Conference spotlights on artistes

Papillae Hanson Boxer

Pampila Hanson Boxer was born in Old Cherrabun Station, south of Fitzroy Crossing, in 1941.

He moved to Broome in 2006 where he makes traditional tools; boomerangs, woomeras, coolamons, didgeridoos and shields. He also sculpts busts of men in traditional head-dress, and women with ochred hair.

In July 2005 one of his busts sold at Sotheby's Melbourne auction, and in 2006 and 2008 his works were entered in the Telstra National Indigenous Art award. In Broome, Pampila teaches prisoners to make cultural artifacts.

Pampila is an accomplished indigenous musician and traditional dancer. He plays digeridoo at ceremonies and augments his income by busking.

Pat Lowe

Pat Lowe obtained a Master's Degree in clinical psychology at the University of Western Australia, in Perth and then was employed by the WA Prisons Department, moving north to Broome in 1979, where she worked at the Regional Prison for many years and did some writing in her spare time.

Here she met Aboriginal artist Jimmy Pike and some years later went to live with him at his camp in the Great Sandy Desert where she started writing seriously. She collaborated with Pike on a number of books until his death in 2002.

Tissa Abeysekara

Tissa Abeysekara has a long and illustrious career in films, as scriptwriter, director, actor, teacher and critic. However in the last decade he has emerged as a writer of fiction primarily in English.

His debut, a novella, Bringing Tony Home won the Gratiaen Award in 1996. Since then he has published another collection of stories: In My Kingdom of the Sun and the Holy Peak. He has also published a book of essays on various aspects of culture and arts titled Roots, Reflections, and Reminiscences

Marcella Polain

Marcella was born in Singapore and immigrated to Perth when she was two years old, with her American mother and Irish father. She has a PhD in Creative Writing, a background in theatre and screen writing, and now lectures in the Writing program at Edith Dowan University.

Her first poetry collection, Dumbstruck won the Anne Elder Prize; her second, Each Clear Night was shortlisted for the West Australian Premier's Poetry Prize. Her first novel The Edge of the World won UWA's Higher Degree by Research Prize (creative works) and was shortlisted for a 2008 Commonwealth Writers' Prize.

Carl Muller

Carl Muller has an unusual background as a Sri Lankan writer.

He was expelled from three schools, never went to university, served in the Royal Ceylon and the Ceylon Navy and among other things worked as an entertainer and a journalist.

He has published historical fiction, science fiction (endorsed by the late Sir Arthur C Clarke), collections of short stories, poetry collections, children's fiction, essays, a travelogue, academic essays and edited several books. His work The Jam Fruit Tree won the Gratiaen award.

Antonio Casella

Antonio Casella is an Italian born, Australian novelist, who spoke no English when he migrated to Australia at 15.

Antonio now holds a PhD in English and Comparative Literature from Murdoch University. His research interest is in the Italian diaspora in Australia.