Bernard Cohen (Australian author) facts for kids
Bernard Cohen, born in 1963, is an Australian writer. He has written many books, including five novels, a collection of short stories, and even a picture book for children. He is known for his creative stories and for helping young writers.
What Has Bernard Cohen Written?
Bernard Cohen started his writing journey with his first novel, Tourism, which came out in 1992. Later, in 1996, his book The Blindman's Hat won a special award called the Australian/Vogel Literary Award. This award is a big deal for new writers in Australia.
His fifth novel, The Antibiography of Robert F Menzies, also won an important award. It received the very first Russell Prize for Humour Writing. This shows that Bernard Cohen is great at writing funny stories!
Bernard Cohen has also written many short stories. These stories have been featured in popular collections like the Penguin Century of Australian Stories. His first collection of short stories, called When I Saw the Animal, was published in 2018. From 1990 to 1991, he also helped edit a literary magazine called Editions Review.
Helping Young Writers
In 2006, Bernard Cohen started something really cool for kids called The Writing Workshop. This workshop offers creative writing programs for children. They run these programs in New South Wales, Australia, and also online, so kids from anywhere can join in and learn how to write their own amazing stories.
Awards and Recognition
Bernard Cohen has received several awards for his writing. These awards show how much his work is appreciated:
- 2015: He won the Russell Prize for Humour Writing for his novel The Antibiography of Robert F Menzies.
- 1996: His novel The Blindman's Hat won the The Australian / Vogel Literary Award.
- He was named the Sydney Morning Herald Best Young Australian Novelist three times! This happened in 1996 for Tourism, in 1997 for The Blindman's Hat, and in 1998 for Snowdome.
- 2001: He received a Writer's Award from the Arts Council England.
- 1997: He was named Alumnus of the Year by the University of Technology, Sydney.
- 1986: He won the Canberra Times Short Story of the Year award in the category for writers under 25 years old.
