Rhyll McMaster (born 1947 in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Queensland, and the third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of approximately 2.6 million. Brisbane lies at the centre of the South ...

) is a contemporary Australian

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems ( oral or wri ...

and

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living writing novels and other fiction, while others asp ...

. She has worked as a secretary, a nurse and a sheep farmer. She now lives in Sydney and has written full-time since 2000. She is a recipient of the

Barbara Jefferis Award The Barbara Jefferis Award is an Australian literary award prize. The award was created in 2007 after being endowed by John Hinde upon his death to commemorate his late wife, author Barbara Jefferis. It is funded by his $1 million bequest. Origi ...

Biography

Her poems have been appearing in Australian publications since she was sixteen. Her first book of

poetry Poetry (derived from the Greek ''poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meanings i ...

, ''The Brineshrimp'', 1972, won the

Harri Jones Memorial Prize for Poetry The Harri Jones Memorial Prize for Poetry is an annual prize awarded by the University of Newcastle, Australia, to “an Australian poet, not yet 36 years of age, whose work in the field of poetry is judged to be outstanding”. The Prize is name ...

; ''Washing the Money'', 1986, was awarded the C.J. Dennis Prize for Poetry and the

Grace Leven Prize for Poetry The Grace Leven Prize for Poetry was an annual poetry award in Australia, given in the name of Grace Leven who died in 1922. It was established by William Baylebridge who "made a provision for an annual poetry prize in memory of 'my benefactres ...

. ''On My Empty Feet'' was published in 1993 and poems from that selection were broadcast as a play for radio by the

Australian Broadcasting Corporation The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is the national broadcaster of Australia. It is principally funded by direct grants from the Australian Government and is administered by a government-appointed board. The ABC is a publicly-own ...

in 1996. ''Flying the Coop, New and Selected Poems, 1972-1994'', was awarded the

in 1994. ''Chemical Bodies, A Diary of Probable Events, 1994-1997'' was published in 1997. ''Evolutionary History of Edward Kelly in Primary Colours'', a response to nine of Sir Sidney Nolan's Ned Kelly paintings, was commissioned by the Nolan Gallery and published in an illustrated limited edition, with a foreword by Geoffrey Dutton in 1999. ''Late Night Shopping'' was published in 2012. Her first novel, ''Feather Man'' was published in Australia by Brandl & Schlesinger in 2007 and in the UK, US & Canada by Marion Boyars Publishers, 2008. It was awarded the inaugural 2008

and the UTS Glenda Adams Award for New Writing,

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 ...

, 2008. It was shortlisted for the

Vance Palmer Prize for Fiction The Victorian Premier's Prize for Fiction, formerly known as the Vance Palmer Prize for Fiction, is a prize category in the annual Victorian Premier's Literary Award. As of 2011 it has an remuneration of 25,000. The winner of this category prize vi ...

Victorian Premier's Literary Award The Victorian Premier's Literary Awards were created by the Victorian Government with the aim of raising the profile of contemporary creative writing and Australia's publishing industry. As of 2013, it is reportedly Australia's richest literary p ...

, 2007 and for the

Australian Literature Society Gold Medal The Australian Literature Society Gold Medal (ALS Gold Medal) is awarded annually by the Association for the Study of Australian Literature for "an outstanding literary work in the preceding calendar year." From 1928 to 1974 it was awarded by the ...

, 2008 for an outstanding literary work. ''Feather Man'' has now been translated into Mandarin and Ukrainian. McMaster has also been employed by ''

The Canberra Times ''The Canberra Times'' is a daily newspaper in Canberra, Australia, which is published by Australian Community Media. It was founded in 1926, and has changed ownership and format several times. History ''The Canberra Times'' was launched in ...

'' as a poetry editor and as a book reviewer by ''

The Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily compact newspaper published in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, and owned by Nine. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper ...

'', ''

The Australian ''The Australian'', with its Saturday edition, ''The Weekend Australian'', is a broadsheet newspaper published by News Corp Australia since 14 July 1964.Bruns, Axel. "3.1. The active audience: Transforming journalism from gatekeeping to gatew ...

'' and Australian Book Review. McMaster has been a chairperson and judge of the " NSW Premier's Literary Awards" and fellowships, and a panel chair at the Sydney Writer's Festival. " www.rhyllmcmaster.com"

Bibliography

Poetry

;Collections * * ''Washing the Money: Poems with photographs'' ( Angus & Robertson, 1986) * ''On My Empty Feet'' (William Heinemann, 1993) * ''Flying the Coop: New and selected poems 1972-1994'' (William Heinemann, 1994) * ''Chemical Bodies: A diary of probable events, 1994-1997'' (Brandl & Schlesinger, 1997) * ''Evolutionary History of Edward Kelly in Primary Colours'', 1999 (Edition & Artist Book Studio, ANU, for the Cultural Facilities Corporation, ACT) * ''Late Night Shopping'' (Brandl & Schlesinger, 2013)

Novels

* '' Feather Man'' (Brandl & Schlesinger, 2007)

Book reviews

External links

*
The poems of Rhyll McMaster

from '' Australian Book Review''
Review of ''Feather Man''
from ''

Brisbane Times Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Queensland, and the third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of approximately 2.6 million. Brisbane lies at the centre of the South ...

''
An excerpt from the novel ''Feather Man'' from Marion Boyars
{{DEFAULTSORT:McMaster, Rhyll 1947 births Living people 20th-century Australian novelists 20th-century Australian poets 20th-century Australian women writers 21st-century Australian novelists 21st-century Australian poets 21st-century Australian women writers Australian Book Review people Australian women novelists Australian women poets Writers from Brisbane Writers from Sydney