Peter Robert Corris (8 May 1942 – 30 August 2018) was an Australian academic, historian, journalist and a novelist of historical and crime fiction. As crime fiction writer, he was described as "the Godfather of contemporary Australian crime-writing", particularly for his Cliff Hardy novels.
Biography
Corris' secondary school education was at Melbourne High School. He was a Bachelor level student at the University of Melbourne, then gained a Master of Arts in history at Monash University. He studied at the Australian National University where he was awarded a PhD in history on the topic of the South Seas Islander slave trade (Kanakas). He continued these studies as a university lecturer, but later became a journalist, and then a full-time writer.
He was married to writer Jean Bedford.
Peter Corris wrote a book that provided deep insights into his life living with type-1 diabetes. Some of his novels have diabetic subplots. In January 2017, Corris announced that he would no longer be writing novels owing to 'creeping blindness' because of his diabetes.
Awards and achievements
Ned Kelly Awards for Crime Writing, Lifetime Achievement, 1999: winner
Ned Kelly Awards for Crime Writing, Best Fiction, 2004: nominated for Master's Mates Ned Kelly Awards for Crime Writing, Best Fiction, 2006: shortlisted for Saving Billie Ned Kelly Awards for Crime Writing, Best Fiction, 2007: shortlisted for The Undertow Ned Kelly Awards for Crime Writing, Best Fiction, 2008: nominated for Appeal Denied Ned Kelly Awards for Crime Writing, Best Fiction, 2008: nominated for Open File Ned Kelly Awards for Crime Writing, Best Fiction, 2009: winner for Deep Water
Partial list of books
Cliff Hardy novels
The Dying Trade (Sydney, McGraw-Hill, 1980); White Meat (Sydney, Pan Books, 1981); The Marvellous Boy (Sydney, Pan Books, 1982); The Empty Beach (Sydney, Allen & Unwin, 1983); Heroin Annie and Other Cliff Hardy Stories (Sydney, Allen & Unwin, 1984); Make Me Rich (Sydney, Allen & Unwin, 1985); The Big Drop and Other Cliff Hardy Stories (Sydney, Allen & Unwin, 1985); The Greenwich Apartments (Sydney, Allen & Unwin, 1986); Deal Me Out (Sydney, Allen & Unwin, 1986); The January Zone (Sydney, Allen & Unwin, 1987); Man in the Shadows: A Short Novel and Six Stories (Sydney, Allen & Unwin, 1988); O'Fear (Sydney, Bantam, 1990); Wet Graves (Sydney, Bantam, 1991); Aftershock (Sydney, Bantam, 1991); Beware of the Dog (Sydney, Bantam, 1992); Burn and Other Stories (Sydney, Bantam, 1993); Matrimonial Causes (Sydney, Bantam, 1993); Casino (Sydney, Bantam, 1994); The Washington Club (Sydney, Bantam, 1997); Forget Me If You Can: Cliff Hardy Stories (Sydney, Bantam, 1997); The Reward (Sydney, Bantam, 1997); The Black Prince (Sydney, Bantam, 1998); The Other Side of Sorrow (Sydney, Bantam, 1999); Lugarno (Sydney, Bantam, 2001); Salt and Blood (Sydney, Bantam, 2002); Master's Mates (Sydney, Allen & Unwin, 2003); The Coast Road (Sydney, Allen & Unwin, 2004); Taking Care of Business: Cliff Hardy Cases (Sydney, Allen & Unwin, 2004); Saving Billie (Sydney, Allen & Unwin, 2005); The Undertow (Sydney, Allen & Unwin, 2006); Appeal Denied (Sydney, Allen & Unwin, 2007); The Big Score: Cliff Hardy Cases (Sydney, Allen & Unwin, 2007); Open File (Sydney, Allen & Unwin, 2008); Deep Water (Sydney, Allen & Unwin, 2009); Torn Apart (Sydney, Allen & Unwin, 2010); Follow the Money (Sydney, Allen & Unwin, 2011); Comeback (Sydney, Allen & Unwin, 2012); The Dunbar Case (Sydney, Allen & Unwin, 2013); Silent Kill (Sydney, Allen & Unwin, 2014); Gun Control (Sydney, Allen & Unwin, 2015); That Empty Feeling (Sydney, Allen & Unwin, 2016); Win, Lose or Draw (Sydney, Allen & Unwin, 2017);
Ray Crawley novels
Pokerface (Melbourne, Penguin, 1985); The Baltic Business (Melbourne, Penguin, 1988); The Kimberly Killing (Melbourne, Penguin, 1988); The Cargo Club (Melbourne, Penguin, 1990); The Azanian Action (Sydney, Angus & Robertson, 1991); The Japanese Job (Sydney, Angus & Robertson, 1992); The Time Trap (Sydney, HarperCollins, 1994); The Vietnam Volunteer (Lismore, NSW, Southern Cross University Press, 2000);
Richard Browning novels
Box Office Browning (Melbourne, Viking, 1987); Beverly Hills Browning (Melbourne, Penguin, 1987); Browning Takes Off (Melbourne, Penguin, 1989); Browning in Buckskin (Melbourne, Penguin, 1991); Browning P.I. (Sydney, Angus & Robertson, 1992); Browning Battles On (Sydney, Angus & Robertson, 1993); Browning Sahib (Sydney, HarperCollins, 1994); Browning Without a Cause (Sydney, ETT Imprint, 1995);