Richard Dove
Richard is a publisher, poet and author, and previous winner of the Willy Lit Fest People’s Choice (Poetry). A former police officer with a long and distinguished career, he was honoured with the title Friend of Africa at an award ceremony at Parliament House, Canberra, for his work in building the relationship between police and African communities, over many years.
Over the past ten years, Richard has attended five international residencies in France, and the Republic of Ireland (Tyrone Guthrie Centre, County Monaghan), writing a series of original fables, the first released in 2022, in hardcover, titled The Promise – Shortlisted for Best Designed Children’s Fiction Book at the Australian Book Design Awards, 2022, and selected for inclusion at the State Library of Victoria World of the Book Exhibition, 2023 – 2024. Recently, he led a project to publish a book titled, Nostalgia: A Collection of Childhood Stories from Burma, which was the subject of a photo essay in The Guardian, by multi-award-winning photojournalist, Chris Hopkins. In 2023, a collection of his poems were published by In Case of Emergency Press, in a book titled, All’s Well that Inks Well.
Richard is a regular public speaker and Master of Ceremonies, an expert on multicultural affairs, and has been interviewed many times for television, radio and newspapers, including the ABC program, Compass. His widely celebrated picture book, Us Karen, depicting the refugee journey of the Karen people to Australia, was launched by Prime Minister Julia Gillard via a video-recording from her Canberra office, in 2012. She said, “It is indeed a lovely book; eloquent, thoughtful and simple. It tells the story all of us from migrant backgrounds can understand: the story of hope.”
Life in, and connection to, Hobsons Bay
A long term member of the Western Union Writers, Richard lives in Lara, near Geelong, and has a long association with the City of Hobsons Bay. From 2006 to 2013, he was an organising partner and co-facilitator of the Hobsons Bay New and Emerging Communities Youth Leadership Program. Over many years, he was a regular special guest at Hobsons Bay Australian Citizenship Ceremonies, and other civic ceremonies such as Australia Day, Refugee Week, and more. He has volunteered many times as Master of Ceremonies for Hobsons Bay events, and is a regular participant in the People’s Choice at the WillyLitFest.
Currently, Richard is a member of the Hobsons Bay Intercultural Network, supporting the settlement of migrant populations of Hobsons Bay, including refugees and asylum seekers.
Works
Children’s Books
- 'Us Karen', Illustrated by Tha Do (Love of Books, 2012)
- 'The Promise', Illustrated by Kyoko Imazu (Little White Bird Press, 2021)
Poetry
- 'Earth Life', Australis Journal of Post-Colonial Romantic Modernist fiction (Moongirl Press, 2015)
- 'Untitled poem', Three Line Poetry Issue 49, A Peculiar Sophistication (Prolific Press, 2018)
- 'Untitled poem', Three Line Poetry Issue 53, Special Issue (Prolific Press, 2020)
- 'My Island', Hypophora Journal IV (Wyndham Community and Education Centre, 2020)
- 'All's Well that Inks Well' - Collection of Short Poem (In Case of Emergency Press, 2023)
Short Stories
- 'The Last Bite of the Pie', Western Reunion Anthology (Western Union Writers, 2015)
- 'Life can be a drain', 100 Word Fiction (Prolific Press, 2021)