Di Morrissey facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Di Morrissey
AM
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| Born | Grace Diane Cairns 1943 (age 81–82) Australia |
| Occupation | Writer |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Fiction |
| Subject | Australian fiction |
Di Morrissey is a very popular Australian writer. She was born in 1943 with the name Grace Diane Cairns. Many of her books have become best-sellers.
Contents
Di Morrissey's Early Life
Di Morrissey was born in 1943 in a place called Wingham, New South Wales. Her parents were Kay and Len Cairns. When she was five, her family moved to a quiet area near Pittwater, which is north of Sydney.
As a child, Di had a special friend and mentor named Chips Rafferty. He was a famous Australian actor. He helped Di and her mother after her stepfather and half-brother passed away. Chips even helped them raise money to travel to California to live with family there.
Di's mother, Kay Roberts, was also a pioneer. She became Australia's first female director for commercial TV. She worked at places like Artransa Studios and Film Australia.
Di Morrissey's Career Journey
Even though Di Morrissey wanted to be a novelist since she was a young girl, she started her writing career as a cadet. At 17, she worked for The Australian Women's Weekly magazine. Later, she moved to London and worked as a journalist on Fleet Street for several years.
She then married Peter Morrissey, who was a US diplomat. They lived in Hawaii, where Di had her own morning TV show. She also appeared in some episodes of the TV series Hawaii Five-O. The couple lived in different countries in South East Asia and Guyana. After that, Di returned to Australia by herself.
In 1981, she became one of the first presenters on Australia's first national morning TV show. It was called Good Morning Australia and aired on Network Ten.
Becoming a Best-Selling Author
In 1989, Di left TV to focus on writing her first novel. This book, Heart of the Dreaming, was published in 1991. It quickly became a best-seller! This success showed that people really wanted to read stories set in Australia.
Di Morrissey is also very passionate about the environment. She is an environmentalist and an activist. All her novels are inspired by beautiful landscapes. She weaves important environmental, political, and cultural topics into her popular stories.
For example, she supported Aung San Suu Kyi, a famous leader from Myanmar (formerly Burma). Di traveled to Myanmar in 2011. This trip inspired her book The Golden Land, which came out in 2012. She later started The Golden Land Education Foundation. This foundation raises money for a school she helped set up outside Mandalay in Myanmar.
In 2015, Di also started a monthly newspaper. It's called The Manning Community News and covers local news in the Manning Valley, New South Wales.
Awards and Special Honours
Di Morrissey has received some important awards for her work.
In May 2017, she was honored at the Australian Book Industry Awards (ABIA). She was added to their Hall of Fame. She also received the Lloyd O’Neil Award. This award celebrates people who have made a big difference to the Australian book industry. Her old friend, author Tom Keneally, presented the award to her.
In 2019, Di Morrissey was made a Member of the Order of Australia (AM). This is a special honor given by the Queen. She received it for her "significant service to literature as a novelist, and to conservation and the environment." This means she was recognized for her great writing and her efforts to protect nature.
Children's Books
Di Morrissey has also written books for younger readers:
- Buster and the Queen Bee (Angus and Robertson) 2000
- Sonoma Meets Miss Mouse (Harbour Publishing) 2014
- Everton and Will (Harbour Publishing) 2015
- Surfer Boy Bo (Harbour Publishing) 2016
- Ula's Magic Island (Harbour Publishing) 2017
See also
In Spanish: Di Morrissey para niños
