Ian Moffitt
{{Short description|Australian journalist and novelist}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2015}}
{{Use Australian English|date=August 2015}}
{{Infobox writer
| name = Ian Moffitt
| birth_name =
| birth_date = {{Birth date|df=yes|1926|07|31}}
| birth_place = Sydney
| death_date = {{Death date and age|df=yes|2000|11|01|1926|07|31}}
| death_place = Sydney
| occupation = novelist
| language = English
| nationality = Australian
| ethnicity =
| citizenship =
| education =
| alma_mater =
| notableworks =
| awards =
| years_active = 1967–1993
}}
Ian Moffitt (31 July 1926 – 1 November 2000) was an Australian journalist and novelist best known for his best-selling novel The Retreat Of Radiance.{{cite web|title= Austlit — Ian Moffitt |publisher= Austlit|url=https://www.austlit.edu.au/austlit/page/A30585|access-date= 12 August 2023}}
He headed News Limited bureau in New York in the early 1960s and was an outstanding feature writer for The Australian newspaper in the late 1960s and 1970s before becoming a full-time novelist in 1981.{{cite web|title="Chronology of Recent Events" |publisher= Australian Newspaper History Group|url=http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/eserv/UQ:11352/anjh10.pdf|access-date= 12 August 2023}}
History
Born in Sydney on 31 July 1926, Moffitt grew up in Taree on the north coast of New South Wales. He worked for The Sun as a copy boy and became a cadet early in 1945.
In 1949, during the Chinese Civil War, he joined the staff of the South China Morning Post and it was his experience in Hong Kong and China that inspired The Retreat Of Radiance.The Oxford Companion to Australian Literature edited by Wilde, Hooton and Andrews, 2nd edition, p485. Retrieved 12 August 2023 First published in 1982 by William Collins, The Retreat Of Radiance was four months on the bestseller list, six weeks at number one.
He then became a reporter, sub-editor, feature writer and foreign correspondent for Australian newspapers and magazines, including The Daily Mirror (Australia), The Sydney Morning Herald, The Australian and The Bulletin.
Personal
Moffitt married Elizabeth Saunders and had five children: Matthew, Annabel, Dominic, Frances and Sophie. Their eldest son, Matt, was the lead vocalist, guitarist and songwriter with Australian band Matt Finish, one of Australia's most popular live bands from the late seventies until the mid-nineties. Matt died in 2003.{{cite web|title="Wild one with a dark angel's voice" |publisher=The Sydney Morning Herald, 10 September 2003|url=https://www.smh.com.au/national/wild-one-with-a-dark-angels-voice-20030910-gdhd33.html|access-date= 12 August 2023}} Sophie is a dancer, choreographer and contemporary dance teacher, whose production company ‘Bounce Productions’, is involved with corporate events in Australia, Asia, America and New Zealand.
Ian's first marriage ended in divorce and he then married Margaret O'Sullivan, a journalist, literary agent, author of several cookbooks and co-author (with Candace Lewis) of Three of the Best – The Modern Woman's Guide to Everything (ABC Books, 2008).
Bibliography
=Novels=
- The Retreat Of Radiance: A Novel of Revenge (1982){{cite web|title= Austlit — The Retreat Of Radiance |publisher= Austlit|url=https://www.austlit.edu.au/austlit/page/C202880|access-date= 12 August 2023}}
- The Colour Man (published in the US as Presence Of Evil) (1983){{cite web|title= Austlit — The Colour Man |publisher= Austlit|url=https://www.austlit.edu.au/austlit/page/C218122|access-date= 12 August 2023}}
- Blue Angels (1987){{cite web|title= Austlit — Blue Angels |publisher= Austlit|url=https://www.austlit.edu.au/austlit/page/C162907|access-date= 12 August 2023}}
- Death Adder Dreaming (1988){{cite web|title= Austlit — Death Adder Dreaming |publisher= Austlit|url=https://www.austlit.edu.au/austlit/page/C27850|access-date= 12 August 2023}}
- Gilt Edge (1991){{cite web|title= Austlit — Gilt Edge |publisher= Austlit|url=https://www.austlit.edu.au/austlit/page/C90591|access-date= 12 August 2023}}
=Short story collections=
- Deadlines (1985){{cite web|title= Austlit — Deadlines |publisher= Austlit|url=https://www.austlit.edu.au/austlit/page/C206871|access-date= 12 August 2023}}
- The Electric Jungle (1993){{cite web|title= Austlit — The Electric Jungle |publisher= Austlit|url=https://www.austlit.edu.au/austlit/page/C7636|access-date= 12 August 2023}}
=Non-fiction=
- The Australian Outback (The World's Wild Places) (1981){{cite web|title= Austlit — The Australian Outback |publisher= Austlit|url=https://www.austlit.edu.au/austlit/page/C602337|access-date= 12 August 2023}}
References
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Category:20th-century Australian novelists
Category:Australian male novelists
Category:Australian male short story writers
Category:20th-century Australian short story writers