Di Morrissey facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Di Morrissey
AM
|
|
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born | Grace Diane Cairns 1943 (age 81–82) Australia |
| Occupation | Writer |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Fiction |
| Subject | Australian fiction |
Di Morrissey, born Grace Diane Cairns in 1943, is a very popular Australian writer. She is famous for her many best-selling novels. She often writes about Australian places and important issues.
Early Life
Di Morrissey was born in 1943 in Wingham, New South Wales. When she was five, her family moved to a quiet area called Pittwater, near Sydney.
A famous Australian actor named Chips Rafferty was a close friend and mentor to Di. He helped her and her mother after her stepfather and half-brother passed away. Chips Rafferty even helped them get money to travel to California to live with family.
Di's mother, Kay Roberts, was also a trailblazer. She became Australia's first female director for commercial TV. She worked at places like Artransa Studios and Film Australia.
Career
Di Morrissey always wanted to write novels. When she was 17, she started working as a cadet journalist. This was for The Australian Women's Weekly magazine. Later, she worked as a journalist in London, England, for several years.
She then married an American diplomat named Peter Morrissey. They lived in Hawaii. There, 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. She became one of the first presenters on Good Morning Australia. This was Australia's first national morning TV show. It started in 1981.
In 1989, Di left TV to focus on writing. Her first novel, Heart of the Dreaming, came out in 1991. It quickly became a best-seller. This book helped create a demand for stories set in Australia.
Di Morrissey is also an environmentalist and activist. Her novels are often inspired by beautiful landscapes. They also include important environmental, political, and cultural topics. These themes are woven into her popular stories.
After supporting Aung San Suu Kyi, Di traveled to Burma (now called Myanmar) in 2011. She then published her book The Golden Land in 2012. She later started The Golden Land Education Foundation. This foundation raises money for a school she helped build outside Mandalay.
In 2015, she launched The Manning Community News. This is a monthly newspaper that shares local news. It covers the Manning Valley area in New South Wales.
Awards and Honours
In May 2017, Di Morrissey was honored by 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 her great contributions to the Australian book industry. Her friend and fellow author Tom Keneally presented the award.
In 2019, Di Morrissey was made a Member of the Order of Australia (AM). This is a special honor given by Australia. It recognized her "significant service to literature as a novelist." It also honored her work for conservation and the environment.
Children's books
- 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
