The Henry Lawson Festival is well known for its long list of distinguished guests that are welcomed into the Grenfell community and entertain and inform the June long weekend crowd with their stories and experiences. This years guest is none other than former Henry Lawson High School student and dux, Inga Simpson.
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Inga graduated from Henry Lawson High School in 1987, and after completing an Arts degree at the ANU with honours in English literature, she worked as a researcher and professional writer, including for federal Parliament and the Commonwealth Ombudsman.
Inga's list of credentials is nothing short of inspiring. Inga completed a PhD in creative writing in 2008 and in 2017 completed a second PhD in English literature. Her first short story won a Scarlet Stiletto award, while in 2012 she won the Eric Rolls nature essay prize for her piece about ironbarks.
'Mr Wigg' which was Inga's first novel, published in 2013, was shortlisted for the Indie Debut Book Award, and has just been optioned for a feature film. In 2014, her stunning novel 'Nest' was shortlisted for the Courier Mail People's Choice Award, the ALS Gold Medal, and longlisted for the Stella Prize and the 2015 Miles Franklin Literary Award.
Her 2016 novel, 'Where The Trees Were', was shortlisted for an Indie Book Award and longlisted for a number of other prizes, while her most recent book 'Understory' is a memoir about her love of nature and life with trees.
