Beverley Anne Farmer (also known as B. Christou) (7 February 1941 – 16 April 2018) was an Australian novelist and short story writer.

Personal life

Beverley Farmer was born in

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 ...

. She was educated at

Mac.Robertson Girls' High School , motto_translation = Mastery of self , established = , type = Government-funded single-sex selective secondary day school , principal = Sue Harrap , location = South Melbourne, Victoria , country = Australia , coordi ...

and 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 no ...

, where she graduated with a BA in 1960. She worked in various jobs, mainly secondary-school teaching and running a restaurant, before becoming a professional writer.Virginia Blain, Patricia Clements and Isobel Grundy: ''The Feminist Companion to Literature in English. Women Writers from the Middle Ages to the Present'' (London: Batsford, 1990), p. 357. She was married a Greek migrant, Christos Talihmanidis, for thirteen years 1965-78, three of them spent in

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 ...

. They returned to Australia for their son to be born in 1972 and they were subsequently divorced. Farmer's autobiographical novella ''Alone'' (1980) reworked a story which had appeared in '' Westerly'' (1968). It was published by the firm of Sisters and "gives a sensitive portrayal of the breakup of a lesbian relationship." While she is best known for her fiction, Farmer also wrote essays, poetry, reviews and criticism. Her writing has appeared in several magazines, journals and newspapers, including '' Overland'', ''Westerly'', ''

Meanjin ''Meanjin'' (), formerly ''Meanjin Papers'' and ''Meanjin Quarterly'', is an Australian literary magazine. The name is derived from the Turrbal word for the spike of land where the city of Brisbane is located. It was founded in 1940 in Brisbane ...

'', '' Island Magazine'', and '' The Bulletin''. Loss features as a central theme in Farmer's stories. She described it as the "touchstone" of her work. The "experience of being foreign" was also favoured. Several stories in her 1985 book ''Home Time'' show growing awareness of the relation between life and fiction, writers and readers. She was an admirer of her fellow Australian novelist

Marjorie Barnard Marjorie Faith Barnard (16 August 18978 May 1987) was an Australian novelist and short story writer, critic, historian—and librarian. She went to school and university in Sydney, and then trained as a librarian. She was employed as a librari ...

. Beverley Farmer died on 16 April 2018, aged 77.

Awards and nominations

*1984 –

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 ...

, Christina Stead Prize for Fiction for ''Milk'' *1996 – ''The House in the Light'' was shortlisted for the Miles Franklin Award *2009 –

Patrick White Award The Patrick White Award is an annual literary prize established by Patrick White. White used his 1973 Nobel Prize in Literature award to establish a trust for this prize. The $25,000 cash award is given to a writer who has been highly creative o ...

*2018 – ''This Water'' was long-listed for The Stella Prize

Selected works

Short story anthologies

* ''Snake'' (1982) * ''Milk'' (1983) * ''Home Time'' (1985) * ''Collected Stories'' (1987) * ''This Water: Five Tales'' (2017)

Novellas

* ''Alone'' (1980) * ''The Seal Woman'' (1992) * ''The House in the Light'' (1995)

Other