Bauer, Michael Gerard 1955(?)–

PERSONAL: Born August 10, 1955, in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia; married; children: Meg, Joseph. Education: University of Queensland, B.A. and Dip.Ed., 1977.

ADDRESSES: Home—Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. Agent—c/o Author Mail, Omnibus Books/ Scholastic Australia, 335 Unley Rd., Malvern, South Australia 5061, Australia.

CAREER: Writer and educator. Teacher of economics and English teacher in Brisbane and Ipswich, Queensland, Australia.

AWARDS, HONORS: Brisbane Writers Festival WriteSmall Competition winner, 2003; New South Wales Premier's Literary Award shortlist, Children's Book Council of Australia Book of the Year for Older Readers award, Courier Mail People's Choice Award for Younger Readers, and Ethel Turner Prize for young people's literature, all 2005, all for The Running Man.

WRITINGS:

The Running Man, Omnibus Books (Malvern, South Australia, Australia), 2004.

Don't Call me Ishmael!, Omnibus Books (Malvern, South Australia, Australia), 2006.

SIDELIGHTS: Australian-born author and educator Michael Gerard Bauer's debut novel The Running Man was met with much praise upon its publication in 2004, and has also earned recognition by several of the country's top awards. The novel's main character is a fourteen-year-old boy named Joseph. A talented artist, Joseph is asked by the woman who lives next door to paint a portrait of her brother Tom, a withdrawn, unsociable man who is known around town primarily because of his status as a Vietnam veteran. Behind Tom's constant scowl and dark moods is an even darker history that Joseph must unlock in order to clearly capture the man on canvas. Joseph's quest to make sense of his older neighbor despite his own shyness also helps the teen deal with his own childhood turmoil and help him avoid the scars that have so clearly damaged Tom.

Bauer studied English at the University of Queensland, and now teaches English and economics on the secondary-school level in the city of Brisbane, where he was born and still lives with his wife and two children. Discussing his second career as a writer on the Scholastic Australia Web site, he noted: "I have always been interested in writing and over the years have dabbled in song lyrics, short stories and poetry with no real thought of ever being published. For quite a few years I kept diaries where I would write about my experiences and innermost feelings in verse heavily disguised by symbols and images. Looking back I think this was probably a good way of developing and improving writing skills without realizing it."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Magpies, November, 2004, Jo Goodman, review of The Running Man, p. 39.

ONLINE

AustLit Web site, http://www.austlit.edu.au/ (September 26, 2005).

Curriculum Materials Information Services Web site, http://www.amlib.eddept.wa.edu.au/ (December 19, 2005), Les Strong, review of The Running Man.

Scholastic Australia Web site, http://www.scholastic.com.au/ (November 26, 2005), "Michael Gerard Bauer."