Biography

Shirley Barrett (1961 – 3 August 2022) was an Australian film director, screenwriter and author. Her first film Love Serenade won the Caméra d'Or at the 1996 Cannes Film Festival. She has written and directed two other feature films Walk the Talk (2000) and South Solitary (2010). Barrett's script for South Solitary was awarded multiple prizes, including the Queensland Premier's Prize and the West Australian Premier's Prize. Her first novel Rush Oh! (2016) was shortlisted for the 2016 Indie Awards for Debut Fiction and the 2016 Nita May Dobbie Award, and long-listed for the 2016 Baileys Women's Prize for Fiction. Her second novel The Bus on Thursday was released in 2018.