Doris Brett

Doris Brett (born 1950) is an Australian writer and clinical psychologist. She has written in a number of genres, including poetry, memoir and nonfiction.

Early life and education Brett was born in Melbourne in 1950 to Polish Jewish parents. She is the younger sister of writer, Lily Brett. She was educated at Lee Street State School in Carlton where she was inspired by Gerald Murnane who taught her in 4th grade. and qualified as a clinical psychologist. In 2002 she was awarded a PhD by Victoria University of Technology (now Victoria University) for her thesis, "Eating the Underworld: A memoir in three voices".

Career Alongside working as a psychologist, Brett conducted bread-making workshops to earn money to fund visits to the United States to develop her skills in hypnosis for her clinical practice. Her first published book was Doris Brett's Australian Bread Book. In 1984 she won the inaugural Mary Gilmore Award for a first book of poetry.

Brett practices as a clinical psychologist in Melbourne, where she lives with her husband. She has a daughter, Amantha.

Awards

The Truth About Unicorns Winner, Anne Elder Award, 1984 Winner, Mary Gilmore Award, 1985 In the Constellation of the Crab Shortlisted, Banjo Award for Poetry, 1997 "Pages from the Other World Snap Shots from a Journey Through Illness" in Island Winner, Gwen Harwood Poetry Prize, 1998

Selected works

Doris Brett's Australian bread book (1984) cookery The Truth About Unicorns (1984) poetry Annie's Stories: A special kind of storytelling (1988) nonfiction More Annie Stories (1990 in the US, 1997 in Australia) nonfiction Looking for Unicorns (1992) novel In the Constellation of the Crab (1996) poetry Eating the Underworld (2001) memoir The Sunday Story Club (2019) nonfiction co-written by Kerry Cue