Sophie Cunningham

Sophie Cunningham has been on the publishing scene in Australia for thirty years. A former publisher and editor, she is the author of two novels. Warning: The Story of Cyclone Tracy, her most recent book, was published by Text Publishing in 2014. She is a former editor of Meanjin, and a former Chair of the Literature Board of the Australia Council. She is a founding and current board member of The Stella Prize. She won the Australian Book Review’s 2015 Calibre Essay Prize.

Articles by Sophie Cunningham:

Published in Overland Issue 221 Summer 2015

Gold rush

Sophie Cunningham

San Francisco is home to about 3000 murals. They adorn high schools, businesses and the walls of mini-parks, and are painted by school kids, teenagers, gang members and professional artists. Most contemporary ones are in the Mission. Since 1971, this area has been home to an extraordinary flourishing of muralism. It began with the Mujeres Muralistas, a woman’s collective that grew out of both the American Civil Rights movement and Mexican muralist movement led by Diego Rivera.

Published in Overland Issue 209 Summer 2012

Descended upon by looters

Sophie Cunningham

There is a photo taken at the end of 1974 of a man sitting outside the remains of his shop on the Stuart Highway, Darwin, holding a shotgun to keep thieves away. It was a few days after Cyclone Tracy had wiped out close to 90 per cent of the town in what remains Australia’s greatest urban catastrophe.