by Steve Bisley
To Peter Fisher who was always there for me, who was my constant reader and gave me hope and laughed in all the right places, went quiet in the other bits and never spilt beer on the manuscript. To Trudy Billsbury who has way too much love inside her for one person and listened and read. To my soulmate Stephen Broomhall for the well-trodden welcome mat at his door.
Russell Bacon and Sasha Madon for always being there when I arrived at their door with a sheaf of paper in my hand, who always listened and urged me on. Victoria Buchan and Greg Hall, Colin, Louisa and Simon, Tristan, Tara and baby Max for their love and encouragement and food and wine. To my lifetime friend Dee Tipping for everything and more. To Ken Johnson for the beauty he brings to everything. To Annie Markey who smiled that winning smile, hosted a dinner to celebrate the end of the writing journey, and if she doesn’t already know how much I love her, then she will now.
To Catherine Milne who mentioned ‘walking over broken glass’ to work with me on this book, and with her feet swathed in bandages became my publisher. To the unseen, fantastic crew at HarperCollins for all their effort to get my book ‘out there’. To my theatrical agent, Sue Barnett, for having the patience of a saint and sticking by me in the tough times.
The Lovers
To my children: Amber, Paris, Jesse, Indiana, Scarlett and Jasper. The only people in my life who have taught me the true meaning of ‘unconditional love’.
Thank you.
About the Author
One of Australia’s most recognisable actors, and a veteran of film, television and theatre, Steve Bisley has been performing since the late seventies. A two-times winner of the AFI award for Best Supporting Actor and a member of the Australian Film Walk of Fame, Steve is now turning his hand to writing. Stillways, a memoir, is his first published work.
Copyright
Fourth Estate
An imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers
First published in Australia in 2013
This edition published in 2013
by HarperCollinsPublishers Australia Pty Limited
ABN 36 009 913 517
harpercollins.com.au
Copyright © Steve Bisley 2013
The right of Steve Bisley to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright Amendment (Moral Rights) Act 2000.
This work is copyright. Apart from any use as permitted under the Copyright Act 1968, no part may be reproduced, copied, scanned, stored in a retrieval system, recorded, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the publisher.
HarperCollinsPublishers
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Bisley, Steve.
Stillways : a memoir / Steve Bisley.
978 0 7322 9784 8 (pbk)
978 1 4607 0035 8 (epub)
Bisley, Steve.
Actors – Australia – Biography.
792.028092
Cover design by Philip Campbell Design
Cover images: Childhood photo of Steve Bisley courtesy Steve Bisley; background image by Megan Czisz
Author photo: Jimmy Malecki