Maurilia Meehan
Genres
Rumour has it that she was named after Maurilia, the mysterious main-belt asteroid found between Mars and Jupiter…
That she comes from the city of Maurilia, documented in Italo Calvino’s Invisible Cities…
She is winner of The State of Victoria Short Story Award and her first novel was shortlisted for the Australian Vogel Award.
Penguin Australia published her second novel, Fury, about Olympe de Gouges, an activist guillotined during the French Revolution for her surprisingly modern views on everything from the monarchy to sexual liberation. Fury was translated into German as Furie Hinter Den Spiegeln (Argument Verlag).
It was shortlisted for The Age Book of the Year and the prestigious Miles Franklin Award.
The Sea People (Penguin) explores an ill-fated first settlement in Sorrento, Australia, where one of Maurilia’s ancestors arrived in a convict ship. (He was transported for stealing a sheep). The Sea People was shortlisted for the Braille Talking Books Award.
As in Fury, the narrative travels back and forth in time to tell its story.
The outrageously provocative Adultery (Penguin) has the glory of being one of the most stolen books from libraries… a great honour bestowed on it by passionate readers.
With film-maker Franco di Chiera, Adultery has been made into a screenplay, with the assistance of Film Victoria.
The Bad Seed is an intriguing ghost story, inspired by the mists of the Daylesford region where Maurilia now lives.
Madame Bovary’s Haberdashery was published by Transit Lounge Publishing in 2013, and her new release, 5 Ways To Be Famous Now, is out September 1, 2016.
