About Tracy

Tracy Crisp is a writer and – to her family’s great surprise – standup comedian.

She writes short stories and poems for children and adults, essays, articles, reviews, blogs and novels. Her written work has appeared in a range of publications, including Griffith Review, Island and New Matilda. Her short story The Plumber originally published in Island was included in Best Australian Stories 2007. Her first novel, Black Dust Dancing was shortlisted in the unpublished manuscript section of the Festival Awards for Literature 2006 and was published by Wakefield Press in March 2009.

In the leadup to her midlife crisis, Tracy starting writing and performing standup comedy. Within a year of her first performance she was a national finalist in the Melbourne International Comedy Festival Raw Comedy Competition, appearing in front of 1500 people at the Melbourne Town Hall and later broadcast on ABC TV. She divides her time between Adelaide, Abu Dhabi and Kangaroo Island.

selected publications

• Novel ‘Black Dust Dancing’, Wakefield Press 2009
• ‘The Doctor’s Wife,’ The Advertiser Review Summer Reading, December 2007
• ‘The Plumber,’ Best Australian Stories 2007, November 2007 (originally published in Island 108, 2007)
• ‘Destination: Adelaide,’ Griffith REVIEW, February 2007
• ‘Before birth: a brave new world,’ Eureka Street, September 2005
• ‘I like their early stuff: the Wiggles and the rich list,’ New Matilda, 20 April 2005
• ‘Did you want children with that?’ onlineopinion.com.au, 31 January 2005
• ‘The spirit of things’, Island (99), January 2005
• ‘Scapho is Greek for boat,’ Griffith REVIEW: Making perfect bodies June 2004
• Monthly column for Australian Bookseller & Publisher, March 2001 – June 2004
• 'Whale of a Tale', South Australian Maritime Museum exhibition 2000 (a suite of poems for children)
• 'Antonia's gift,' Puffin New Zealand Storybook, Penguin Books, New Zealand, 1996
• Other articles and reviews have appeared in the Australian Weekend Review, Australian Amateur Boatbuilder, Australian Yoga Life, Viewpoint: on Books for Young Adults and Orana, The Advertiser

comedy

• Titters!, Adelaide Fringe 2008, 2009
• High Beam Global Festival, Adelaide Fringe 2008
• Stand up for your Rights, Amnesty International benefit, Her Majesty’s Theatre, Melbourne, October 2007 (later broadcast on the comedy channel)
• Raw National Final, Melbourne Town Hall, April 2007 (later broadcast on ABC TV)
• Green Faces (SA Heat), Irish Club, Canberra, July 2007
• Regular gigs at Adelaide venues, including Rhino Room, PJ O’Brien’s, Balcony Bar, 2007
• Freelance private gigs for schools and TAFEs in Adelaide and regional South Australia, 2007

radio performances and public readings

• Panellist, Reading the Country, Hahndorf Academy, 27 January 2007
• ‘Verity and James’ (short story), Radio Adelaide, 1 September 2007
• Public reading, Lee Marvin readings (curated by Ken Bolton), Adelaide, 23 October 2006, 4 April 2007, August 2007
• Black dust dancing (novel extract), Radio Adelaide, 16 April 2006
• ‘Child soldiers,’ Perspective, Radio National, May 2004
• ‘Mother’s Day and the ‘disappeared’’, Perspective, Radio National, May 2003

awards, grants and festivals

• Arts SA independent artist grant, December 2007
• Blogging workshop, SA Writers’ Festival, September 2007
• Writer in residence, Tasmanian Writers’ Centre Island of Residences, July 2007
• National Finalist, Raw Comedy Competition, April 2007
• South Australian State Finalist, Raw Comedy Competition, March 2007 (placed runner up)
• Manuscript Black Dust Dancing shortlisted, SA Festival Awards for Literature 2006
• Varuna LongLines Masterclass participant, 2005
• Arts SA emerging artists grant, 2004
• Masterclass participant with Ruth Starke, SA Writers' Centre, 2001
• SA Writers’ Centre Mentorship for Emerging Writer with Eleanor Nilsson, 1999
• Varuna Fellowship for new South Australian writers, 1999