Ramona Koval
Encyclopedia
Ramona Koval is an Australia
n broadcaster, writer and journalist.
Her parents were Yiddish-speaking survivors of the Holocaust who arrived in Melbourne from Poland in 1950.
Koval is known for her extended and in-depth interviews with significant writers. She has had a long and varied career on air in Australia on ABC Radio Australian Broadcasting Corporation
. She was presenter of the Radio National
Drive program and the morning presenter on Melbourne's 3LO (now 774 ABC Melbourne) through the late 1980s and early 1990s. She became a fixture in the literary world after joining ABC Radio National's Books and Writing in 1994. Ramona presented The Book Show
, introduced by ABC Radio National in 2006 to consolidate its various book programs. The Book Show was the world's only daily radio program devoted to the books, writing and publishing.
She left the ABC in October 2011 to pursue her own writing.
Koval has travelled overseas extensively and brought home fascinating conversations with some of the most exciting and respected authors writing in English, and she has made several radio documentaries. She is an active participant in the various Australian literary festivals, and has been invited to take part in international Literary festivals - including the Edinburgh International Book Festival
, Montreal's Blue Metropolis
literary festival, the UK's Cheltenham Literature Festival.
In 1995 Koval won the Order of Australia
Media Award for a series of radio programs entitled "Writing from the Centre" and broadcast on ABC Radio National.
Koval has served on the board of the Australian Book Review, and has served on the Victorian Premier's Literary Award Advisory Committee
, and the Asialink Awards Literary Committee. She has judged the radio section of the Walkley Awards
twice, and been a judge of non-fiction for the Victorian Premier's Literary Awards twice, once as chair of the committee.
In 2002 Koval was elected to the position of staff-elected Director on the ABC Board
. She held this position during a period of intense controversy, until the position was abolished in 2006 following an amendment to the ABC Act by the Howard Government.
In 2006 ABC Radio National pooled its considerable literary expertise to create The Book Show and asked Koval to be the presenter.
In 2008 she was invited to be one of 1000 people taking part in the Australia 2020 summit to "help shape a long term strategy for the nation's future".
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n broadcaster, writer and journalist.
Her parents were Yiddish-speaking survivors of the Holocaust who arrived in Melbourne from Poland in 1950.
Koval is known for her extended and in-depth interviews with significant writers. She has had a long and varied career on air in Australia on ABC Radio Australian Broadcasting Corporation
Australian Broadcasting Corporation
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly referred to as "the ABC" , is Australia's national public broadcaster...
. She was presenter of the Radio National
Radio National
ABC Radio National is an Australia-wide non-commercial radio network run by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.Radio National broadcasts national programming in areas that include news and current affairs, the arts, social issues, science, drama and comedy...
Drive program and the morning presenter on Melbourne's 3LO (now 774 ABC Melbourne) through the late 1980s and early 1990s. She became a fixture in the literary world after joining ABC Radio National's Books and Writing in 1994. Ramona presented The Book Show
The Book Show
The Book Show is an Australian ABC radio program for the discussion of everything relating to the written word. It is broadcast live around Australia on Radio National with a daily weekday morning show which is then replayed nightly and also has a Sunday evening show. The show is hosted by Ramona...
, introduced by ABC Radio National in 2006 to consolidate its various book programs. The Book Show was the world's only daily radio program devoted to the books, writing and publishing.
She left the ABC in October 2011 to pursue her own writing.
Biography
Koval has written several books, including a novel, Samovar, and a cookbook Jewish Cooking, Jewish Cooks. She has written for many newspapers and international journals, and her interviews have been published in book form. Her latest collection of Radio National interviews is Tasting Life Twice: Conversations with Remarkable Writers, published by ABC Books (2005).Koval has travelled overseas extensively and brought home fascinating conversations with some of the most exciting and respected authors writing in English, and she has made several radio documentaries. She is an active participant in the various Australian literary festivals, and has been invited to take part in international Literary festivals - including the Edinburgh International Book Festival
Edinburgh International Book Festival
The Edinburgh International Book Festival, is a book festival that takes place in the last three weeks of August every year in Charlotte Square, in the centre of Edinburgh, Scotland’s capital...
, Montreal's Blue Metropolis
Blue Metropolis
Blue Metropolis is the name for the Montreal International Literary Festival. Also known as Blue Met, is the world's first multilingual literary festival and has been held annually in Montreal since April 1999. It was founded by Montreal writer Linda Leith....
literary festival, the UK's Cheltenham Literature Festival.
In 1995 Koval won the Order of Australia
Order of Australia
The Order of Australia is an order of chivalry established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, "for the purpose of according recognition to Australian citizens and other persons for achievement or for meritorious service"...
Media Award for a series of radio programs entitled "Writing from the Centre" and broadcast on ABC Radio National.
Koval has served on the board of the Australian Book Review, and has served on the Victorian Premier's Literary Award Advisory Committee
Victorian Premier's Literary Award
The Victorian Premier's Literary Awards were created by the Victorian Governmentwith the aim of raising the profile of contemporary creative writing and Australia's publishing industry....
, and the Asialink Awards Literary Committee. She has judged the radio section of the Walkley Awards
Walkley Awards
The annual Walkley Awards, under the administration of the Walkley Foundation for Journalism, are presented in Australia to recognise and reward excellence in journalism. Finalists are chosen by an independent board of eminent journalists and photographers. The awards cover all media including...
twice, and been a judge of non-fiction for the Victorian Premier's Literary Awards twice, once as chair of the committee.
In 2002 Koval was elected to the position of staff-elected Director on the ABC Board
ABC Board
The ABC Board is the body responsible for the operations of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. It is made up of five to seven directors chosen by the Federal government, a Managing Director appointed by the Board itself, and until 2006 a staff-elected director.-Members:The Governor-General,...
. She held this position during a period of intense controversy, until the position was abolished in 2006 following an amendment to the ABC Act by the Howard Government.
In 2006 ABC Radio National pooled its considerable literary expertise to create The Book Show and asked Koval to be the presenter.
In 2008 she was invited to be one of 1000 people taking part in the Australia 2020 summit to "help shape a long term strategy for the nation's future".
Works
- Eating Your Heart Out - Food, Shape and the Body Industry. Penguin 1985.
- One to One. ABC Books 1993.
- Too Many Walnuts. Heinemann 1993.
- Samovar. Minerva - Heinemann 1996.
- 'Thighs and Whispers'. In The Greatest Game, edited by Ross Fitzgerald and Ken Spillman. William Heinemann Australia 1988.
- Jewish Cooking, Jewish Cooks. New Holland Press 2001.
- 'The Sarajevo Haggadah'. Brick Number 70 Winter 2002.
- 'Pythagoras and The Turtle'. In The Giffith Review. Summer 2003-2004.
- 'The Sarajevo Haggadah'. In The Best Australian Essays. Edited Robert Dessaix. Black Ink 2004.
- Tasting Life Twice - Conversations With Remarkable Writers. ABC Books 2005.
- In Praise of the Common Reader - Overland Lecture. Overland Number 189 2007.*http://www.abc.net.au/rn/bookshow/stories/2007/2118343.htm (Transcript)
- Jewish Cooking, New Holland Press, 2009
- Speaking Volumes: Conversations with remarkable writers, Scribe, 2010.
- Best Australian Essays 2011, Edited by Ramona Koval, Black Inc., 2011