Guide to the Papers of Garry Disher [MSS 071]

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Manuscript Name Papers of Garry Disher
Manuscript Number MSS 071
Last Updated August 2021
Extent 1.96 m. (14 boxes)
Location Special Collections, UNSW Canberra
Abstract This collection comprises manuscript papers and related material produced or accumulated by Garry Disher.

Collection Subject Type

Literary

Scope and Content

This collection includes manuscript drafts and annotated typescript drafts of Approaches : short stories (1981), The difference to me (1988), The stencil man (1988), Steal away (1987), Expressway : invitation stories by Australian writers from a painting by Jeffrey Smart (1989), 'Cody's art' for Crimes for a summer Christmas (1990) edited by Stephen Knight, 'A corpse at the opera' for A corpse at the opera house (1992) edited by Stephen Knight, The bamboo flute (1992) (children's story), Kick-back (1991), Flamingo gate (1991), Deathdeal (1993), Crosskill (1994), Port Vila blues (1995), The sunken road (1996), Ratface (1993) (children's story), Switchcat (1994) (childrens story), Ermyntrude takes charge (1995) (children's story) together with contributions to, and correspondence concerning Personal best : thirty authors choose their best short stories (1989) edited by Garry Disher and correspondence and some statements relating to Personal best 2 : stories and statements by Australian writers (1991) also edited by Disher. The collection also includes correspondence with publishers, literary agents and prominent Australian literary figures, 1979-1995. It should be noted that Disher has used the reverse side of some current correspondence for manuscript drafts.

Date Range of Content

1981-1996

Biographical Note

Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garry_Disher

Garry Donald Disher was born in was born on the 15 August 1949 in Burra, South Australia, and attended local schools before completing his high school education at Adelaide Boys High. In 1971 he graduated with a BA from Adelaide University. During the next two years he travelled extensively, living and working in Britain, Europe, Israel and Africa. After his return to Australia he completed an MA in Australian History and began a career as a teacher.

By the late 1970s Disher had published several short stories in literary magazines. He was awarded a creative writing fellowship at Stanford University, California, in 1978, and completed his first collection of stories there. During the 1980s Disher taught creative writing and helped design the professional writing course for the Victorian TAFE system. He began writing full-time in 1988.

Disher is a versatile writer, serving a number of audiences. His publications include novels, short story collections, history textbooks, writers' handbooks and crime thrillers. Disher's reputation was first established with fiction for young adults. He has won several prizes in that genre, including the Children's Book Council Award for The bamboo flute (1992). His novels for adults have also attracted attention, most notably The sunken road (1996) which was shortlisted for several awards. Most recently, Disher has won several international awards for his crime fiction. His Wyatt series is widely considered one of the best series of crime fiction from an Australian writer.

Disher has been awarded:
Australia Council Grants, Awards and Fellowships, Literature Board Grants, Grants for Established Writers, 2004
Deutsche Krimi Preis, International, 2002: winner for The dragon man
Deutsche Krimi Preis, International, 2000: winner for Kickback
New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards, Ethnic Affairs Commission Award, 1999: shortlisted for The divine wind
Children's Book Council Book of the Year Award, Book of the Year: Older Readers, 1999: shortlisted for The divine wind
New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards, The Ethel Turner Prize for Young People's Literature, 1999: winner for The divine wind
NBC Banjo Awards, NBC Banjo Award for Fiction, 1996: shortlisted for The sunken road
IBBY Honour Diploma, Writing, 1994 for The bamboo flute
Children's Book Council Book of the Year Award, Book of the Year: Younger Readers, 1993: winner for The bamboo flute
The Canberra Times National Short Story Competition, 1986: winner for 'Amateur hour'.

References:
AustLit : The Resource for Australian Literature, November 2004.

 

Administrative Information

 

Access and Copying Conditions

Access: Check with Curator

This collection contains a variety of copyright material. Copyright is held by the creator of each item. Specific conditions for this collection are listed below. If no conditions are stipulated then the standard terms of the Copyright Act apply for published and unpublished items. Digitised material from manuscript collections is provided to clients by UNSW Canberra in good faith for private study and research only, and may not be published or re-purposed without the express and written permission of the individual legal holder of that copyright. Refer also to the UNSW copyright, disclaimer and takedown policy. 

Copying: Check with Curator

Preferred Citation

Papers of Garry Disher, Special Collections, UNSW Canberra, Australian Defence Force Academy, Canberra, Box [Number], Folder [Number].

Provenance

The collection was acquired from Garry Disher in three instalments in 1988, 1991 and 1995.

 

Subject Keywords

 

Subjects

Australian authors, short stories

Personal Names

Garry Disher 1949-

Occupations

Authors

 

Container List

 

Box 1

Folder 1
Correspondence from teachers and class notes re annotated typescript drafts of short stories 'At home in Hampton Vale'; 'Tell tale' retitled 'Annie's revenge'; 'The bamboo flute' published in Approaches : short stories (1981); newspaper clippings of 'A homecoming', and 'Two children' retitled 'Dead eye' published in Approaches : short stories (1981) and The difference to me (1988)

Folder 2
Editor's report, manuscript and annotated typescript drafts of selected pages and a typescript draft of The stencil man (1988)

Folder 3
Annotated typescript draft of Steal away (1987)

Folder 4
Manuscript draft notes and typescript draft of unpublished novel 'Gently, gently sideways'

Folder 5
Manuscript drafts of short stories 'Exchange', 'The difference to me', 'Stinkadora', 'Blessed', 'Chain', 'Tap', 'Restoration' and 'Another word for it' for The difference to me (1988) and a manuscript draft of The stencil man (1988)

Folder 6
Typescript draft of Steal away (1987)

 

Box 2

Folder 7
Annotated typescript and typescript drafts of short stories 'Australian literature' retitled 'The boundary man', 'Another word for it', 'Stinkadora', 'For my head' retitled 'Amateur hour' and 'Exchange', newspaper clippings of 'Amateur hour' and 'She said ' reworked and retitled 'Tap' for The difference to me (1988) and a newspaper clipping of a reworked extract from Steal away (1987)

Folder 8
Annotated typescript and typescript drafts of short stories 'Blessed', 'Poor reception', 'Rudi', 'Chain', 'The difference to me', 'Stinkadora', 'Gently, gently, sideways', 'Amateur hour', 'Now when it rains', 'Dead eye', 'Something to show for my miserable life' and 'Restoration' for The difference to me (1988)

Folder 9
Correspondence 1989, manuscript and annotated typescript drafts of short story 'Love and grudges' for Expressway : invitation stories by Australian writers from a painting by Jeffrey Smart (1989); and manuscript and annotated typescript drafts of short story 'Cody's art' for Crimes for a summer Christmas (1990) edited by Stephen Knight

Folder 10
Notes, manuscript and annotated typescript of short story 'Old ground' for More crimes for a summer Christmas (1991) edited by Stephen Knight

Folder 11
Manuscript and annotated typescript drafts of short story 'Threshold' retitled 'A corpse at the opera' for A corpse at the opera house (1992) edited by Stephen Knight

Folder 12
Manuscript and annotated typescript drafts of The bamboo flute (1992) a children's book

 

Box 3

Folder 13
Manuscript and annotated typescript draft of Kick-back (1991)

Folder 14
Incomplete annotated typescript draft of Kick-back (1991)

Folder 15
Annotated typescript draft of Kick-back (1991)

Folder 16
Annotated typescript draft of Kick-back (1991)

 

Box 4

Folder 17
Manuscript and annotated typescript drafts of short stories 'Early warning', 'Greektown', 'Slipstream' retitled 'Therapy', 'Vapour', 'Syndrome' and 'Airship' for Flamingo gate (1991)

Folder 18
Planning notes, manuscript and annotated typescript drafts of novella 'Flamingo gate' for Flamingo gate (1991)

Folder 19
Annotated typescript draft of Flamingo gate (1991)

Folder 20
Correspondence from David Malouf; correspondence and author's note from Glenda Adams, Jessica Anderson, Thea Astley, Helen Garner, Robert Drewe, Barry Hill and Joan London; author's notes from Peter Carey and Jean Bedford; manuscript and annotated typescript drafts and annotated page proofs of short story 'Precious bane' by Gerald Murnane for Personal best : thirty authors choose their best short stories (1989) edited by Garry Disher; includes annotated typescript draft of short story 'Stream system' by Gerald Murnane

 

Box 5

Folder 21
Manuscript and annotated typescript drafts and annotated page proofs of short stories 'My father's axe' by Tim Winton, 'The commune does not want you' by Frank Moorhouse, 'Wednesdays and Fridays' by Elizabeth Jolley, 'Black Genoa' by Beverley Farmer, 'Amateur hour' by Garry Disher, 'Reading the signs' by Michael Wilding, 'The Archbishop or the lady' by Gerard Windsor, 'A world this size' by John Bryson, 'The hair and the teeth' by Carmel Bird, 'A,B,C,D,E,F,G,H,I,J,K,L,M,N,O,P,Q,R,S,T,U,V,W,X,Y,Z' by Murray Bail, 'The list of all possible answers' by Peter Goldsworthy, 'Junction' by Kate Grenville, 'Dream people' by Barbara Hanrahan, 'The Brush Bronzewing' by James McQueen, 'Inside the oyster' by Morris Lurie, 'To be congruous with the sea' by Finola Moorhead, 'Christos Mavromatis is a welder' by George Papaellinas, 'Sandcastles' by Archie Weller and 'Only a little of so much' by Fay Zwicky for Personal best : thirty authors choose their best short stories (1989) edited by Garry Disher; includes correspondence from each author re their contribution

Folder 22
Manuscript and annotated typescript drafts and annotated page proofs of short stories 'The mango tree' by Janette Turner Hospital, 'The blue man' by Rod Jones, 'Box on!' by Peter Corris, 'soft' by Ania Walwicz, 'Miss Piper and everyman' by Amy Witting, 'Five gazeboes' by Marion Campbell, 'The ego in Arcadia' by Marion Halligan, 'Morning glory' by John Morrison, 'In Chinese' by Nicholas Jose, 'Beneath the hanging tree' by John Hanrahan, 'Collector' by Peter Cowan, 'Firemen's helmets' by Tom Shapcott and 'Thylacine' by Bruce Pascoe, includes correspondence from each author re their contribution

Folder 23
Manuscript and annotated typescript drafts and annotated page proofs of short stories 'The reps' by Barry Dickins, 'According to Mrs Maloney' by Judy Duffy, 'Primavera' by Marian Eldridge, 'North of the moonlight sonata' by Kerryn Goldsworthy, 'A Catullan affair' by Gwen Kelly, 'Old photo negatives' by Brian Dibble, 'At five in the afternoon' by Rosemary Cresswell, 'Living with the De Stoops' by Laurie Clancy, 'High water in Venice' by Michele Nayman, 'At the Picasso exhibition' by Brian Matthews, 'On holidays' by Antigone Kefala, 'The stillborn' by Vasso Kalamaras, 'Like the tail of a comet' by Jane Hyde, 'The ABC of airs and graces' by Kris Hemensley, 'The figure wizard' by Geoffrey Dean, 'Transparencies' by Damien Broderick and 'Jean' by Inez Baranay, includes correspondence from each author re their contribution

Folder 24
Manuscript draft of Deathdeal (1993)

 

Box 6

Folder 25
Manuscript and annotated typescript draft of Deathdeal (1993)

Folder 26
Annotated typescript draft of Deathdeal (1993)

Folder 27
annotated typescript draft of Deathdeal (1993)

Folder 28
Manuscript draft of Crosskill (1994)

 

Box 7

Folder 29
Annotated typescript draft of Crosskill (1994) (incomplete)

Folder 30
Manuscript drafts of planning notes for Crosskill (1994)

Folder 31
Annotated typescript draft of Crosskill (1994)

Folder 32
Manuscript draft of Port Vila blues (1995)

 

Box 8

Folder 33
Planning notes and manuscript draft of Chapters 1-16 for Port Vila blues (1995)

Folder 34
Facsimiles from publisher and planning notes for Port Vila blues (1995)

Folder 35
Planning notes for and manuscript and annotated typescript draft of Port Vila blues (1995)

Folder 36
Manuscript and annotated typescript drafts of short stories 'Stalking moon', 'In the cold season' retitled 'Scrapings' and an untitled short story

 

Box 9

Folder 37
Manuscript and annotated typescript drafts of short stories 'My brother Jack', 'Cockeyed at high noon' and 'The two hundred dollar Picasso'

Folder 38
Manuscript and annotated typescript drafts of short stories 'Trusthouse', 'Locked' retitled 'Down to dust', 'Manhunt' and '[Mr Chatters]'

Folder 39
Typescript draft of 'The man who made stencils' retitled The stencil man (1988)

Folder 40
Manuscript and annotated typescript draft of The sunken road (1996)

 

Box 10

Folder 41
Annotated typescript draft of The sunken road (1996)

Folder 42
Incomplete manuscript and annotated typescript draft of The sunken road (1996)

Folder 43
Annotated typescript draft of The sunken road (1996)

Folder 44
Manuscript and annotated typescript draft of The sunken road (1996)

 

Box 11

Folder 45
Manuscript and annotated typescript draft of The sunken road (1996)

Folder 46
Manuscript and annotated typescript draft of Ratface (1993)

Folder 47
Annotated typescript draft of Ratface (1993)

Folder 48
Annotated typescript draft of Ratface (1993)

 

Box 12

Folder 49
Annotated typescript draft of Ratface (1993)

Folder 50
Annotated typescript draft of Ratface (1993)

Folder 51
Annotated typescript draft of Ratface (1993)

Folder 52
Photocopy of page proofs for Ratface (1993)

Folder 53
Annotated typescript draft of Switchcat (1994)

Folder 54
Manuscript and annotated typescript drafts of short stories 'Dead set', 'The difference to me', 'Poor reception' and 'Stair creak', 1993-94

 

Box 13

Folder 55
Manuscript and annotated typescript drafts of short story 'Agnes story' retitled 'Salt of the earth'

Folder 56
Manuscript and annotated typescript drafts of short story 'Where the bodies are buried'

Folder 57
Manuscript draft and annotated typescript draft of short story 'Hoon squad'

Folder 58
Manuscript drafts and annotated typescript draft of 'Stinkadora' [retitled Ermyntrude takes charge (1995)]

Folder 59
Bound photocopy of Blame the wind (1995); Tickner & Fields catalogue; typescript interview with Ralph Wessman; two speeches; magazine article; newspaper clippings; literary advertising material; invitations

Folder 60
Correspondence from publishers, literary agents, Helen Daniel, Peter Corris, Liam Davison and Geoffrey Dutton, 1979-1985 and undated

 

Box 14

Folder 61
Correspondence from publishers, literary agents, and Jerri Kroll, 1986-1990

Folder 62
Correspondence from publishers and literary agents, 1991-1995