Rod Jones (born 5 February 1953) is an Australian novelist. He was writer in residence at

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 ...

for four years, and has also been 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 ...

's writer in residence in Paris. He studied English and History at 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 ...

Writing

Rod Jones’ first novel, ''Julia Paradise'', won the Fiction Award in the

South Australian Premier's Awards The Adelaide Festival Awards for Literature comprise a group of biennially-granted literary awards established in 1986 by the Government of South Australia, announced during Adelaide Writers' Week, as part of the Adelaide Festival. The awards in ...

in 1988, was shortlisted for the

Miles Franklin Literary 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 ...

and was runner-up for the Femina Etranger Prize in Paris. It has been translated into ten languages and published throughout the world, most recently as a 2013 Text Classic, with an introduction by Emily Maguire. ''Julia Paradise'' was described by the

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

as "... utterly original ... a remarkable accomplishment".The Fantasy Trade in Shanghai
The New York Times,October 11, 1987 His second novel, ''Prince of the Lilies'', interweaves

Minoan The Minoan civilization was a Bronze Age Aegean civilization on the island of Crete and other Aegean Islands, whose earliest beginnings were from 3500BC, with the complex urban civilization beginning around 2000BC, and then declining from 1450B ...

archaeology and life in contemporary

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

. ''Billy Sunday'', Jones's third novel, was winner of the 1995 Age Book of the Year Award for Fiction and the 1996 National Book Council Banjo Award for Fiction.

The Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...

called ''Billy Sunday'', 'The Great American Novel'.Sullivan (2003) His fourth novel, ''Nightpictures'', was shortlisted for the 1998

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 ...

and published in France under the title ''Images de la Nuit''(Albin Michel). Jones's fifth novel, ''Swan Bay'' (Actes Sud), is published in France under the title ''La Baie des Cygnes''. Rod Jones' most recent work is the semi-autobiographical novel ''The Mothers'', released by

Text Publishing Text Publishing is an independent Australian publisher of fiction and non-fiction, based in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria. Company background Text Media was founded in Melbourne in 1990 by Diana Gribble and Eric Beecher, along wit ...

in 2015.

Alex Miller Alex Miller (born 4 July 1949) is a Scottish football manager and former player. As a player, he had a 15-year career with Rangers, winning several trophies. As a manager, he won the 1991–92 Scottish League Cup with Hibernian. He subsequen ...

observed, "Rod Jones' ''The Mothers'' is beautifully written and deeply poignant. One of the most satisfying Australian novels I’ve read in years", and

Toni Jordan Toni Jordan (born 1966 in Sydney, Australia) is a Melbourne-based novelist best known for her debut novel ''Addition'', an international bestseller long listed for the Miles Franklin Award. In 2017 her fourth book, ''Our Tiny Useless Hearts'' ...

said "I was captivated by the humanity and heart of the characters. Rod Jones has created a vivid and compelling world and I cared about everyone in it."

Works

* ''Julia Paradise'' (1986) * ''Prince of the Lilies'' (1991) * ''Billy Sunday'' (1995) * ''Nightpictures'' (1997) * ''Swan Bay: A novel of destiny, desire and death'' (2003) * ''The Mothers'' (2015)

Notes

References

Sullivan, Jane (2003) "An act of devotion" in theage.com.au
Accessed: 2007-09-02 1953 births 20th-century Australian novelists 21st-century Australian novelists Australian male novelists Living people University of Melbourne alumni 20th-century Australian male writers 21st-century Australian male writers {{Australia-writer-stub