Alan Gould

Who is Alan Gould?

Alan Gould is a contemporary Australian novelist, essayist and poet.

He was born in London to an English father and an Icelandic mother, and his family lived in Northern Ireland, Germany and Singapore before arriving in Australia in 1966. He completed a BA at Australian National University and a Diploma of Education at the then Canberra College of Advanced Education. Having worked as a nuclear physics technician and agricultural labourer he began writing full-time in 1973, occasionally teaching and writing journalism.

Gould's first book of poems, Icelandic Solitaries, was published in 1978. Since then numerous volumes of poetry and fiction have followed, with his best known novel being To the Burning City about the relationship between two brothers set in World War II. His work has been awarded the Kenneth Slessor Prize for Poetry, the Foundation for Australian Literary Studies Best Book of the Year Award, the National Book Council Banjo Award for Fiction, the Royal Blind Society Audio Book of the Year Award, The Philip Hodgins Memorial Award for contribution to Australian Literature, and The Grace Leven Award For Poetry.