Tobsha Learner Explained

Tobsha Learner is a British/Australian novelist, playwright and screenwriter. Her first collection of short stories, Quiver, sold 150,000 copies worldwide.^[1] She has sold over 790 thousand books and is in translation in a number of countries. Her publishers have included Tor US, LittleBrown UK and HarperCollins AU. She is married with three stepsons, and while currently residing in New York has until recently divided her time between London and California.^{[2] [3]}

Early life

Learner was born in Cambridge, England and raised in London. She is the daughter of Anglo-Australian parents: Arnold Learner, an English-born mathematician, who was killed in a motorcycle accident in London at forty and his first wife Eva Learner née Rechts, social worker, feminist and humanist who was born in Palestine then migrated to Australia aged four. Learner's parents moved to England in the late 1950s. She has two siblings Adam and Ruth Learner.

Learner went to Paddington Comprehensive then onto Hornsey College of Art for a Foundation year. During that year she also trained as a marble carver in Carrara, Italy,^[4] apprenticed to the Australian sculptor Joel Ellenberg. After which she migrated at eighteen to Melbourne, Australia. She then went to the Victorian College of the Arts to complete a BA in sculpture. But in her second year, began to return to her first love of theatre. Firstly through performance art then playwriting after becoming one of the founders of avant-garde theatre company 'Straight-face Productions.'

In 1989 Learner was one of the founding sponsors of the National Foundation for Australian Women.^[5] Her "Literary papers, 1983-1992", are held by the Mitchell Library at the State Library of New South Wales.^[6]

After completing her degree she moved to Sydney, where she did a playwright's course at the National Institute of Dramatic Art then on to AFTRS, the Australian Film, Television and Radio School for a screenwriting course. Her mentors included writer/teacher Paul Thompson and director Jimmy Sherman.

Plays

Plays

• Is It Buckskin That Holds the Card?, 1984^[7]
• Angels, 1988^[8]
• The Waters of Pham Thi Lan, 1994^[9]
• Wolf : A Dedication to Priapus, Currency Press, 1992,
• The Glass Mermaid, Currency Press, 1994,
• Les Enfants du Paradis, adaptor of the work by Jacques Prevert, 1988^[10]
• Miracles, Currency Press, 1998,
• Seven Acts of Love (as witnessed by a cat), Hilary Linstead & Associates, 1995^[11]
• Fidelity, 2004^[12]
• Black Wedding, 2009^[13]

Short plays

• Feast, 1993^[14]
• The Gun in History, 1994^[15]
• Cage, 2017

One person plays

• Witchplay, Currency Press, 1995,
• Mistress, 1990^[16]
• S.N.A.G., 1992^[17]
• Homage, 2004^[18]

Radio plays

• Volkov, 1987^[19]
• Lionheart, 1992^[20]
• Queen Song, Australian Broadcast Corporation, 1996

Short films

• Feast, 1990, directed by Jill Moonie
• Antonio's Angel (original story by Rosalba Clemente)
• Succubus, directed by Harry Weinmann

Books

Historical fiction (as Tobsha Learner)

• The Witch of Cologne, Forge, 2005,
• Soul, HarperCollins, 2006,
• The Magick of Master Lilly, Little, Brown Book Group, 2018,

Thrillers (as T.S.Learner)

• Sphinx: A Secret for a Thousand Years, HarperCollins, 2009,, Sphere, Little Brown UK
• The Map: Decipher the Clues, Discover the Truth, HarperCollins, 2012,
• The Stolen, Sphere, 2014,

Thrillers (as Tobsha Learner)

• Madonna Mars : An Erotic Thriller, Viking, 1998,
• Picture This, Unbound, 2016,

Erotic fiction (short story collection)

• Quiver: A Book of Erotic Tales, Viking, 1996,
• Tremble: Sensual Fables of the Mystical and Sinister, HarperCollins, 2004,
• Yearn: Tales of Lust and Longing, HarperCollins, 2011,

External links

• Tobsha Learner's Website
• Tobsha Learner's Erotic Fiction Website
• T.S. Learner's Website
• Australian Script Centre Website

Notes and References

1. Web site: Tobsha Learner - About the Author. Fiction DB. 2 January 2018.
2. News: A nice little Learner. Elliott. Tim. 4 February 2012. 2 January 2018. Fairfax. Sydney Morning Herald.
3. Web site: Tobsha Learner, author of Yearn, Tremble and Quiver, answers Ten Terrifying Questions. Purcell. John. Booktopia. 2 January 2018. and more recently resides in New York
4. News: Fascination with ancient Egypt. Landsman. Lexi. 15 October 2009. 2 January 2018. Australian Jewish News.
5. Web site: National Foundation for Australian Women. The Australian Women's Register. 2 January 2018.
6. Web site: Tobsha Learner literary papers, 1983-1992. State Library of New South Wales. 2 January 2018.
7. Web site: Is it Buckskin that holds the Card?. archival.sl.nsw.gov.au. 2019-07-20.
8. Web site: Angels. The Australian Live Performance Database. 2019-07-20.
9. Web site: The Waters of Pham Thi Lan. The Australian Live Performance Database. 2019-07-20.
10. Web site: Les Enfants du Paradis. The Australian Live Performance Database. 2019-07-20.
11. Web site: Seven Acts Of Love (As Witnessed By A Cat). The Australian Live Performance Database. 2019-07-20.
12. Web site: Fidelity. The Australian Live Performance Database. 2019-07-20.
13. Web site: Black Wedding. The Australian Live Performance Database. 2019-07-20.
14. Web site: Feast. The Australian Live Performance Database. 2019-07-20.
15. Web site: The Gun in History. The Australian Live Performance Database. 2019-07-20.
16. Web site: Mistress. The Australian Live Performance Database. 2019-07-20.
17. Web site: S.N.A.G. (Sensitive New Age Guy). The Australian Live Performance Database. 2019-07-20.
18. Web site: Homage. The Australian Live Performance Database. 2019-07-20.
19. Web site: Volkov. archival.sl.nsw.gov.au. 2019-07-20.
20. Web site: Lionheart. archival.sl.nsw.gov.au. 2019-07-20.