Bronwyn Lea is an Australian author, critic, and editor.
Bronwyn was born in Tasmania on the day human first stepped onto the moon. She crossed the Nullarbor at six weeks old, and lived in Gove, Arnhem Land, while her father was engaged in building the town of Nhulunbuy.
As a child she travelled with her family overland from London to Kathmandu, lived in Papua New Guinea during primary school, and attended high school in Brisbane, Australia. She subsequently lived and studied in the USA.
Bronwyn Lea is the author of three books of poems: Flight Animals; The Wooden Cat and Other Poems; and The Other Way Out. Her poems are widely anthologised, appearing most recently in Thirty Australian Poets, Australian Poetry Since 1788, Sixty Classic Australian Poems, and The Penguin Anthology of Australian Poetry. As a literary critic, she reviews poetry, fiction and non-fiction for Australian Book Review, The Australian, and other literary pages. Since 2012 she has been resident literary critic at The Conversation: ‘The Mind Field: dispatches on books, writing and literary culture’.
As Poetry Editor at the University of Queensland Press, Bronwyn’s list included award-winning titles by Australia’s most distinguished poets – David Malouf, John Tranter, Laurie Duggan, John Kinsella, and many others. In 2003 she designed and implemented the Arts Queensland Val Vallis Award and the Arts Queensland Thomas Shapcott Poetry Prize. The Awards are on–going and are highly esteemed. She was the founder and series editor (with Martin Duwell) of The Best Australian Poetry series, and in 2011 she was appointed the inaugural editor of Australian Poetry Journal.
Since 2005 Bronwyn has worked as a Senior Lecturer in the School of English, Media Studies and Art History at the University of Queensland. Her research interests include contemporary Australian and American poetry, creative writing and authorship, and book cultures. Since 2005 she has advised 24 postgraduate students to successful completion in the disciplines of creative writing and literary studies.
As a guest at numerous national and international literary festivals, Bronwyn has delivered keynote speeches, delivered readings of her work, launched literary titles, and chaired and participated in panel discussions. She has also appeared on television and radio as a guest commentator, and she has been writer in residence at universities and secondary schools around Australia.
Bronwyn has worked as a consultant to key organisations in the creative industries at a state and federal level:
- The Australia Council Literature Board
- Australia Council International Marketing Development Program
- University of Queensland Press
- The Queensland Premier’s Literary Awards
- Arts Queensland
- The Australian Poetry Centre
Her recent fellowships and residencies include:
- 2009 Australia Council: Residency, BR Whiting Studio, Rome, Italy
- 2008 Eleanor Dark Foundation: Fellowship, Varuna, NSW
- 2003 Asialink Literature Fellowship: Residency, Lunuganga Estate, Sri Lanka
- 2002 Faculty of Arts, Wollongong University: Residency, Wollongong, NSW
- 2002 Yaddo Artists Colony: Residency, Saratoga Springs, New York USA
- 2000 Eleanor Dark Foundation: Fellowship, Varuna, NSW
- 1997 Squaw Valley Writer’s Workshop in Fiction: Lake Tahoe, California USA
- 1997 Squaw Valley Writer’s Workshop in Poetry: Lake Tahoe, California USA
Bronwyn Lea 