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Merlinda Bobis (born 25 November 1959) is a contemporary Filipina-Australian writer and academic.
Bobis was born on November 25, 1959 in Legazpi City, Albay, Philippines. She started writing poetry at the age of ten.[1] She received her secondary education at Bicol University High School, then completed her B.A. at Aquinas University in Legazpi City, followed by a post-graduate degrees from the University of Santo Tomas. She achieved a Doctorate from the University of Wollongong in 1995,[2] and now lives in Australia. Written in various genres in both Filipino and English, her work integrates elements of the traditional culture of the Philippines with modern immigrant experience.
Also a dancer and visual artist, Bobis has taught at Wollongong University.[2]
Her play Rita's Lullaby was the winner of the 1998 Awgie for Best Radio Play and the international Prix Italia of the same year; in 2000 White Turtle won the Steele Rudd Award for the Best Collection of Australian Short Stories and the 2000 Philippine National Book Award. In 2006, she received the Gintong Aklat Award (Golden Book Award, Philippines) for her novel Banana Heart Summer, from the Book Development Association of the Philippines. She also won the 2016 Christina Stead Prize for Fiction and NSW Premier's Literary Awards for her book, Locust Girl: A Lovesong.[3]
Poetry
- Rituals: Selected poems, 1985-1990. (1990)
- Summer was a Fast Train without Terminals.[4] (Melbourne: Spinifex, 1998) ISBN 1-875559-76-0
- usaping ina at anak
- Accidents of Composition (Melbourne: Spinifex, 2017) ISBN 9781742199986
- "Mother's Break
Short stories
- White Turtle. (Melbourne: Spinifex, 1999) ISBN 1-875559-89-2 review
- The Kissing (Aunt Lute, 2001) ISBN 1-879960-60-5 [US reissue of White Turtle] review
- Dream Stories (Anvil Publishing, 2014) ISBN 9789712730184 [5]
Novels
- Banana Heart Summer[6] (Murdoch Books, 2005) ISBN 1-74045-590-8
- The Solemn Lantern Maker (Sydney: Murdoch Books, 2008)
- Fish-hair Woman (North Melbourne: Spinifex, 2011)
- Locust Girl: A Lovesong (North Melbourne: Spinifex, 2015)
- The Kindness of Birds (North Melbourne: Spinifex, 2021) ISBN 9781925950304
Among her awards are:
- Canberra Critics’ Circle Award for The Kindness of Birds (2021)[2]
- Christina Stead Prize for Fiction (part of the NSW Premier's Literary Awards) for Locust Girl. A Lovesong; (2016)
- Philippine National Book Award for Locust Girl (2016)
- Philippine National Book Award for Fish-Hair Woman, (2014)
- MUBA for novel Fish-Hair Woman (2013)
- Australian Classical Music Award for Best Vocal/Choral Work of the Year for Daragang Magayon Cantata (2007)
- Gawad Pambansang Alagad ni Balagtas (National Balagtas Award: a lifetime award for author's poetry and prose in English, Pilipino, Bikol) from the Unyon ng Manunulat ng Pilipinas (Union of Philippine Writers) (2006)[7]
- Gintong Aklat Award (Golden Book Award: Philippine publishers' award) for Banana Heart Summer (2006)
- Australian Literature Society Gold Medal for Banana Heart Summer (2006)
- Nomination: Best in Foreign Language in Fiction from the Manila Critics' Circle for Banana Heart Summer (2006)
- Judges' Choice Award, Bumbershoot Bookfair, Seattle Arts Festival for The Kissing (collection of short stories published as White Turtle in Australia and the Philippines) (2001)
- Arts Queensland Steele Rudd Australian Short Story Award (for the Best Published Collection of Australian Short Stories, joint winner) for White Turtle (2000)
- Philippine National Book Award for Fiction (Joint winner) from the Manila Critics' Circle for White Turtle (2000)
- NSW Ministry for the Arts Writers' Fellowship for novel in progress, Fish-Hair Woman (2000)
- Canberra Writing Fellowship jointly from the Australian National University, the University of Canberra, and the Australian Defence Force Academy (2000)
- Prix Italia (international award) for Rita's Lullaby (radio play) (1998)
- Australian Writers' Guild Award (AWGIE) for Rita's Lullaby (1998)
- Pamana Philippine Presidential Award for achievement in the arts (for Filipino expatriates) (1998)
- Shortlist: The Age Poetry Book of the Year Award for Summer Was a Fast Train Without Terminals (collection of poems) (1998)
- Winner, Out of the Ashes Trans-Tasman Short Story Competition for White Turtle (short story) (1998)
- Commended: National Short Story Competition, Society of Women Writers for The Sadness Collector (short story) (1998)
- Joint winner, ABC Radio National's 'Books & Writing Short Story Competition' for The Tongue (also known as The Parable of Illawarra Street) (1997)
- Ian Reed Foundation Prize for Radio Drama for Rita's Lullaby (1995)
- Carlos Palanca Memorial Award in Literature (Philippine national award), Honourable Mention for Ms. Serena Serenata (one-act play) (1995)
- Gawad Cultural Centre of the Philippines (national award for poetry in Filipino) for Mula Dulo Hanggang Kanto ('From End to Corner', collection of poems) (1990)
- Likhaan Award for Daragang Magayon and other poems, University of the Philippines Writers' Workshop (1990)
- Carlos Palanca Memorial Award in Literature, Second Prize for Lupang di Hinirang: Kuwento at Sikreto ('Land Not Dearest: Story and Secret', collection of poems in Filipino) (1989)
- Carlos Palanca Memorial Award in Literature, joint winner, First Prize for Peopleness (collection of poems in English) (1987)
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