RESOURCES FOR BIOGRAPHICAL WRITING

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Biographical tips

Flanagan

The Interview

Analysis

Writing Examples

General guides

Examples of Biographical Writing

WINC Winch, Tara Swallow the air . Series of short biographical-style stories of young Aboriginal girl growing up.

070.449796 BES The best Australian sports writing. Includes biographical pieces on sporting personalities.

070.92 DUN Dunn, Jancee But enough about me: from eighties Geek to Rock ‘n' Roll chic – adventures in Celebsville . Dunn's experiences interviewing celebrities for Rolling Stone.

808.83 BOL Bolt, Sydney Turning points: critical moments from fiction & autobiography

808.88 FLA Flanagan, Martin Faces in the crowd

A820.8 DAR Dark dreams: Australian refugee stories

920 STA Starck, Nigel Life after death: The art of the obituary . Strong biographical content.

920.00904 AIT Aiten, Doug More conversations with Doug Aiten . Short biographical essays from his column “Conversations” in the Sunday Age

920.00904 LAW Lawrence, Tess Headlines: interviews with international celebrities. Collection of interviews written for daily newspapers.

920.02 BIO Buford, Bill. Biography . Short biographical pieces by famous authors such as Bellow, Marquez, Banville, et al

920.094 Wilmoth, Peter Up close: 28 lives of extraordinary Australians

994.00922 AST As the twig is bent; the childhood recollections of sixteen prominent Australians. (Includes Bob Hawke, Jim Killen, Phillip Adams, Kath Walker, Clifton Pugh, etc.)

994.0099 ATK Atkins, Perri Moments of truth; the turning points of 60 prominent Australians. Well-known Australians talk about life-changing experiences.

994.0099 BES Ricketson, Matthew The best Australian profiles . Includes a variety of journalistic profiles (mini-biographies) which are interesting and well-crafted.

994.0099MCL The driving force: 200 years of Australian success stories , by Shirley McLaughlin. Collection of responses to the question “What, or who, is the driving force that has made your success possible?”

Journals and Newspapers

Browse the selection of journals from the library collection, including:-

The Bulletin
Meanjin
The Monthly
The Overlander
Rolling Stone

Keep an eye on some of the regular columns and feature articles for biographies, especially weekend editions of the daily newspapers.

Obituaries published in daily newspapers can be a good source of “potted biography” giving a sense of the personality while recording important activities and achievements

Good Weekend - regular column 2 of Us as well as features
Weekend Australian - regular section Foreword – Good times, bad times

ED 920.094 FLA Flanaghan, Martin Compilation of stories published weekly in 2004 in The Age as Monday Story. Available from the Age on CD-Rom 1994. Melbourne journalist, Martin Flanaghan, is well-known for writing about the lives and emotions of ordinary people.

ED Life lines The Weekend Australian Magazine January 6-7, 2007.
Short interviews with 12 well-known Australians sharing memorable moments in their lives

ED 302 TWO The two of Us : a selection of the best interviews from your favourite weekend column. Special edition 2006. The Age Good Weekend , 2006

The Age Saturday edition on “ Digests & Despatches” page has a column Essays and Ideas: the best writing which has short articles or excerpts, sometimes with a biographical emphasis.