Guide to the Papers of Mem Fox, 1961-2006
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Collection context
Summary
- Collection number:
- MS 9190; MS Acc07.011; MS Acc14.117
- Creator:
- Fox, Mem, 1946-
- Extent:
- 9.15 metres and (51 boxes + 3 folio boxes + 13 digital carriers)
- Language:
- English
- Preferred citation:
- Items from this collection should be cited as '[Title or description of manuscript item], Papers of Mem Fox, National Library of Australia, [class number, series and file number]'.
- Availability:
- Available
- Access conditions:
- Part available for research; part not available for research. Not for loan.
Background
- Content Summary:
-
The papers include correspondence, drafts of published, unpublished and juvenile writings, speeches and talks, scrapbooks, photographs, papers relating to Fox's academic career, cuttings, printed material and family papers.
The major correspondents are Terry Denton, Lorraine Ellis, Morris Gleitzman, Andrea Goldsmith, Vivienne Goodman, Kilmeny Niland, Pamela Lofts, Patricia Mullins, Craig Smith, Barbara Wels, Paul Jennings, Julie Vivas, Nancy and Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge (parents), Jan Delacourt (sister), Caroline Lurie (Australian Literary Management), Omnibus (Publisher) and Harcourt Publisher. Copies of many of Fox's letters are included.
- Biographical Note:
-
Mem (Merrion) Partridge, daughter of Nancy and Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge, was born in Melbourne in 1946. In the same year, Fox's parents moved to Rhodesia to work as missionaries. Fox spent her childhood in the Hope Fountain mission near Bulawayo, Southern Rhodesia. She went to school in Bulawayo.
In 1965 Fox went to London to study drama at the Rose Bruford College. She graduated from the College in 1968. Between 1968 and 1969 she taught in Zimbabwe and Rwanda.
In 1969 she married Malcolm Fox, whom she had met at Rose Bruford College. The following year they left Africa and emigrated to Adelaide, where Fox taught drama at Cabra Dominican College, Adelaide. Later she taught at the South Australia Institute of Technology (1973 and 1979), Sturt College of Advanced Education (1973-79) and Flinders University (1973-1996).
Her first book, Possum magic, was published in 1983. It was to become her best selling book and has sold more copies than any other Australian children's book. Possum magic won the New South Wales State Literary Award.
Fox has published numerous children's books, an autobiography and three textbooks. Her books have been translated into many languages, including Indonesian, Japanese, Chinese, German and Hebrew. She has won numerous awards and was made a Member of the Order of Australia in 1993.
- Collection Retrieval Advice:
-
Please note: each consignment in this collection has a separate box number sequence (i.e. there are multiple Box 1's). Please cite the relevant Class number as well as the Box number when requesting retrieval of material from the collection.
- Provenance:
-
Mem Fox donated, under the Taxation Incentives for the Arts Scheme, the bulk of MS 9190 to the Library in 1997. Papers in MS 9190, Boxes 19-30 and Folio Box 2 were donated under the Cultural Gifts Program in October 2002. Further papers were added in 2007 and 2014.
- Arrangement:
-
Mem Fox has kept her papers in very good order. Wherever possible, the Library has preserved the original order and the file titles.
Indexed terms
- Names:
- Fox, Mem, 1946-
Access and use
- Conditions Governing Access:
- Access conditions may apply to this collection, please refer to the collection's catalogue record for further information (http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn2761).
- Conditions Governing Use:
- Copying and publishing of unpublished manuscript material is subject to copyright restrictions. For such material, written permission to publish must be obtained from the copyright holder(s). Copying of unpublished material for research purposes is permissible 50 years after the death of the creator of the material.
- Preferred citation:
- Items from this collection should be cited as '[Title or description of manuscript item], Papers of Mem Fox, National Library of Australia, [class number, series and file number]'.
- Location of this collection:
-
Parkes PlaceCanberra ACT 2600, Australia
- Contact: