelly Awards (named for bushranger Ned Kelly) are Australia's leading literary awards for crime writing in both the crime fiction and true crime genres. They were established in 1996 by the Crime Writers Association of Australia to rewar ...

for Crime Writing, Lifetime Contribution, 2003 *

for Crime Writing, Best Novel, 2005: shortlisted for ''Heavenly Pleasures : A Corinna Chapman Novel'' *

for Crime Writing, Best Novel, 2005: shortlisted for ''Queen of the Flowers : A Phryne Fisher Mystery'' *

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 ...

, Patricia Wrightson Prize for Children's Books, 2006: shortlisted for ''Journey to Eureka'' *

, Readers' Choice Award, 2006: joint winner for ''Heavenly Pleasures : A Corinna Chapman Novel'' *

, Readers' Choice Award, 2007: joint winner for ''Devil's Food'' *

for Crime Writing, Best Novel, 2008: nominated for ''Trick or Treat'' * Awarded Sisters in Crime Lifetime Achievement Award 2013 AUPhryne Fisher website and publisher Allen and Unwin website https://www.allenandunwin.com/browse/books/fiction/crime-mystery/Cocaine-Blues-Kerry-Greenwood-9781741145663

References

External links

Phryne Fisher's websiteCorinna Chapman's websiteInterview with Kerry Greenwood at Allen & UnwinSue Ryan-Fazilleau, "Kerry Greenwood's 'Rewriting' of Agatha Christie", ''JASAL'' 7 (2007)
* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Greenwood, Kerry 1954 births Australian women novelists Australian crime writers Australian mystery writers Living people Ned Kelly Award winners 20th-century Australian novelists 21st-century Australian novelists Writers from Melbourne 20th-century Australian women writers 21st-century Australian women writers Women mystery writers Writers of historical mysteries Recipients of the Medal of the Order of Australia People from Footscray, Victoria