Literary icon Marion Halligan dies

A doyenne of Australian literature, she was the author of 23 books, including novels, short story collections, memoirs and a children's book.

Many of her works won awards, including the ACT Book of the Year three times, and the Age Book of the Year three times.

One, 1999's The Golden Dress, was shortlisted for the Miles Franklin Award.

Her works often focused on relationships and the messiness of life; she had a forensic attention to detail and the minutiae of the world around her.

"I'm a great believer in details - I think it's details that make people believe what you say," she said in 2022.

"If you don't give details, especially when you're writing a novel, who's going to know whether you're telling the truth or not?"

Born in April, 1940 in Newcastle, she moved to Canberra in the 1960s and worked as a teacher and journalist before she began writing short stories in the 1980s.

Based in the suburb of Hackett for more than 60 years, she was a member of a group of women writers based in Canberra known as the "Canberra Seven" or "Seven Writers"; the others were Dorothy Johnston, Margaret Barbalet, Sara Dowse, Suzanne Edgar, Marian Eldridge and Dorothy Horsfield.

Her novels include Lovers' Knots: A Hundred Year Novel (1992), The Fog Garden (2001), Murder on the Apricot Coast and Goodbye Sweetheart (2015).

Her last book, Words for Lucy, published in 2022, was a memoir about her daughter Lucy, who died of a heart condition in 2004 aged 38.

By the time Words for Lucy came out, Halligan was recovering from a stroke and on dialysis, but mused that she might "consider retiring" at some point.

She once told The Canberra Times that her work had often been characterised by a preoccupation with death, as she had had to deal with it more than most.

Apart from Lucy, her husband, Graham Halligan, died of cancer in 1998, both her younger sisters predeceased her, and her only other child, James, died of brain cancer in December 2022, the same year as Words for Lucy was published.

She continued to write until the end of her life, despite ongoing health problems.

Canberra's peak literary body, Marion (formerly the Canberra Writers Centre), is partly named for her.

Chief executive Katy Mutton said Halligan's work would leave "an indelible mark on our region and sector".

"Marion captivated readers with her elegant prose, and insightful storytelling. She was an enduring force of creativity, irreverence, intellect, and compassion, and we will greatly miss Marion's wit and wisdom," Ms Mutton said.

"We are honoured to have had Marion as our Patron for many years and acknowledge her contributions to our organisation over the past 30 years. We are truly fortunate to have shared a part of our journey with Marion Halligan."

Author Nigel Featherstone said he spent time with her only a few months ago, at an ANU/Canberra Times Meet the Author event featuring Christos Tsolkias.

"She was her usual self, and great to talk to," he said.

Fellow Canberra novelist Karen Viggers took her out to dinner after the same event.

"She had a wonderful time, enjoying good food and wine, as she always did, and participating in lively conversation," she said.

Halligan also featured in an episode of the Canberra literary podcast Secrets from the Green Room with Viggers and author Irma Gold, in April last year.

Apart from her many written words, her spirit will live on in the capital.

Her literary papers are held by the National Library of Australia, and her work is also referenced in one of Canberra's most loved public art works, The Cushion and the Wedge in Garema Place. The stainless steel pillow is surrounded by scattered sheets of paper engraved with her poems.

And at Muse, the restaurant and literary salon in Kingston, one wall is dominated by a large-scale watercolour portrait of her by artist Leeanne Crisp.

Muse co-owner Paul Eldon said Crisp had offered up the portrait (now owned by Mr Eldon and his husband Dan Sanderson) when a space on the wall remained unfilled as they designed the venue.

Her face has since presided over hundreds of literary events there.

Mr Eldon said her death was "a great loss to Canberra writing".

A second portrait by Crisp is also in the National Portrait Gallery collection.

Marion Halligan died peacefully in a Canberra nursing home on February 19.

She is survived by her partner of more than two decades, the poet John Stokes, and two grandchildren .