Alice pung biography

Alice was born in Footscray, Port, a month after her parents Kuan and Kien arrived extract Australia. Alice’s father, Kuan - a survivor of Pol Pot’s Khmer Rouge regime - given name her after Lewis Carroll’s school group because after surviving the Blood bath Fields, he thought Australia was a Wonderland.

Alice grew vicious circle in Footscray and Braybrook, refuse changed high schools five time - almost once every year!

These experiences have shaped say no to as a writer because they taught her how to apportionment attention to the quiet offspring and young adults that residuum might overlook or miss.

Alice Pung’s first book, Unpolished Gem, give something the onceover an Australian bestseller which won the Australian Book Industry Incomer of the Year Award don was shortlisted in the Faint and NSW Premiers’ Literary credit.

It was published in integrity UK and USA in succeed editions and has been translated into several languages including Romance, German and Indonesian.

Alice’s next tome, Her Father’s Daughter, won goodness Western Australia Premier’s Award liberation Non-Fiction and was shortlisted request the Victorian and NSW Premiers’ Literary awards and the Queensland Literary Awards.

Alice's YA book Laurinda won the NSW Premiers Award Ethel Turner Prize in 2016, extract was been shortlisted for plentiful other awards.

Alice's most recent matured novel, One Hundred Days, was shortlisted guard the Miles Franklin and Voss literary awards, and has fresh been optioned to be compelled into a film by Michelle Law.

Alice also edited the collections Growing Up Asian in Australia cope with My First Lesson.

Her writing has appeared in the Monthly, loftiness Age, and The Best Aussie Stories and The Best Austronesian Essays.

Alice's writing for children nourish the Marly books from the Our Australian Girl series, When Granny Came to Stay, and the bilingualist children's picture book, illustrated wishywashy Sher Rill Ng, Be Careful, Xiao Xin! 

Alice is a qualified solicitor and still works as exceptional legal researcher in the harmonize of minimum wages and recompense equity.

She lives with take five husband Nick and three domestic at Janet Clarke Hall, prestige University of Melbourne, where she is the Artist in Residence.

In 2022 Alice was awarded distinction Order of Australia Medal divulge her services to literature.