Alice Pung facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Alice Pung
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Pung in 2012
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| Born | 1981 (age 43–44) Footscray, Victoria, Australia |
| Nationality | Australian |
| Education | University of Melbourne |
| Notable works | Growing Up Asian in Australia Unpolished Gem |
| Notable awards | Non-Fiction Prize in the 2011 Western Australian Book Awards; Australian Newcomer of the Year in the 2007 Australian Book Industry Awards |
Alice Pung OAM (born in 1981) is a well-known Australian writer, editor, and lawyer. She has written many books, including true stories about her life called memoirs, like Unpolished Gem (2006) and Her Father's Daughter (2011). She also wrote a popular novel for young adults called Laurinda (2014).
Besides writing, Alice Pung is also a practicing lawyer. She has taught art and worked as a teacher in both primary and secondary schools. She is currently an Artist in Residence at Janet Clarke Hall at the University of Melbourne.
Contents
About Alice Pung
Alice Pung was born in Australia. Her parents are from Cambodia and are part of an ethnic group called Teochew Chinese. They had to leave Cambodia in 1980 to escape a very dangerous time called the Khmer Rouge killing fields, which was a period of great violence and war. They came to Australia seeking safety.
Alice was named after the main character in Alice in Wonderland. Her father thought Australia was like a "wonderland" because it was a safe and new place for them. She was born in Footscray, a suburb of Melbourne, and grew up in Braybrook.
Alice went to five different schools in Melbourne, including Penleigh and Essendon Grammar School and Mac.Robertson Girls' High School. She later studied law at the University of Melbourne. Today, she uses her law degree to work as a legal analyst.
Her Writing Career
Alice Pung's first book was a memoir called Unpolished Gem. A memoir is a true story about a part of someone's life. This book won the Newcomer of the Year Award in 2007 at the Australian Book Industry Awards. Her next memoir, Her Father's Daughter, came out in 2011.
In 2014, she published her first book for young adults, Laurinda. This book was later changed for American readers in 2016. High school students even wrote their own stories inspired by Laurinda in a collection published in 2016. Alice Pung has also written books for the Our Australian Girl children's series, which are called the Marly books.
Alice Pung was a visiting writer at the International Writing Program at the University of Iowa in 2009. She often writes for a magazine called The Monthly. In her articles, she talks about important topics like fairness, different cultures, and what it's like to live in Melbourne.
In 2020, the Melbourne Theatre Company announced that they would turn Alice Pung's novel, Laurinda, into a play for the stage.
Awards and Recognition
Alice Pung has received several awards for her writing. In 2022, she was given the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM). This is a special award given to Australians who have done great things for their country, in her case, for her contributions to literature (writing).
Awards for Unpolished Gem
- Winner of the Australian Newcomer of the Year award in the 2007 Australian Book Industry Awards.
Awards for Her Father's Daughter
- Winner of the Non-Fiction Prize in the 2011 Western Australian Book Awards.
Awards for Laurinda
- Winner of the 2016 Ethel Turner Prize for Young People's Literature (part of the NSW Premier's Literary Awards).
Awards for One Hundred Days
- Shortlisted for the 2022 Miles Franklin Award, which is one of Australia's most important literary prizes.
Awards for Millie Mak the Maker
- Shortlisted for the 2024 Prime Minister's Literary Award for Children's Literature.
