Education
She studied English and History at the University of Melbourne, before later attending Glasgow University where she completed a Diploma and Masters in Social Work.
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Helen Fitzgerald
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Her debut novel, Dead Lovely, was originally published by Allen & Unwin in September 2007 and her latest novel, The Exit, was published in February 2015 by Faber & Faber. Viral, her next novel, is due to be released in February 2016. She was raised in the country town of Kilmore, Victoria, being the twelfth in a large family of thirteen children.
She began writing while working as a criminal justice social worker, where for a period she worked with serious sex offenders in Glasgow"s Barlinnie Prison.
She quit this job for a time to focus solely on her writing career, before returning to the field part-time. She cites her experience as a social worker an inspiration in the subject matter of her writing.
Some critics noted that Fitzgerald"s first book, while generally described as a crime novel, did not follow the traditional rules of the genre. They argued that it belonged to a different, more psychologically complex tradition, characterised by the dark humour and flawed anti-heroines of writers such as Tama Janowitz and Fay Weldon.
Novelist Mark Abernethy wrote of Fitzgerald: "She has managed to do what Fay Weldon did in The Life and Loves of a She-Devil, which is to find the joke in what appalls us." Australian critic Sally Murphy described the novel as compelling but hard to classify, with "elements of chick-lit mixed with ghastly scenes of murder and retribution", while Adelaide writer Cath Kenneally highlighted Fitzgerald"s technique of underpinning audacious and potentially shocking material - "working blue" - with "sociological acumen".
The Cry has received the widest critical acclaim of any of Helen"s novels to date, with Doug Johnstone from The Independent on Sunday stating: "Astonishingly good. lieutenant is utterly harrowing, completely plausible, constantly nerve-shredding. The Cry is a remarkable novel - its devastating power all the stronger for its realistic rendering.
Brilliant stuff." Helen has been nominated for several awards, including: The 2010 Davitt Award for The Devil"s Staircase The 2010 Spinetingler Award for The Devil"s Staircase The 2012 Davitt Award for The Donor The 2014 Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Award for The Cry The 2014 Davitt Award for The Cry.
