Leni Shilton is a poet, teacher and researcher based in

Alice Springs Alice Springs ( aer, Mparntwe) is the third-largest town in the Northern Territory of Australia. Known as Stuart until 31 August 1933, the name Alice Springs was given by surveyor William Whitfield Mills after Alice, Lady Todd (''née'' Al ...

in the Northern Territory of Australia.

Biography

Shilton grew up in Papua New Guinea and

Melbourne, Australia 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 metropol ...

. She moved to Alice Springs in 1985 to the region to work as a remote-area nurse and health educator but has since taught creative writing at the

Alice Springs Correctional Centre The Alice Springs Correctional Centre, an Australian medium to maximum security prison for males and females, is located outside Alice Springs, Northern Territory, Australia. The centre is managed by Northern Territory Correctional Services, an ...

and

Batchelor Institute of Indigenous Tertiary Education Batchelor Institute of Indigenous Tertiary Education (BIITE, generally known as Batchelor Institute and formerly known as Batchelor College) provides training and further education, and higher education for Aboriginal Australians and Torres St ...

. She has also worked at

NPY Women's Council The Ngaanyatjarra, Pitjantjatjara and Yankunytjatjara Women's Council (NPY Women's Council, NPYWC) is a community-based community organisation formed in 1980 delivering services to the Ngaanyatjarra, Pitjantjatjara and Yankunytjatjara women in th ...

as an education researcher. Shilton's poetry has been included in a number of anthologies, journals and broadcast radio and in 2018, she published her first book ''Walking with camels: the story of Bertha Strehlow'' through University of Western Australia Publishing, developed from her creative writing PhD
Giving silence its voice: uncovering Bertha Strehlow's voice through poetry
It was a finalist in the Northern Territory History Book Awards. Shilton's second book, ''Malcolm : a story in verse,'' was published in 2019 and it is set in Melbourne's underbelly and centres around Malcolm, a 17 year old boy, with a difficult and violent upbringing. Shilton is also a founding member of Ptilotus Press, a community publisher in Alice Springs, which is managed by a collective of local writers.

Awards and honours

* Northern Territory Literary Award for poetry, 2010 and 2016 * Northern Territory Literary Award, essay category, 2012. * 2015, shortlisted, University of Canberra Poetry Prize

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shilton, Leni Australian poets People from Alice Springs Australian women writers Living people Year of birth missing (living people)