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Peter Robert Corris (8 May 1942 – 30 August 2018) was an Australian academic, historian, journalist and a novelist of historical and crime fiction. As crime fiction writer, he was described as "the Godfather of contemporary Australian crime-writing", particularly for his Cliff Hardy novels.

Biography

Corris' secondary school education was at Melbourne High School. He was a Bachelor level student at the University of Melbourne, then gained a Master of Arts in history at Monash University. He studied at the Australian National University where he was awarded a PhD in history on the topic of the South Seas Islander slave trade (Kanakas). He continued these studies as a university lecturer, but later became a journalist, and then a full-time writer.

He was married to writer Jean Bedford.

Peter Corris wrote a book that provided deep insights into his life living with type-1 diabetes. Some of his novels have diabetic subplots. In January 2017, Corris announced that he would no longer be writing novels owing to 'creeping blindness' because of his diabetes.

Awards and achievements

• Ned Kelly Awards for Crime Writing, Lifetime Achievement, 1999: winner
• Ned Kelly Awards for Crime Writing, Best Fiction, 2004: nominated for Master's Mates
• Ned Kelly Awards for Crime Writing, Best Fiction, 2006: shortlisted for Saving Billie
• Ned Kelly Awards for Crime Writing, Best Fiction, 2007: shortlisted for The Undertow
• Ned Kelly Awards for Crime Writing, Best Fiction, 2008: nominated for Appeal Denied
• Ned Kelly Awards for Crime Writing, Best Fiction, 2008: nominated for Open File
• Ned Kelly Awards for Crime Writing, Best Fiction, 2009: winner for Deep Water

Partial list of books

Cliff Hardy novels

• The Dying Trade (1980)
• White Meat (Sydney, Pan Books, 1981); ISBN 0-330-27018-4
• The Marvellous Boy (Sydney, Pan Books, 1982); ISBN 0-330-27019-2
• The Empty Beach (Sydney, Allen & Unwin, 1983); ISBN 0-86861-229-4
• Heroin Annie and Other Cliff Hardy Stories (Sydney, Allen & Unwin, 1984); ISBN 0-86861-399-1
• Make Me Rich (Sydney, Allen & Unwin, 1985); ISBN 0-86861-660-5
• The Big Drop and Other Cliff Hardy Stories (Sydney, Allen & Unwin, 1985); ISBN 0-86861-767-9
• The Greenwich Apartments (Sydney, Allen & Unwin, 1986); ISBN 0-04-820030-1
• Deal Me Out (Sydney, Allen & Unwin, 1986); ISBN 0-86861-978-7
• The January Zone (Sydney, Allen & Unwin, 1987); ISBN 0-04-200050-5
• Man in the Shadows: A Short Novel and Six Stories (Sydney, Allen & Unwin, 1988); ISBN 0-04-320226-8
• O'Fear (Sydney, Bantam, 1990); ISBN 0-947189-73-4
• Wet Graves (Sydney, Bantam, 1991); ISBN 1-86359-025-0
• Aftershock (Sydney, Bantam, 1991); ISBN 1-86359-028-5
• Beware of the Dog (Sydney, Bantam, 1992); ISBN 1-86359-054-4
• Burn and Other Stories (Sydney, Bantam, 1993); ISBN 1-86359-069-2
• Matrimonial Causes (Sydney, Bantam, 1993); ISBN 1-86359-077-3
• Casino (Sydney, Bantam, 1994); ISBN 1-86359-113-3
• The Washington Club (Sydney, Bantam, 1997); ISBN 0-7338-0031-9
• Forget Me If You Can: Cliff Hardy Stories (Sydney, Bantam, 1997); ISBN 0-7338-0066-1
• The Reward (Sydney, Bantam, 1997); ISBN 0-7338-0070-X
• The Black Prince (Sydney, Bantam, 1998); ISBN 1-86325-132-4
• The Other Side of Sorrow (Sydney, Bantam, 1999); ISBN 1-86325-185-5
• Lugarno (Sydney, Bantam, 2001); ISBN 1-86325-298-3
• Salt and Blood (Sydney, Bantam, 2002); ISBN 1-86325-374-2
• Master's Mates (Sydney, Allen & Unwin, 2003); ISBN 1-74114-136-2
• The Coast Road (Sydney, Allen & Unwin, 2004); ISBN 1-74114-384-5
• Taking Care of Business: Cliff Hardy Cases (Sydney, Allen & Unwin, 2004); ISBN 1-74114-419-1
• Saving Billie (Sydney, Allen & Unwin, 2005); ISBN 1-74115-621-1
• The Undertow (Sydney, Allen & Unwin, 2006); ISBN 978-1-74114-748-3
• Appeal Denied (Sydney, Allen & Unwin, 2007); ISBN 978-1-74175-096-6
• The Big Score: Cliff Hardy Cases (Sydney, Allen & Unwin, 2007); ISBN 978-1-74175-223-6
• Open File (Sydney, Allen & Unwin, 2008); ISBN 978-1-74175-417-9
• Deep Water (Sydney, Allen & Unwin, 2009); ISBN 978-1-74175-677-7
• Torn Apart (Sydney, Allen & Unwin, 2010); ISBN 978-1-74237-536-6
• Follow the Money (Sydney, Allen & Unwin, 2011); ISBN 978-1-74237-379-9
• Comeback (Sydney, Allen & Unwin, 2012); ISBN 978-1-74237-724-7
• The Dunbar Case (Sydney, Allen & Unwin, 2013); ISBN 978-1-74331-022-9
• Silent Kill (Sydney, Allen & Unwin, 2014); ISBN 978-1-74331-637-5
• Gun Control (Sydney, Allen & Unwin, 2015); ISBN 978-1-76011-206-6
• That Empty Feeling (Sydney, Allen & Unwin, 2016); ISBN 978-1-76011-207-3
• Win, Lose or Draw (Sydney, Allen & Unwin, 2017); ISBN 978-1-76029-478-6

Ray Crawley novels

• Pokerface (Melbourne, Penguin, 1985); ISBN 0-14-008587-4
• The Baltic Business (Melbourne, Penguin, 1988); ISBN 0-14-010842-4
• The Kimberly Killing (Melbourne, Penguin, 1988); ISBN 0-14-011506-4
• The Cargo Club (Melbourne, Penguin, 1990); ISBN 0-14-012803-4
• The Azanian Action (Sydney, Angus & Robertson, 1991); ISBN 0-207-17213-7
• The Japanese Job (Sydney, Angus & Robertson, 1992); ISBN 0-207-17528-4
• The Time Trap (Sydney, HarperCollins, 1994); ISBN 0-7322-5016-1
• The Vietnam Volunteer (Lismore, NSW, Southern Cross University Press, 2000); ISBN 1-875855-45-9

Richard Browning novels

• Box Office Browning (Melbourne, Viking, 1987); ISBN 0-670-81696-5
• Beverly Hills Browning (Melbourne, Penguin, 1987); ISBN 0-14-010739-8
• Browning Takes Off (Melbourne, Penguin, 1989); ISBN 0-14-012159-5
• Browning in Buckskin (Melbourne, Penguin, 1991); ISBN 0-14-014699-7
• Browning P.I. (Sydney, Angus & Robertson, 1992); ISBN 0-207-17415-6
• Browning Battles On (Sydney, Angus & Robertson, 1993); ISBN 0-207-17613-2
• Browning Sahib (Sydney, HarperCollins, 1994); ISBN 0-7322-5043-9
• Browning Without a Cause (Sydney, ETT Imprint, 1995); ISBN 1-875892-22-2

Luke Dunlop novels

• Set Up (Sydney, Pan Macmillan, 1992); ISBN 0-330-27342-6
• Cross Off (Sydney, Pan Macmillan, 1993); ISBN 0-330-27385-X
• Get Even (Sydney, Pan Macmillan, 1994); ISBN 0-330-27478-3

Other works

• Passage, Port and Plantation: A History of Solomon Islands Labour Migration, 1870-1914 (Melbourne, Melbourne University Press, 1973); ISBN 0-522-84050-7
• Lords of the Ring (Sydney, Cassell Australia, 1980); ISBN 0-7269-1406-1
• Lightning Meets the West Wind: The Malaita Massacre, by Roger M. Keesing & Peter Corris (Melbourne, Oxford University Press, 1980); ISBN 0-19-554223-1
• The National Times Australian Book of Quizzes, by Jean Bedford & Peter Corris (Sydney, Allen & Unwin, 1983); ISBN 0-86861-094-1
• The Winning Side (Sydney, Allen & Unwin, 1984); ISBN 0-86861-785-7
• The Australian Family Quiz Book (Sydney, Angus & Robertson, 1985); ISBN 0-207-15060-5
• The Gulliver Fortune (Sydney, Bantam Books, 1989); ISBN 0-947189-81-5
• Naismith's Dominion (Sydney, Bantam Books, 1990); ISBN 1-86359-017-X
• Fred Hollows: An Autobiography, by Fred Hollows with Peter Corris (Melbourne, John Kerr, 1991); ISBN 0-9588004-6-4
• The Brothers Craft (Sydney, Bantam Books, 1992); ISBN 1-86359-053-6
• Fighting for Fraser Island: A Man and an Island, by John Sinclair with Peter Corris (Sydney, Kerr Publishing, 1994); ISBN 1-875703-16-0
• Wimmera Gold (Sydney, Bantam Books, 1994); ISBN 1-86359-258-X
• A Round of Golf: 18 Holes with Peter Corris (Sydney, Allen & Unwin, 1998); ISBN 1-86448-853-0
• Petro-Pirates: The Hijacking of the Petro Ranger, by Ken Blyth with Peter Corris (Sydney, Allen & Unwin, 2000); ISBN 1-86508-368-2
• Sweet & Sour: A Diabetic Life (Lismore, NSW, Southern Cross University Press, 2000); ISBN 1-875855-46-7
• The Journal of Fletcher Christian: Together with the History of Henry Corkill (Sydney, Random House Australia, 2005); ISBN 1-74051-351-7
• Blood Brothers (Sydney, Lothian Books, 2007; ISBN 978-0-734-41006-1
• Wishart's Quest (Melbourne, Arcadia, 2009); ISBN 978-1-921-50954-4
• The Colonial Queen (Melbourne, Arcadia, 2011); ISBN 978-1-921-87531-1
• Mad Dog: William Cyril Moxley and the Moorebank Killings (Sydney, University of New South Wales Press, 2011); ISBN 978-1-742-23286-7
• Standing in the Shadow: Three Novellas (Melbourne, Arcadia, 2013); ISBN 978-1-921-87532-8
• Damned If I Do, by Philip Nitschke with Peter Corris (Melbourne, Melbourne University Press, 2013); ISBN 978-0-522-86141-9

Edited

• The Picador Book of Golf, edited by Peter Corris & Jamie Grant (Sydney, Picador, 1995); ISBN 0-330-35692-5
• Ringside: A Knockout Collection of Fights & Fighters: The Winners, the Losers, the Legends, edited by Peter Corris & Barry Parish (Sydney, Random House Australia, 1996); ISBN 0-09-183333-7
• Menace in the Mulga (Brisbane, Crime Writers Queensland, 2000); ISBN 0-9585413-2-9
• Heart Matters: Personal Stories About That Heart-Stopping Moment, edited by Peter Corris & Michael Wilding (Melbourne, Viking, 2010); ISBN 978-0-670-07385-6
• Best on Ground: Great Writers on the Greatest Game, edited by Peter Corris & John Dale (Melbourne, Viking, 2010); ISBN 978-0-670-07460-0

See also

• William R. Bell
• Malaita massacre
• List of fictional private investigators
• Jimmy Sharman
• Jim Sharman

References

1. ^ "Corris, Peter". austlit.edu.au. 28 March 2008. Retrieved 18 September 2014.
2. ^ Coupe, Stuart (30 August 2003). "Crime and the Corris factor". The Age. Retrieved 18 September 2014.
3. Peter Corris, the godfather of Australian crime fiction, has died
4. Koval, Ramona. "The Journal of Fletcher Christian". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 18 September 2014.
5. ^ Koval, Ramona (18 June 2007). "Australian crime-writer Peter Corris". Radio National. Retrieved 18 September 2014.
6. "FantasticFiction: Peter Corris". fantasticfiction.co.uk. Retrieved 18 September 2014.
7. McEvoy, Marc (20 April 2009). "Life writes its way into character". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 2 April 2016.
8. Corris, Peter (2000). Sweet & Sour: A Diabetic Life. Lismore, NSW: Southern Cross University Press. ISBN 1875855467.
9. Morris, Linda (8 January 2017). "Peter Corris calls time on the iconic fictional detective Cliff Hardy". The Age. Retrieved 10 June 2017.
10. – 2009 Ned Kelly Award Previous Winners: Best Fiction
11. "O'Fear". Retrieved 18 September 2014 – via National Library of Australia.
12. Corris, Peter (June 2007), Appeal denied : [No. 31 : Cliff Hardy novels], Allen & Unwin (published 2007), ISBN 978-1-74175-096-6

External links

• The Peter Corris website
• Corris and Langmores' biography of Jimmy Sharman (1887–1965)
• Peter Corris plaque in the "Writers Walk", Circular Quay, Sydney, Australia.

• 1942 births
• 2018 deaths
• 20th-century Australian novelists
• 21st-century Australian novelists
• Australian crime fiction writers
• Australian mystery writers
• Australian journalists
• Australian male novelists
• University of Melbourne alumni
• Ned Kelly Award winners
• People from Stawell, Victoria
• Writers from Victoria (state)
• 20th-century Australian male writers
• 21st-century Australian male writers