Gillian Mears

Gillian Mears (21 July 1964 – 16 May 2016) was an Australian short story writer and novelist. Her books Ride a Cock Horse and The Grass Sister won a Commonwealth Writers' Prize, shortlist, in 1989 and 1996, respectively. The Mint Lawn won The Australian/Vogel Award. In 2003, A Map of the Gardens won the Steele Rudd Award.

Life
Mears was born at Lismore Base Hospital, and raised in Grafton, New South Wales where she was school dux of Grafton High School.

She moved to Sydney to study at university, beginning a degree in archaeology at the University of Sydney having been inspired to pursue a career in archaeology after reading Gods, Graves and Scholars by C. W. Ceram. At the age of 18, she withdrew from the course, and instead completed a degree in communications at University of Technology, Sydney.

She lived near Grafton, New South Wales. She died in May 2016 after living with multiple sclerosis for seventeen years.

Bernadette Brennan has written a biography of Gillian Mears.

Awards and honours

 * 1989 Commonwealth Writers' Prize, shortlist, Ride a Cock Horse
 * 1990 The Australian/Vogel Literary Award, winner, The Mint Lawn
 * 1996 Commonwealth Writers' Prize, shortlist, The Grass Sister
 * 2003 Steele Rudd Award, winner, A Map of the Gardens
 * 2011 Colin Roderick Award, winner, Foal's Bread
 * 2012 ALS Gold Medal, Foal's Bread
 * 2012 Barbara Jefferis Award, shortlist, Foal's Bread 
 * 2012 Miles Franklin Award, shortlist, Foal's Bread
 * 2012 Prime Minister's Literary Awards, Fiction Award, Foal's Bread

Children's book

 * Illust. Dinale Dabarera

Non-fiction

 * Phot. Sandy Edwards

Essays

 * Alive in Ant and Bee 
 * Fairy Death