Education
He finished his schooling in Darwin in the Northern Territory.
He graduated in medicine from the University of Adelaide in 1974, and worked in alcohol and drug rehabilitation for several years.
He finished his schooling in Darwin in the Northern Territory.
He graduated in medicine from the University of Adelaide in 1974, and worked in alcohol and drug rehabilitation for several years.
an Australian writer and medical practitioner. He has won awards for his short stories, poetry, novels, and opera libretti.
Goldsworthy has been described in A Reader's Guide to Contemporary Australian Poetry as "one of the most skilled and satisfying poets in Australia".
Goldsworthy's novels have sold over four hundred thousand copies in Australia alone, and, with his poetry and short stories, have been translated into many European and Asian languages.
Goldsworthy also writes opera libretti. He wrote the libretti for the Richard Mills operas, Summer of the Seventeenth Doll and Batavia, the latter winning Mills and Goldsworthy the 2002 Robert Helpmann Award for Best Opera and Best New Australian Work. The Sydney premiere at the Sydney Opera House on 19 August 2006 was conducted by the composer and attended by the librettist.
His first novel Maestro was reissued as part of the Angus & Robertson Australian Classics series, and was voted one of the Top 40 Australian books of all time by members of the Australian Society of Authors.
His novels Wish, Honk If You Are Jesus, and Three Dog Night have been adapted for the stage. Honk, was premiered by the State Theatre of South Australia in its 2006 season. It won the 2006 Ruby Award for Best New Work, and the 2006 Advertiser Oscart Award for Best Play.
Goldsworthy wrote or co-wrote the script to several films:
Ebbtide (1994)
Passion (1999)
In 2009 Honk If You Are Jesus was adapted as a radio play by Mike Ladd for ABC Radio National and was broadcast by the BBC World Service. The novella "Jesus Wants Me For A Sunbeam" has also been adapted as a radio-play by Mike Ladd for the ABC.
Goldsworthy's poetry has been set to music by leading Australian composers including Graeme Koehne, Richard Mills, and Matthew Hindson.
In 2008 Ashlee Page is working on the short film The Kiss adapted from the short story of the same name from the collection The List of All Answers.