Lily Brett

Lily Brett is a prominent Australian literary figure, renowned for her work as a novelist, essayist, and poet. Her life has been marked by significant relocations, having spent her early years in North Carlton and later in Elwood/Caulfield, before moving to London and then back to Melbourne. Eventually, she settled permanently in New York City, a city that would later influence her writing. Prior to her literary career, Brett worked as a pop music journalist, penning articles for notable publications such as Go-Set from 1966 to 1968.

Brett's literary pursuits began in earnest from 1979, as she started crafting poems, prose fiction, and non-fiction works. Her writing often explores themes of family life, drawing heavily from her own experiences growing up in Melbourne and later living in New York. As the daughter of Holocaust survivors, her unique perspective is reflected in her novels, which include notable works such as Things Could Be Worse, Just Like That, Too Many Men, and You Gotta Have Balls. Through her writing, Brett offers insightful depictions of her life, weaving together elements of her Australian upbringing and her later years in the United States.