Member Spotlight: Christine Balint

1.11.21

Our November Member Spotlight features Christine Balint, a winner of the 2021 Viva La Novella Prize for her novella Water Music!

Christine Balint's first novel, The Salt Letters, was shortlisted for The Australian/Vogel's Literary Award and subsequently published by Allen & Unwin. Her second novel, Ophelia's Fan, was internationally released in 2004. Christine's work has been published to critical acclaim in Australia, The United States, Germany and Italy. She has been developing a body of work set in eighteenth-century Venice for several years. Christine has a PhD in Creative Arts from The University of Melbourne and taught for seven years in RMIT's Graduate Writing Program. She currently teaches in the Creative Writing Program at The University of Melbourne on a sessional basis.

What inspired you to begin writing?

I have always been a keen reader. I began writing my own fiction in early primary school. My first publication was a story about a ghost afraid of its own reflection, published in my primary school newsletter when I was in grade 1. In high school, one of my English teachers broke Ian McEwan’s The Child in Time down into its structural and symbolic components. That was the first time I saw how you might be able to piece together a novel.

What did it mean to you to win the Viva La Novella Prize this year?

Winning the Viva la Novella prize was a wonderful surprise and is a great privilege. It is very affirming to have your work acknowledged for its inherent qualities. I have been researching the lives of the young women who lived and worked in the
Venetian musical orphanages for a number of years and I’m excited to be able to share this rich eighteenth-century world and some of their stories with readers. It’s also been a privilege to work with the Brio team, who have created a beautiful publication.

What do you know now that you wish you'd known at the beginning of your writing journey?

It’s a very long and unpredictable journey – challenging and rewarding. You will write pieces and abandon some of them. Some will find their way back into your world and some will re-emerge in forms you did not anticipate.

Which Australian authors or illustrators have been influential for your writing practice and career?

Delia Falconer, Brenda Walker, Kevin Brophy, Antoni Jach, Charlotte Wood, Michelle de Kretser, Wendy Orr, Steven Conte, David Malouf, Alex Miller, Kim Scott among many others.

Find out more about Christine Balint here: https://christinebalint.com/