Lia Hills

Author, Storyteller/Performer

Lia Hills is a poet, novelist and translator. Her work has been published, performed, and translated both locally and internationally, and focuses on sources of meaning.

What other jobs have you had?

Although I’ve worked as a teacher of English, both in Australia and overseas – where my clients included young French barons and members of the Russian mafia – I’ve done a variety of jobs, including camera operator, grape-picker, theatre director, editor and translator. I’m also the editor and co-initiator of the Moving Galleries project, an art and poetry project on Melbourne’s trains.

What themes are recurring in your work?

I’m interested in the way people’s belief systems hold up in the face of tragedy, and where our sense of meaning comes from – the historical, psychological, and physiological influences that affect what we believe in.

What have been the highlights of your career?

So far, my best experiences have included going to Paris to meet a writer I was translating and researching my new book there, and the letters and emails I’ve received from people who have read and loved my work. I also love being able to get up in the morning to write – it’s what I’ve always wanted to do, and sometimes I still find it difficult to believe that this is what I do.

What are you passionate about?

I am passionate about encouraging young people to explore ‘big ideas’, and to accept that here is no age to begin or end such investigations. Also, I believe that literature remains a vital and important means of delving into what it means to be human, and that language is an integral part of this investigation.

Haven’t I seen you before?

In addition to various Australian festivals, I’ve also appeared at the Auckland Readers’ and Writers’ festival, and had my work reviewed and featured in magazines and journals, including The Age, Best Australian Poems, The Australian, Viewpoint, and on radio programmes such as Aural Text.