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Mandy Sayer

January 31, 2023

Mandy Sayer (born 1963) is an Australian novelist and narrative non-fiction writer.

She was born in 1963 in the Sydney suburb of Marrickville, the third of three children. She began writing poetry and stories at the age of six. Her parents separated when she was aged ten.[1] In 1983, she travelled to the United States with her father Gerry, a jazz drummer.[1] To earn a living, they busked on the streets of New York City, New Orleans and Colorado for three years; Gerry played drums and Mandy tap danced. Her first memoir, Dreamtime Alice (1998), was based on these experiences. It was published to acclaim in Australia, the U.S., the U.K., Germany, and Brazil, and won the 2000 National Biography Award and Australian Audio Book of the Year.

In 1985 in New Orleans during Mardi Gras she met Yusef Komunyakaa, an African-American war poet (later to win a Pulitzer Prize). They discovered a mutual interest in jazz and the novels of Patrick White.[2] That year they married, and he became a professor at Indiana University, where she studied for an MA in English and Creative Writing.[2] and where she became a member of the Bill Evans Dance Company. She also studied narrative non-fiction writing with the celebrated author, Maxine Hong Kingston. During this time, she won the Vogel Award for her first novel, Mood Indigo (1990), which was followed by Blind Luck (1993), and The Cross (1995). Sayer and Komunyakaa divorced in 1995, after the birth of his child from a one-night stand he had with a former girlfriend. During their marriage, Sayer miscarried one child and terminated another pregnancy against Komyunakaa's wishes.[3] She discusses this in her third memoir, The Poet's Wife (2014), the writing of which was prompted by the 2003 murder-suicide of Komunyakaa’s subsequent partner, Reetika Vazirani, and their two-year-old son, Jehan.

On return to Australia, she gained a Doctorate from the University of Technology Sydney. In 1997, she was named one of Ten Best Young Australian Novelists by The Sydney Morning Herald. In 2003, she married novelist and playwright Louis Nowra, becoming his third wife. They had worked together when they co-edited the anthology In the Gutter ... Looking at the Stars in 2000. Shortly after their marriage Sayer wrote and published her second memoir, Velocity, about her unconventional and chaotic childhood, which won the South Australian Premier’s Award for Non-Fiction, and The Age Book of the Year for Non-Fiction. Sayer and Nowra have separate homes not far from each other near Kings Cross, in which their daytime writing activities are conducted, and they come together in the evening.[2][4]

Sayer’s poetry has been published in the Jazz Poetry Anthology, the Australian newspaper, and the Best Australian Poetry series. Between 2006 and 2016 she was a columnist for Sydney newspaper, The Wentworth Courier, and for two years penned a humorous column in The Australian. Her investigative journalism, reviews, and essays have appeared in The Monthly, The Good Weekend, Griffith Review, The Spectator, The Australian Weekend Magazine, Australian Geographic, the Sydney Morning Herald, and many other journals and magazines.

In 2009, Sayer was named the annual Scholar-in-Writing at the University of Technology, Sydney, and in February 2014, she and Nowra were named joint holders of the 2014 Copyright Agency Non-Fiction Writer-in-Residence at the University of Technology.

In 2021, she was the recipient of the Hazel Rowley Literary Fellowship to complete her biography, Those Dashing McDonagh Sisters: Australia’s First Female Filmmaking Team.

Work

Mandy Sayer's writings include:

Non-Fiction
Novels
Short story collections
  • Fifteen Kinds of Desire (2001)
Anthologies
  • In the Gutter ... Looking at the Stars (2000; co-edited with Louis Nowra)
  • The Australian Long Story (2009)

External links

  • Sydney Review of Books
External video
  One Plus One: Mandy Sayer, One Plus One, ABC News

References

  1. ^ a b Yvonne Preston, "Tap-dancing to life's hard rhythm", Canberra Times, 7 February 1998, Panorama, p. 9
  2. ^ a b c Jacqueline Maley, Sydney Morning Herald, 25 January 2014. "Two lives". Retrieved 19 May 2014
  3. ^ Books Now: "Telling it like it was: Mandy Sayer's troubled memoir" 2 May 2015 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 19 May 2014
  4. ^ Sydney Morning Herald, 24 July 2004. "Under the covers". Retrieved 19 May 2014

January 31, 2023
mandy, sayer, born, 1963, australian, novelist, narrative, fiction, writer, born, 1963, sydney, suburb, marrickville, third, three, children, began, writing, poetry, stories, parents, separated, when, aged, 1983, travelled, united, states, with, father, gerry,. Mandy Sayer born 1963 is an Australian novelist and narrative non fiction writer She was born in 1963 in the Sydney suburb of Marrickville the third of three children She began writing poetry and stories at the age of six Her parents separated when she was aged ten 1 In 1983 she travelled to the United States with her father Gerry a jazz drummer 1 To earn a living they busked on the streets of New York City New Orleans and Colorado for three years Gerry played drums and Mandy tap danced Her first memoir Dreamtime Alice 1998 was based on these experiences It was published to acclaim in Australia the U S the U K Germany and Brazil and won the 2000 National Biography Award and Australian Audio Book of the Year In 1985 in New Orleans during Mardi Gras she met Yusef Komunyakaa an African American war poet later to win a Pulitzer Prize They discovered a mutual interest in jazz and the novels of Patrick White 2 That year they married and he became a professor at Indiana University where she studied for an MA in English and Creative Writing 2 and where she became a member of the Bill Evans Dance Company She also studied narrative non fiction writing with the celebrated author Maxine Hong Kingston During this time she won the Vogel Award for her first novel Mood Indigo 1990 which was followed by Blind Luck 1993 and The Cross 1995 Sayer and Komunyakaa divorced in 1995 after the birth of his child from a one night stand he had with a former girlfriend During their marriage Sayer miscarried one child and terminated another pregnancy against Komyunakaa s wishes 3 She discusses this in her third memoir The Poet s Wife 2014 the writing of which was prompted by the 2003 murder suicide of Komunyakaa s subsequent partner Reetika Vazirani and their two year old son Jehan On return to Australia she gained a Doctorate from the University of Technology Sydney In 1997 she was named one of Ten Best Young Australian Novelists by The Sydney Morning Herald In 2003 she married novelist and playwright Louis Nowra becoming his third wife They had worked together when they co edited the anthology In the Gutter Looking at the Stars in 2000 Shortly after their marriage Sayer wrote and published her second memoir Velocity about her unconventional and chaotic childhood which won the South Australian Premier s Award for Non Fiction and The Age Book of the Year for Non Fiction Sayer and Nowra have separate homes not far from each other near Kings Cross in which their daytime writing activities are conducted and they come together in the evening 2 4 Sayer s poetry has been published in the Jazz Poetry Anthology the Australian newspaper and the Best Australian Poetry series Between 2006 and 2016 she was a columnist for Sydney newspaper The Wentworth Courier and for two years penned a humorous column in The Australian Her investigative journalism reviews and essays have appeared in The Monthly The Good Weekend Griffith Review The Spectator The Australian Weekend Magazine Australian Geographic the Sydney Morning Herald and many other journals and magazines In 2009 Sayer was named the annual Scholar in Writing at the University of Technology Sydney and in February 2014 she and Nowra were named joint holders of the 2014 Copyright Agency Non Fiction Writer in Residence at the University of Technology In 2021 she was the recipient of the Hazel Rowley Literary Fellowship to complete her biography Those Dashing McDonagh Sisters Australia s First Female Filmmaking Team Work EditMandy Sayer s writings include Non FictionDreamtime Alice 1998 won the 2000 National Biography Award joint winner Australian Audio Book of the Year Award and New England Booksellers Award Velocity 2005 won the 2006 South Australian Premier s Award for Non Fiction and the 2006 Age Book of the Year Non Fiction The Poet s Wife 2014 Coco Autobiography of my Dog 2012 Australian Gypsies Their Secret History 2017 Misfits and Me Collected Non Fiction 2018 Those Dashing McDonagh Sisters Australia s First Female Filmmaking Team 2022 NovelsMood Indigo 1989 won The Australian Vogel Literary Award Blind Luck 1993 The Cross 1995 finalist in the Ned Kelly Award for first crime novel shortlisted for the Nita Kibble Literary Award and nominated for the International Dublin Literary Award The Night has a Thousand Eyes 2007 won the 2008 Davitt Award for Young Adult Fiction Love in the Years of Lunacy 2011 Short story collectionsFifteen Kinds of Desire 2001 AnthologiesIn the Gutter Looking at the Stars 2000 co edited with Louis Nowra The Australian Long Story 2009 External links EditSydney Review of BooksExternal video One Plus One Mandy Sayer One Plus One ABC NewsReferences Edit a b Yvonne Preston Tap dancing to life s hard rhythm Canberra Times 7 February 1998 Panorama p 9 a b c Jacqueline Maley Sydney Morning Herald 25 January 2014 Two lives Retrieved 19 May 2014 Books Now Telling it like it was Mandy Sayer s troubled memoir Archived 2 May 2015 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 19 May 2014 Sydney Morning Herald 24 July 2004 Under the covers Retrieved 19 May 2014 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Mandy Sayer amp oldid 1133059243, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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