Melissa Lucashenko facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Melissa Lucashenko
Lucashenko for Griffith Review in 2019
Born	1967 (age 57–58) Brisbane, Australia
Occupation	Writer
Nationality	Australian
Genre	Adult literary fiction, literary non-fiction and novels for teenagers
Notable works	Too Much Lip
Notable awards	Miles Franklin Award

Melissa Lucashenko is an Indigenous Australian writer. She writes books for adults and also for teenagers. She has won important awards for her work.

In 2013, she won an award for her long article Sinking Below Sight: Down and Out in Brisbane and Logan. In 2019, she won the famous Miles Franklin Award for her novel Too Much Lip.

Early Life and Education

Melissa Lucashenko was born in 1967 in Brisbane, Australia. Her family background is Bundjalung and European. She studied at Griffith University and graduated in 1990. She earned a degree in public policy.

In 1992, she helped start an organization called Sisters Inside. This group helps women and girls who are in prison.

Melissa Lucashenko's Writing Journey

Melissa Lucashenko has shared that when she started writing seriously, there were not many Aboriginal writers being published in Australia. She felt there was a big gap in Australian literature. Only a few publishers were sharing the stories of Aboriginal writers.

When asked if she sees herself mainly as a writer or an Aboriginal writer, she explained that the meaning of "Aboriginal writer" can be different for everyone.

First Books and Awards

Lucashenko's first book was the novel Steam Pigs, published in 1997. This book won the Dobbie Literary Award for Australian women's fiction. It was also considered for other awards, like the NSW Premier's Literary Awards.

In 1998, she released another novel called Killing Darcy. This book won the Royal Blind Society's Talking Book Award for young readers. It was also a finalist for the 1998 Aurealis Award for Best Young Adult Novel.

Her third novel, Hard Yards, came out in 1999. It was a finalist for the NSW Premier's Literary Awards and the Courier-Mail Book of the Year. In 2002, she published her fourth novel, Too Flash, which was written for young adults.

Winning Major Literary Awards

Lucashenko's fifth novel, Mullumbimby, won the important Deloitte Fiction Book Award in 2013. It also won the Victorian Premier's Literary Award for Indigenous Writing in 2014. This book was also nominated for several other awards.

In 2019, her sixth novel Too Much Lip won the prestigious Miles Franklin Award. It also won the Queensland Premier's Award. Judges described the book as a brave and honest look at family challenges, mixed with sharp humor. A company called Cenozoic Pictures decided to make Too Much Lip into a movie or TV show. Melissa Lucashenko is helping to write and create it.

Her seventh novel, Edenglassie, was released in 2023. This book won her the Queensland Premier's Award for a second time. It also won the Victorian Premier's Literary Award. In late 2024, she won the ARA Historical Novel Prize. The judges praised her for showing the tough parts of colonization while celebrating the strength of Indigenous cultures.

Non-Fiction Writing

Melissa Lucashenko is also a skilled essay writer. In 2013, she won a Walkley Award for her long article Sinking below sight: Down and out in Brisbane and Logan. She mentioned that her studies in public policy helped her write this essay. She wanted to show how a mix of big societal issues and simple good or bad luck shapes people's lives.

Personal Life

In March 2014, a radio show called The Moth aired a story told by Melissa Lucashenko. She shared about moving with her family back to the Aboriginal lands in New South Wales. This is where her great-grandmother grew up.

Awards and Nominations