Shirley Barrett

Shirley Barrett was born in Melbourne in 1961 and is best known for her work as a screenwriter and director. Her first film, Love Serenade, won the Camera d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival in 1996. It was followed by Walk The Talk (2000) and South Solitary (2010). She also had a distinguished career writing and directing for television, including Heartbreak High, Love Child, Love My Way and Offspring. Shirley's first novel, Rush Oh!, was published in 2015, and her second novel, The Bus on Thursday, in 2018. Shirley died in Sydney in August 2022 after a long illness. She was adding the final touches to Mrs Hopkins at the time of her death.