RiP Georgia Blain

Author Georgia Blain has died, aged 51.

Blain was the author of several adult and YA novels, the short story collection The Secret Lives of Men (Scribe) and the memoir Births Deaths and Marriages (Vintage). Her latest adult novel, Between a Wolf and a Dog (Scribe), won the 2016 Queensland Literary Award for fiction and was also recently shortlisted for the 2017 Victorian Premier’s Literary Award and longlisted for the 2017 Indie Book Awards. Her latest YA novel is the near-future dystopia Special (Random House).

In November, she was shortlisted for the Copyright Agency’s 2016 author fellowship for a memoir proposal.

Blain was diagnosed with an incurable brain tumour in 2015, and wrote about living with the diagnosis in a series of articles for The Saturday Paper. She died on 9 December, just days before the death of her mother, journalist and writer Anne Deveson.

In a post on Scribe’s website, publisher Henry Rosenbloom writes:

‘Everybody at Scribe has been deeply saddened to hear of the passing of Georgia Blain … Scribe feels honoured to have published Georgia. Our thoughts and condolences are with all those who loved her, especially her partner, Andrew, her daughter, Odessa, and her brother Joshua.’

Blain’s editor at Scribe, Marika Webb-Pullman, writes:

‘Georgia was a wonderful person, as well as a wonderful writer. The warmth, intelligence, insight, and empathy so evident in all of her writing also characterised Georgia herself, and everyone at Scribe who had the pleasure of working with her over the last few years will miss her very much.’

Meredith Curnow, publisher at Vintage Knopf, writes:

‘Georgia’s novels and life writing reflect the lives of educated, urban Australians who often create problems and quandaries for ourselves. She took a scalpel to our self-absorption and added warmth, love and humour. Her intelligence, generosity and incisive way of seeing and understanding life will be missed enormously.’

Penguin Random House writes:

‘We are deeply saddened by the news of Georgia Blain’s passing from brain cancer.

‘Georgia Blain was a kind, warm and generous spirit, qualities exemplified in her books.

‘We at Penguin Random House were proud to have published Special (2016), Strange Times (2013), Snake in the Grass, (2012) Too Close to Home (2011), Darkwater (2010), Birth Deaths Marriages (2008), Blind Eye (2003), Candelo (1999) and Closed for Winter (1998).

‘But more than that we took great pleasure in publishing a talented writer who was also a lovely person.

‘Georgia is survived by her partner, Andrew Taylor, and their daughter Odessa. To them we extend our deepest condolences.’

Category: Obituaries