Morrissey, Connolly to be inducted into ABIA Hall of Fame

Novelist Di Morrissey and literary agent Margaret Connolly will be inducted into the ABIA Hall of Fame at a ceremony on 25 May in Sydney.

Morrissey will be presented with the Lloyd O’Neil Award for service to the Australian book industry. Morrissey is the author of 24 novels and three children’s books, selling more than three million copies in her 25-year career.

Other authors who have received the Lloyd O’Neil award include Peter Carey, John Marsden, Margaret Fulton and Bryce Courtenay. Author Tom Keneally, who received the award in 1995, will present the award to Morrissey.

‘Di Morrissey, an old neighbour of mine, has not only distinguished herself through writing novels loved by hundreds of thousands of Australians but—let us not forget—made possible the publication of many books that may not have otherwise have appeared without her contribution to the Australian book industry,’ said Keneally.

Connolly will be presented with the Pixie O’Harris Award, which recognises excellence and dedicated service to Australian children’s literature.

In a 30-year career, Connolly has developed a list that includes novelists, poets, nonfiction authors and children’s writers and illustrators, including Les Murray, Kate Jennings, David Ireland, Rachael Treasure, Julie Vivas, Kerry Argent, Stephen Michael King, Catherine Jinks, Phillip Gwynne and Margaret Wild.

Catherine Jinks said that for Connolly, ‘being a literary agent is more than just a job’. ‘Her work doesn’t end at negotiations and contracts; she counsels, comforts, encourages, promotes and stealthily supports her clients in a million different ways.’

Category: Local news