New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards
1 appearances
-
Edition 17 (1995) Winner
Lily Brett
リリー・ブレット
Rirī Buretto
Aliases:
Lilijahne Brajtsztajn / Luba Brajsztajn / Lilijahne Breitstein
Profile
- Gender
- Female
- Born
- 1946-09-05 （Feldafing displaced persons camp, Bavaria, Germany）
- Nationality
- Australian
- Languages
- English
- Religion
- Judaism
- Residence History
- Feldafing DP camp (1946-1948) → North Carlton, Melbourne (1948-1968) → Elwood/Caulfield, Melbourne → London (1968-1971) → Melbourne (1971-1989) → New York City (1989-present)
Career
- Occupations
- Novelist, Essayist, Poet, Music journalist
- Active Years
- 1966-
- Nominations
- Miles Franklin Literary Award shortlist (2000, Too Many Men), Miles Franklin Literary Award shortlist (2013, Lola Bensky)
Education
| Institution | Faculty | Department | Degree | Period | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| University High School, Melbourne | — | N/A | — | 高校在学中 | Australia |
University High School, Melbourne
N/A
Period:
高校在学中
Country:
Australia
Attended but did not matriculate; skipped exams to watch Hitchcock's Psycho.
Awards
| Year | Award | Work | Category | Organization | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1987 | C. J. Dennis Prize for Poetry | The Auschwitz Poems | Poetry | Victorian Premier's Literary Awards | Winner |
| 1986 | Mattara Poetry Prize | Poland | Poetry | — | Winner |
| 1992 | Steele Rudd Award | What God Wants | Fiction | — | Winner |
| 1995 | New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards, Christina Stead Prize | Just Like That | Fiction | New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards | Winner |
| 2000 | Commonwealth Writers' Prize (Best Book SE Asia & South Pacific) | Too Many Men | — | Commonwealth Foundation | Winner |
| 2014 | Prix Médicis étranger | Lola Bensky | — | — | Winner |
| 2021 | Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) | service to literature | — | — | Recipient |
C. J. Dennis Prize for Poetry
1987
Work:
The Auschwitz Poems
Category:
Poetry
Organization:
Victorian Premier's Literary Awards
Result:
Winner
Mattara Poetry Prize
1986
Work:
Poland
Category:
Poetry
Result:
Winner
Steele Rudd Award
1992
Work:
What God Wants
Category:
Fiction
Result:
Winner
New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards, Christina Stead Prize
1995
Work:
Just Like That
Category:
Fiction
Organization:
New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards
Result:
Winner
Commonwealth Writers' Prize (Best Book SE Asia & South Pacific)
2000
Work:
Too Many Men
Organization:
Commonwealth Foundation
Result:
Winner
Prix Médicis étranger
2014
Work:
Lola Bensky
Result:
Winner
Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM)
2021
Work:
service to literature
Result:
Recipient
Awards & Nominations
Prix Médicis
1 appearances
Works
Major Works
The Auschwitz Poems
1986 PoetryPoetry collection on Auschwitz and the Holocaust, illustrated by husband David Rankin.
HolocaustAuschwitzJewish experience
Things Could Be Worse
1990 Novel/Short storiesInterlinked stories about Jewish immigrants in post-WWII Melbourne.
Jewish immigrantsFamily lifeHolocaust memory
Just Like That
1994 NovelStory of Ester Zepler, daughter of Holocaust survivors, blending humor and anguish.
Intergenerational traumaJewish identity
Too Many Men
2001 NovelRuth Rothwax and father Edek visit Auschwitz; tender, comic, and sad.
HolocaustFather-daughter relationshipMemory
Adaptations
- [Film] Treasure / Julia von Heinz (2024)
You Gotta Have Balls
2005 NovelThird in Ruth and Edek series; successful in Europe with theatre adaptation.
FamilyJewish lifeChutzpah
Adaptations
- [Theatre] Chuzpe / Otto Schenk (2012)
Lola Bensky
2013 NovelSemi-autobiographical novel of her 1960s music journalism days.
1960s rock sceneJournalismJewish
Bibliography
- Luba (short story)
- Things Could Be Worse
- What God Wants
- Just Like That
- Collected Stories
- Too Many Men
- You Gotta Have Balls
- Lola Bensky
- Treasure (movie tie-in)
- In Full View
- New York
- Between Mexico and Poland
- Only in New York
- Only the others are old
- Old Seems To Be Other People
- The Auschwitz Poems
- Poland and other poems
- After the war: poems
- Unintended Consequences
- In Her Strapless Dresses
- Mud in My Tears
- Poems by Lily Brett
- Blistered Days
- Liebesgedichte (Love Poems)
- Wenn Wir Bleiben Könnten
Adaptations
- Too Many Men adapted as film Treasure (2024, dir. Julia von Heinz, starring Lena Dunham, Stephen Fry)
Translations of Works
- Translated into many languages, especially successful in Europe
Style & Themes
- Literary Style
- Humorous and satirical styleBlends comedy with profound sadnessIntimate portrayals of family life
- Recurring Motifs
- Holocaust survivor traumaImmigrant experiencesParent-child dynamicsJewish identity
Legacy
Australian author renowned for novels and poetry depicting the lives of Holocaust survivors' children in Melbourne and New York. Multiple literary awards; works adapted to film and theatre.
Archives
- National Library of Australia
In Popular Culture
- Novel Too Many Men adapted into film Treasure (2024)
Trivia
- Born in a displaced persons camp
- Began career as pop music journalist at Go-Set
- Managed the band Virgil Brothers
- Has three children
- Awarded Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) in 2021