Lia Hills

Lia Hills is a poet, novelist and translator. Her work has been published, translated and performed in countries as varied as Japan, Switzerland and the US.

Lia’s latest novel, The Crying Place, is due for release with Allen and Unwin in March 2017. Recipient of a Creative Victoria grant in 2012 for her work on the novel, Lia has travelled regularly to the centre of Australia to research and write The Crying Place, set partly in Pitjantjatjara country. As part of the process, Lia stayed in Aboriginal communities and began learning the Pitjantjatjara language.

Her debut young adult novel, The Beginner’s Guide to Living received starred reviews and was shortlisted for the Victorian, Queensland and Western Australian Premiers’ Literary Awards, and the NZ Post Book Awards, among others. Her novel was translated into several languages and sold into numerous countries, including Germany, Brazil and the US (Farrer, Straus & Giroux), where it was released into the adult, young adult and crossover markets.

Lia’s translation of Marie Darrieussecq’s acclaimed novel, Tom is Dead, from French to English, was described as ‘a text as powerful as the original’ (The Monthly). Following its successful reception, Lia was asked to teach a double-Masters class in literary translation at Monash University, a joint venture with Jean Moulin University (Lyon).

Upon the release of her first poetry collection, the possibility of flight, both the collection and individual poems garnered awards. Her work as poet also includes the widely-praised Moving Galleries, a poetry/art project on Melbourne’s train network. Co-initiator, Lia worked with the project from its inception, and was appointed director when the project became an independent entity in 2011.

Lia lives with her family in the hills outside Melbourne, where she works full-time as a writer, often observed by birds.