Biography Series, ANU Press title

Photo by Tom Hermans on Unsplash
In response to the current popularity of biography, the Biography Series was established by the National Centre of Biography in conjunction with ANU Press in 2008 (originally under the title ANU.Lives). It aims to publish lively, engaging and provocative biographies and memoirs and nurture best practice in biographical scholarship. Books published in the series will engage critically with issues and problems in historiography and life writing.
The books are published online by ANU Press and are also available in hardcopy.
Editorial committee
- Professor Melanie Nolan (chair), Director, National Centre of Biography
- Dr Malcolm Allbrook, Managing Editor, Australian Dictionary of Biography
- Dr Patrick Mullins, Canberra-based writer and academic
- Professor Melanie Oppenheimer, Emeritus Professor, University of Flinders; Honorary Professor, School of History, ANU
- Dr Stephen Wilks, Research editor, National Centre of Biography
Submitting a manuscript
Authors wishing to submit a manuscript for consideration by ANU Lives should first contact Professor Melanie Nolan at melanie.nolan@anu.edu.au.

‘I buy this piece of ground here’: An Italian market-gardener community in Adelaide, 1920s–1970s
Author/editor: Regan, M.
Year published: 2025
‘I buy this piece of ground here’ is a group biography that examines the lives and work of a cohort of Italian migrant families from the Veneto region who arrived in Australia in the 1920s and formed a new community and identity as market gardeners in outer suburban Adelaide.This book investigates…

Politics, Pride and Perversion: The Rise and Fall of Frank Arkell
Author/editor: Eklund, E.
Year published: 2025
Frank Arkell (1929–1998) was the most successful politician of his generation; an Independent who served as Wollongong’s Lord Mayor (1974–1991) and state member (1984–1991). Arkell dominated Wollongong public life with unstoppable energy, eccentric flair, and a single-minded determination to…

Dictionary of World Biography, Tenth Edition
Author/editor: Jones, B.
Year published: 2025
Jones, Barry Owen (1932– ). Australian politician, writer and lawyer, born in Geelong. Educated at Melbourne High School and Melbourne University, he was a public servant, high school teacher, television and radio performer, university lecturer and lawyer before serving as a Labor MP in the…

‘My own sort of heaven’: A life of Rosalie Gascoigne
Author/editor: Francis, N.
Year published: 2024
Widely regarded as a major Australian artist, Rosalie Gascoigne first exhibited in 1974 at the age of fifty-seven. She rapidly achieved critical acclaim for her assemblages which were her response to the Monaro landscape surrounding Canberra. The great blonde paddocks, vast skies and big raucous…

‘Order, Order!’: A Biographical Dictionary of Speakers, Deputy Speakers and Clerks of the Australian House of Representatives
Author/editor: Wilks, S.
Year published: 2023
‘Order, Order!’: A Biographical Dictionary of Speakers, Deputy Speakers and Clerks of the Australian House of Representativesshines a first-ever historical light on the remarkable men and women who have served in these national offices since Federation. The Speakers include Frederick…

Dictionary of World Biography, Ninth Edition
Author/editor: Jones, B.
Year published: 2022
Jones, Barry Owen (1932– ). Australian politician, writer and lawyer, born in Geelong. Educated at Melbourne High School and Melbourne University, he was a public servant, high school teacher, television and radio performer, university lecturer and lawyer before serving as a Labor MP in the…

Persons of Interest: An Intimate Account of Cecily and John Burton
Author/editor: Burton, P. & Edwards, M.
Year published: 2022
A world in upheaval; two lives lived under stress … This story is set in the social and political landscape of pre– and post–World War II. It tells two vastly different tales of Cecily and John’s lives in Australia and overseas, as nations clashed, and governments and international…