Julia Leigh

Julia Leigh comes to film having established herself as a leading contemporary novelist.

Her first novel The Hunter (1999) was internationally shortlisted for many prizes and won a Betty Trask Award (UK), the Prix de L'Astrolabe Etonnants Voyageurs (France), and was a New York Times Notable Book of the Year. She was named a Sydney Morning Herald Young Novelist of the Year (Australia) and “one of 21 writers for the 21st century” by The Observer (UK). Don DeLillo described it as „a strong and hypnotic piece of writing‟. A film was based on the novel, directed by Daniel Nettheim, written by Alice Addison and starring Willem Dafoe.

Her novella Disquiet (2008) won the Encore Award (UK), was a France Culture/Télérama rentrée selection (France), was an LA Times Favourite Book, a Kirkus Best Book of the Year (US) and No.7 on Entertainment Weekly (US)'s Top Ten Books of the Year. Its many shortlistings include the Adelaide Festival Fiction Award, the NSW Premier's Prize and the West Australian Premier's Book Award (Australia). She was a participant in the Rolex Mentor and Protégé Arts Initiative, working with Toni Morrison, Nobel Laureate, who said of Disquiet that „Julia Leigh is a sorceress. Her deft prose casts a spell of serene control while the earth quakes underfoot.‟

Her work is published in 7 languages.

In 2008 the script for Sleeping Beauty landed on the Hollywood „Black List‟ and she was named one of 25 New Faces of independent cinema by Filmmaker Magazine (US).

She was born in 1970, Australia. She received a Bachelor of Arts majoring in philosophy and a Bachelor of Laws, both from the University of Sydney. In 1995 she was admitted to the Supreme Court of NSW as a Legal Practitioner – though never practised. In 2009 she received a PhD in English from the University of Adelaide.

© 2011 Screen Australia, Magic Films and IFC Films