World Literary Awards

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Bruce Pascoe

ブルース・パスコー

Burūsu Pasukō

Pen Names: Murray Gray（Used for the 1984 satirical novel 'The Great Australian Novel: At Last it's Here'）, Leopold Glass（Used for the 1999 detective novel 'Ribcage: All You Need Is $800,000 – Quickly'）

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1947 （Richmond, Victoria, Australia）
Nationality
Australian
Languages
English
Residence History
King Island (Tasmania) → Mornington, Victoria → Fawkner, Victoria → Melbourne → Near Shepparton → Bairnsdale → Yumburra farm near Mallacoota, East Gippsland, Victoria

Career

Occupations
Writer, Teacher, Publisher, Enterprise Professor in Indigenous Agriculture
Active Years
1981-
Affiliations
University of Melbourne (Enterprise Professor in Indigenous Agriculture), Pascoe Publishing, Seaglass Books

Education

University of Melbourne
Faculty of Education / Department of Education
Degree: Bachelor of Education
Country: Australia
Initially studied commerce, then transferred to Melbourne State College

Awards

Fellowship of Australian Writers Literature Award
1999
Work: Shark
Organization: Fellowship of Australian Writers
Result: 受賞（デイビッド・フォスターと共同）
Prime Minister's Literary Award for Young Adult Fiction
2013
Work: Fog a Dox
Organization: Prime Minister's Literary Awards
Result: 受賞
The Deadlys Published Book of the Year
2013
Work: Fog a Dox
Organization: The Deadlys
Result: 受賞
New South Wales Premier's Literary Award for Book of the Year
2016
Work: Dark Emu
Organization: New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards
Result: 受賞
New South Wales Premier's Indigenous Writers' Prize
2016
Work: Dark Emu
Organization: New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards
Result: 受賞
Dreamtime Person of the Year
2018
Organization: National Dreamtime Awards
Result: ノミネート
Australia Council for the Arts Lifetime Achievement Award
2018
Organization: Australia Council for the Arts
Result: 受賞
Children's Book of the Year Award, Eve Pownall Award for Information Books
2020
Work: Young Dark Emu
Organization: Children's Book Council of Australia
Result: 受賞
Australian Society of Authors ASA Medal
2021
Organization: Australian Society of Authors
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Dark Emu: Black Seeds: Agriculture or Accident?

2014 Non-fiction, Australian Indigenous history

Challenges the view that pre-colonial Aboriginal peoples were only hunter-gatherers, presenting evidence of agriculture, aquaculture, engineering, and permanent housing from settler accounts.

Indigenous agricultureSustainable developmentHistorical revisionism
Adaptations
  • [Documentary film] Dark Emu / Erica Glynn

Fog a Dox

2012 Young adult fiction

A young adult story incorporating Indigenous cultural knowledge.

Indigenous cultureIdentity

Fox

1988 Fiction

A fugitive searches for his Aboriginal identity and home, dealing with issues like Aboriginal deaths in custody, discrimination, and land rights.

Aboriginal identityLand rights

Bibliography

  • A Corner Full of Characters (1981)
  • Night Animals (1986)
  • Fox (1988)
  • Ruby-eyed Coucal (1996)
  • Shark (1999)
  • Dark Emu (2014)
  • Young Dark Emu (2019)

Translations by Author

  • Dictionary of Wathaurong language

Style & Themes

Literary Style
Known for editing short storiesReinterpretation of Indigenous history
Recurring Motifs
Aboriginal identityConnection to land and cultureRe-examination of history

Legacy

Known for reinterpreting Australian Indigenous history, especially with 'Dark Emu' which sparked controversy. Enterprise Professor at University of Melbourne promoting Indigenous agriculture.

In Popular Culture

  • Featured in documentary series 'First Australians'
  • Central figure in debates on Aboriginal identity

Trivia

  • Discovered Aboriginal ancestry in his early thirties and identifies as Koori
  • Used multiple pen names
  • CFA volunteer during 2019-20 bushfires
  • Subject of controversy over Aboriginal identity