Books

Magda Szubanski’s hidden talent

She’s best known as Sharon Strezlecki from Kath and Kim but Magda Szubanski is making big waves in a very different arena.

She’s one of Australia’s best-known comedians but it seems Magda Szubanski has been hiding another skill from us for all these years – she’s a brilliant writer.

The 55-year-old’s first book, Reckoning, a memoir that centres around her relationship with her father, a teenage assassin during World War II, is making big waves in the literary world.

Last night, Magda took out the $40,000 nonfiction prize at the NSW Premier’s Literary Awards, beating industry heavyweights including Kate Grenville and Tim Winton.

Tomorrow night, she could do it again at the Australian Book Industry Awards, with Reckoning up for Biography Book of the Year.

“I loved writing,” she said. “Probably, to be honest, I loved it more than anything I have done before.”

The Australian Book Industry Awards, proudly sponsored by The Australian Women’s Weekly, will take place in Sydney on Thursday night.

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