About Susan
Susan Varga was born in Hungary in 1943. Her father died in a labour camp after Hitler invaded Hungary. As a five-year-old she migrated to Australia with her mother, step-father and sister. She has a MA in English Literature from Sydney University and a Bachelor of Laws from the University of NSW. She has worked as a casual teacher, in film, video and radio and, briefly, as a solicitor and barrister. Although she always wanted to write, she didn’t start until her mid-40s. Since then she has written five books, including one co-written with her partner Anne Coombs. She has been a periodic activist: with the women’s refuge movement; a public education campaign around the Mabo decision; and was co-founder (with Anne Coombs and Helen McCue) of Rural Australians for Refugees.
For ten years she was chair of the Becher Foundation, which supported indigenous programs, refugees and asylum seekers, women in the developing world, Jewish community projects, and rural and regional communities.
A few years ago she suffered a stroke, which impaired her ability to speak, write and spell. She has fought the disability, determined to keep writing. Rupture is her first book since then.
Susan is a keen collector of Aboriginal art, loves 1930s china and, of course, reading. She and her partner Anne spent much of the year in the NSW Southern Highlands and some months in sunny Brunswick Heads. She has recently brought out a new book, which will mix both poetry and prose. In December 2021 her beloved partner Anne died after contracting an incurable sarcoma.
©Susan Varga 2023
contact: info@susanvargawriter.com