Christos Tsiolkas (b. 1965) is a Melbourne-born writer of Greek descent, whose work deals uncompromisingly with sexuality, identity and politics. His first novel Loaded (1995) was made into the award-winning film Head On (1997), directed by Ana Kokkinos and starring Alex Dimitriades. His third novel Dead Europe (2005) won The Age Fiction Book of the Year. Tsiolkas has also written non-fiction and worked as a playwright on plays that have been performed in Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide and Canberra. His 2008 novel The Slap, a taut drama reflecting the changing cultural face of suburban Australia, won a swathe of awards and was made into an acclaimed television series, as was Barracuda, published in 2013. Damascus (2019), an historical novel, won the 2020 Victorian Premier's Prize for Fiction. Tsiolkas has mentored emerging writers, a role he sees as reflecting his own experience: 'I was very fortunate that I had a couple of mentors in my life.'
Photographer John Tsiavis and Tsiolkas, both from Melbourne's Greek community, met on the set of Head On. Taken at a time when Tsiolkas' reputation as a talented young writer was developing, the moody photographs reflect the exploration of masculinity and sexuality in his work, and capture his psychological intensity.
Purchased 2009
© John Tsiavis
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