AUTHOR / POET / MUSICIAN

Gregory Day's debut novel THE PATRON SAINT OF EELS has been described in The Australian newspaper as "an enchanting regional fable that transcends its own regionalism to pose serious questions not only about environmental responsibility but also about our spiritual connection with the world in which we live." It has won the 2006 Australian Literature Society Gold Medal.

The book is a delicate and vernacular tale where the pressures and wonders of small town life on the southwest coast of Victoria collide with a picaresque eigtheenth century Calabrian monk, Fra Ionio. Fra Ionio descends surreally into the bush and seascape to tell the story of the amazing migration of the local eels who leave the rivers and creeks along the southern Victorian coast to travel 5000km to the Coral Sea.

RON MCCOY'S SEA OF DIAMONDS is Gregory's second novel, published in September 2007.

On the wild clifftop of the coastal town of Mangowak, Ron McCoy lives an almost marsupial existence with his elderly mother. He hunts and gathers while the town sleeps; he is acutely shy, but in the privacy of his imagination, fostered as it is by his love of music and the oceanscape of his birth, all things are possible.

Written in a precise, painterly style, Gregory Day’s follow-up to his award-winning debut novel is a powerful meditation on belonging, on landscape, and on love.

Gregory Day lives on the south west coast of Victoria. He is a writer, poet and musician whose books and CDs deal with human ideas of the natural world, animal love and loss of place. His CDs include THE BLACK TOWER: SONGS FROM THE POETRY OF WB YEATS, which was hailed by the Yeats Society of Ireland as the finest musical interpretations of Yeats ever made, and his most recent release THE FLASH ROAD: SCENES FROM THE BUILDING OF THE GREAT OCEAN ROAD (2006) was described by the Sunday Age as "a quiet gem". Gregory is a regular contributor to the literary pages of The Age.

In 2008 THE PATRON SAINT OF EELS is in its second year on the VCE Literature text and Gregory Day is available for presentations on the themes of the book. As an experienced performer he is also available for workshops on poetry and music and to tell and sing the epic historical tale of the building of The Great Ocean Road in the early 20th century.

"Greg came to Preshil yesterday and gave a fantastic presentation. He has such a warm and open way of talking about the novel and himself and he was able to engage every student in the room. All that he shared was helpful in some way whether it was about the book or his process as a writer. We really enjoyed the morning."

-Marisa Lawlor, Preshil.

"If you had a dollar for every book like this knocking around at the moment, that would add up to exactly one dollar... Gregory Day shares with the young (Tim) Winton an ability to use and explore a rich spiritual tradition without being imprisoned by it."

-The Sydney Morning Herald.