Publisher, playwright, historians among Australia Day Honours

Several authors, publishers and literary workers have been recognised in the annual Australia Day Honours.

Appointed a Member of the Order of Australia (AM)

• Margaret Elizabeth Burn, ‘for significant service to library and information science, and to the community’. Burn has held several senior roles in libraries around Australia, and was awarded the Friends of the National Library Medal in 2019.
• Joshua Byrne, ‘for significant service to conservation and the environment, and as a media presenter and author’. Byrne is the author of several works of nonfiction addressing sustainability.
• David Headon, ‘for significant service to history preservation, as a historian, cultural advisor, and author’. Headon is the author of several works of nonfiction (predominantly history and biography).
• Joanna Murray-Smith, ‘for significant service to the performing arts as a writer’. Murray-Smith has written 27 plays, three books and three tele-plays, and was a screenwriter of the 2019 film Palm Beach.

Awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM)

• Philip James Ayres (posthumously), ‘for service to literature and to education’. Ayres is the author of several books of history and biography.
• Rachel Bin Salleh, ‘for service to literature’. Bin Salleh has been publisher at Magabala Books since 2014, and wrote the children’s book Alfred’s War (Magabala).
• Beryl Edith Haley, ‘for service to the community of the Gulgong region’. Haley is an author of three books and contributing author of two books, and is a member of the Gulgong Arts Council.

The full honours list is available from the website of the Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia.

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