Tony Birch

Background

Tony Birch was born in 1957 in inner-city Melbourne into a large family of Australian Aboriginal, Irish and West Indian descent. He grew up around Fitzroy, a working-class suburb of Melbourne considered a slum.

Education

Tony was expelled from a high school at the age of 15. After 10 years in the workforce, he went to complete Year 12 at the Broadmeadows TAFE College. After that, Tony studied at the University of Melbourne, where he commenced as an undergraduate in 1988, majoring in history and literature. He then also received a Master of Arts and a Ph.D. In 2003 he was awarded the Chancellor’s Medal for the best Ph.D. in Arts.

Career

After leaving school, Tony served at the fire brigade until 1987, when he quit and went studying. Aboriginal history became the focus of Birch’s research interests towards the end of his undergraduate degree, which coincided with the university developing what Birch describes as more “forward-thinking” initiatives. This led Birch to a teaching role within the university and graduate research with an eye towards obtaining a Ph.D. In the late 90s, his traditional teaching and research skills earned Birch a senior curator role for what became the Koori Voices exhibit which opened with the new Melbourne Museum in Carlton Gardens in 2000 as the centerpiece of the Bunjilaka Centre. Today Birsh is the first recipient of the Dr. Bruce McGuinness Indigenous Research Fellowship at Victoria University.

Birch is also the author of Ghost River, Blood, Shadowboxing, and three short story collections - Father’s Day, The Promise and Common People. His most recent work, The White Girl, was published in June 2019. Tony has appeared on ABC radio on shows such as Conversations with Richard Fidler, Life Matters and RN Afternoons. He is also a regular guest at writers’ festivals.

Achievements

• Tony Birch is an award-winning author. His best known work is Ghost River, which won the 2016 Victorian Premier’s Literary Award for Indigenous Writing.

Works

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• book

  • The White Girl

    (A searing new novel from leading Indigenous storyteller T...)

    2019
  • Shadowboxing

    (It is a collection of ten linked stories in the life of a...)

    2006
  • The Promise

    (In this breathtaking new work, Tony Birch affirms his pos...)

    2014
  • Common People

    (In this unforgettable new collection, Tony Birch introduc...)

    2017
  • Ghost River

    (The river is a place of history and secrets. For Ren and ...)

    2015

Politics

Birch is politically active in climate change and Aboriginal title movements. In his novels, he has incorporated themes affecting Indigenous people, such as colonial oppression, dispossession, the Stolen Generations, and generational violence, but weaves them creatively into the stories. He donates a portion of any prize money to the Indigenous youth organization dedicated to climate justice, Seed.