Wendy Lewis is an Australian writer working in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

who has written a number of non-fiction books about Australian people, history and events. She has also written plays under the pen-name of Julia Lewis.

Non-fiction

In 2010, Lewis was commissioned by the

National Australia Day Council The National Australia Day Council (NADC) is a non-profit social enterprise owned by the Australian Government and is the national coordinating body for the Australian of the Year awards and Australia Day. It was established in 1979 and inc ...

to write ''Australians of the Year'', the official 50-year history of the Australian of the Year Award. ''See Australia and Die'' describes incidents resulting in harm to people travelling in Australia, including from crocodile attacks, the sting of

Irukandji jellyfish The Irukandji jellyfish ( ) are any of several similar, extremely venomous species of rare jellyfish. With a very small adult size of about a cubic centimetre (1 cm3), they are both the smallest and one of the most venomous jellyfish in th ...

, and death by

hypothermia Hypothermia is defined as a body core temperature below in humans. Symptoms depend on the temperature. In mild hypothermia, there is shivering and mental confusion. In moderate hypothermia, shivering stops and confusion increases. In severe ...

. ''Events That Shaped Australia'' recounts details, personages, the images and after-effects of important events in Australia's history. ''Caught Out! Scandals, Lies, Cover-ups'' is a selection of Australian scandals including

David Hicks David Matthew Hicks (born 7 August 1975) is an Australian who attended al-Qaeda's Al Farouq training camp in Afghanistan, and met with Osama bin Laden during 2001. He was then detained by the United States in Guantanamo Bay detention camp fro ...

Muhamed Haneef Muhamed Haneef (born 29 September 1979) is an Indian born doctor who was falsely accused of aiding terrorists, and left Australia upon cancellation of his visa amid great political controversy. His visa was later reinstated and he was given som ...

, Children Overboard,

Cheryl Kernot Cheryl Zena Kernot (née Paton, formerly Young; born 5 December 1948) is an Australian politician, academic, and political activist. She was a member of the Australian Senate representing Queensland for the Australian Democrats from 1990 to 199 ...

's big secret, The Mufti and the Uncovered Meat. ''Gone'' describes 25 kidnapping cases in various countries. Lewis' book ''Celebrating 150 years of Rookwood Catholic Cemetery'' was commissioned by the Catholic church. The book launch was celebrated with a mass at St Mary's Cathedral, followed by a cocktail party at the

Hyde Park Barracks, Sydney The Hyde Park Barracks, Sydney is a heritage-listed former barracks, hospital, convict accommodation, mint and courthouse and now museum and cafe located at Macquarie Street in the Sydney central business district, in the City of Sydney loca ...

Theatre

Lewis has written plays entitled ''Statues of David'', ''The Baggage Handler'' (2006) and ''Life Drawing'' (2013). Lewis' musical ''What's My Color?'', co-written with Berlin-based composer Yuval Halpern, premiered in the US in October 2016. In 2018, Lewis adapted ''The Devil's Caress'' by

June Wright Dorothy June Wright (née Healy; 29 June 1919 – 4 February 2012) was an Australian writer. She wrote six popular crime novels between 1948 and 1966, all with recognisable settings in and around Melbourne. She also wrote many articles for Cath ...

to stage. The production presented June Wright's classic murder mystery interwoven with her life and times in post-war Melbourne. It was produced by Factory Space Theatre Company. The script was published by The Australian Script Centre. In 2020, Lewis wrote the text and composed the music of a musical comedy called ''Defeating Roger Federer''. It was performed at the

New Theatre (Newtown) The New Theatre, formerly Workers' Art Club and New Theatre League, is a community theatre company in the Inner West Sydney suburb of Newtown, Australia. Its origins are in the international New Theatre movement of the 1920s, and it is the old ...

Other works

Lewis won a poetry competition in connection with ''Refresh Drummoyne'', an urban art installation for the

City of Canada Bay The City of Canada Bay is a local government area in the Inner West of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The city was formed on 1 December 2000, following the merger of Concord and Drummoyne councils. The city covers an area of and as at the ...

in Sydney in 2010. Her winning entry was typographed as a mural by a graphic designer in a manner that "refers to and resembles billboards, poster walls, newspaper headlines and antique film rolls."

Bibliography

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References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lewis, Wendy Living people Australian non-fiction writers Australian dramatists and playwrights Writers from Sydney 21st-century Australian women writers 21st-century Australian writers 1962 births