The 2019 Henry Lawson Festival official guest is a former student of Henry Lawson High.
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The Henry Lawson Festival Committee will this year welcome Inga Simpson as the 2019 Henry Lawson Festival official guest.
Weddin Shire Arts and Tourism officer Claire McCann said the committee are excited to once again have one of Grenfell’s own to recognise as the official guest.
Ms Simpson was born in Young and attended the Henry Lawson High School, graduating in 1987, as dux of the school.
After completing an Arts degree at the ANU, with honours in English literature, she worked as a researcher and professional writer, including for federal Parliament and the Commonwealth Ombudsman.
In 2008, she completed a PhD in creative writing.
Her first short story won a Scarlet Stiletto award, and in 2012, she won the Eric Rolls nature essay prize for her piece about ironbarks.
Ms Simpson's first novel, Mr Wigg, was published in 2013, and shortlisted for the Indie Debut Book Award.
This was soon followed by Nest in 2014, which was shortlisted for the Courier Mail People’s Choice Award, the ALS Gold Medal, and longlisted for the Stella Prize and the 2015 Miles Franklin Literary Award.
Her third novel, Where the Trees Were (2016) was shortlisted for an Indie Book Award and long-listed for the 2017 Miles Franklin Literary Award, the Australian Book Industry Awards and the Green Carnation Prize.
Her most recent book, Understory: a life with trees (2017), about her decade spent living inside a south east Queensland forest, was shortlisted for the Adelaide Writers Week Award for nonfiction.
Her work has been published in Review of Australian Fiction, Griffith Review, Clues, Writing Queensland, and the Dictionary of Literary Biography.
In 2017, she completed a second PhD, this time in English literature, which explored the history of Australian nature writing.
After living in Canberra, Brisbane, and the Sunshine Coast hinterland, Ms Simpson has now settled on the far south coast of NSW.
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