Joyce Nicholson

, business woman and a significant contributor to an Australian political organisation, the Woman's Electoral Lobby.

The daughter of Publisher D.W. Thorpe, Nicholson was born in Melbourne and educated at Methodist Ladies' College and the University of Melbourne. She has been active in the women's movement as one of the founding members of the Woman's Electoral Lobby and Sisters Publishing. [cite web|url=http://www.lib.unimelb.edu.au/collections/archives/sisters.html |title=Sisters Publishing |accessdate=2007-04-03 |publisher=The University of Melbourne] She was a significant influence in the Australian publishing industry for many years as managing director, and later sole owner, of D.W. Thorpe Pty Ltd (from 1968 to 1987 when the firm was sold). She is the author of over 25 books, many of them dealing with children and women. She married Harvey Nicholson and had four children: Peter, Hilary, Wendy, and Michael.

Joyce has sponsored a major collection of books by and about Australian women, the "Joyce Thorpe Nicholson Collection" at Melbourne University. It includes rare nineteenth century material, as well as scarce twentieth-century political ephemera. [cite web |url=http://www.lib.unimelb.edu.au/collections/special/nicholson.htm |title=Joyce Thorpe Nicholson Collection |publisher=The University of Melbourne |accessdate=2007-04-03] Joyce sponsors the "Helen Leonard award" for contributions to the Women's Movement. An education foundation scholarship is named in honour of Joyce Nicholson [cite web |url=http://www.educationfoundation.org.au/partnerships.asp |title=The Following Philanthropic Organisations |publisher=Education Foundation Australia |accessdate=2007-04-03] and the "Joyce Thorpe Nicholson Hall of Fame Award" is presented annually by the Australian publishers association. [cite web |url=http://www.publishers.asn.au/emplibrary/Hall__of_Fame_Nomination_form.pdf |title=The 55th Australian Publishers Association Book Design Awards 2007 |publisher=Australian Publishers Association |accessdate=2007-04-03 |year=2007]

Timeline

(Details from an online biography) [cite web |url=http://www.womenaustralia.info/biogs/AWE0663b.htm |title=Nicholson, Joyce Thorpe (1919 - )|publisher=National Foundation for Australian Women |accessdate=2007-04-03]
* 1935 - 1946 Junior typist, secretary and sub-editor at D W Thorpe Pty Ltd (Melbourne)
* 1940 Vice-president of the Student Representative Council at the University of Melbourne
* 1943 Married George Harvey Nicholson (dec. 1/5/1997), they had 4 children
* 1947 - 1968 Writer and part-time work at D W Thorpe Pty Ltd (Melbourne)
* 1957 Organizer of the first Children's Book Week in Victoria
* 1968-1980 Managing director and proprietor of D W Thorpe Pty Ltd (Melbourne), and editor, Australian Bookseller and Australian Books in Print
* 1971-1974 Editor of Newsletter for the Royal Historical Society of Victoria
* 1972-1983 Secretary and executive member of the Australian Library Promotion Council
* 1974 Founding member of the National Book Council
* 1979-1980 Co-founder and director of Sisters Publishing Ltd
* 1987-1992 Chief Executive Officer of Jayen Press
* 1993 Chief Executive Officer of Courtyard Press
* 1998 Recipient of the Lloyd O'Neil Award for services to the Book Industry

Books

* Nicholson, Joyce, "How to play auction bridge", G.W. Green & Sons, [Melbourne] , [193-] , 23 pp.
* Nicholson, Joyce, "How to play solo" : complete guide to solo (solo whist), auction solo, three-handed solo, hints on bidding and play, scoring, illustrated hands, with special chapter for beginners who have never played cards of any kind, Gordon and Gotch (Wholesale distributors), Melbourne, [1945?] , 64 pp.
* Nicholson, Joyce, "The Way to Play" - a book on strategies to win at the card Game Solo
* Nicholson, Joyce, "You can run a library", Australian Red Cross Society, [Melbourne?] , 1948, 56 pp.
* Nicholson, Joyce, "Our first overlander", Shakespeare Head Press, Sydney, 1956, 128 pp.
* Nicholson, Joyce, "The Children's Party and Games Book", 1957 - Over 100 different games from the 1950s. Epworth Press
* Nicholson, Joyce, "Kerri and Honey", Lansdowne, Melbourne, 1962, 32 pp.
* Nicholson, Joyce, "A mortar-board for Priscilla", Children's Library Guild of Australia, Melbourne, 1963, 121 pp.
* Nicholson, Joyce, "Cranky - The baby Australian Camel", Lansdowne press, [Melbourne] , 1983
* Nicholson, Joyce, "Why women lose at bridge", V. Gollancz in association with P. Crawley, London, 1985, 95 pp.
* Nicholson, Joyce, "Man against mutiny : the story of Vice-Admiral Bligh", Lutterworth Press, London, c1961, 95 pp.
* Nicholson, Joyce, (compiled by ), "Successful parties and social evenings", Gordon and Gotch [Distributor] , Melbourne, [195-?] , 64 pp.
* Nicholson, Joyce, and De Lisle, Gordon (photography by), "Ringtail the possum", Lansdowne, [Melbourne] , 1965, 32 pp.
* Nicholson, Joyce, & Leunig, Mary, 1950- (illustrated by), "What society does to girls", Pitman (Australia),, Carlton, Vic., 1975, 70 pp.
* Nicholson, Joyce, & Max B. Miller (illustrations by), "The little green tractor", Little Books Publishing House, Hawthorn,Vic, [1950]
* Nicholson, Joyce, & McArdle, Brian (photography by), "Sir Charles and the lyrebird", Lansdowne, Melbourne, 1966
* Nicholson, Joyce, & Smith, L. H. (Leonard Hart), 1910- (photography by ), "Woop the wombat", Lansdowne, [Melbourne] , [1968] , 32 pp.
* Nicholson, Joyce, & Smith, L. H. (Leonard Hart), 1910-, illus., "Yap the penguin", Lansdowne, [Melbourne] , 1967, 32 pp.
* Nicholson, Joyce, & Thorpe, Daniel (Daniel Wrixon), 1889-1976., " [http://books.google.com/books?vid=ISBN0646396110&id=PPq_3dPi_XIC&printsec=frontcover&dq=isbn:0646396110&hl=en A life of books : the story of D.W. Thorpe Pty Ltd.] ", 1921-1987, Courtyard Press, Middle Park, Vic., 2000, 326 pp. The story of DW Thorpe Publishers (Publishers of Australian Bookseller & Publisher). A Life of books is a chronicle not only of a family company that has been at the centre of the book trade in Australia since the 1920's, but equally, of the people, companies, associations, issues, debates, troubles and joys that have affected the industry.
* Nicholson, Joyce, "The Heartache of Motherhood", 1983 From the mother of 4 grown-up children. After 35 years of devoted marriage, she left the family home to live alone — happily. This book is a deeply personal account of her feelings about being a mother; her honesty is extraordinary and very moving, her conclusions startling.

Journal articles

* Gorman, Lyn, "A life in books", Australian Library Journal, vol. 49, no. 4, 2000, pp. 374-376.
* "First Pacific Book Trade Seminar Papers", D. W. Thorpe (January 1976)

Thesis

* Nicholson, Joyce, "The Women's Electoral Lobby and Women's Employment: Strategies and Outcomes", MA, Women's Studies, History, The University of Melbourne', MA thesis, The University of Melbourne, 1991, 118 pp.

ee also

* De Micheli, Catherine and Herd, Margaret (eds), "Who's who in Australia 2003", 39 edn, Crown Content, North Melbourne, 2003, 2201 pp.
* Lofthouse, Andrea (ed.), "Who's who of Australian women", Methuen Australia, North Ryde (NSW), 1982, 504 pp. - Based on the research by Vivienne Smith (d. 1978) who initiated the work in 1974. Following Smith's death a committee of women was brought together by Joyce Nicholson to see the idea thriugh to completion. Andrea Lofthouse was the committee's nominee to compile Smith's material and to build on it. - Bookjacket.
* Walker, Nick, "A life of books : the story of D.W. Thorpe Pty Ltd., 1921-1987", Victorian Historical Journal, vol. 71, no. 2, 2000, pp. 129-131.
* Patricia Grimshaw & Lynne Strahan (Eds.), The Half-Open Door: Sixteen Modern Australian women look at professional life and achievement: Ch.7 Joyce Nicholson, Hale & Iremonger, 1982 (ISBN0868060496)

References

External links

* [http://www.joyce-thorpe-nicholson.info/ Joyce Nicholson's Personal WebSite]
* [http://www.womenaustralia.info/biogs/AWE0663b.htm Joyce Nicholson, Australian Women - Biographical Entry]
* [http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A160471b.htm Thorpe, Daniel Wrixon (1889 - 1976) - Australian Dictionary of Biography]
* Australian Bookseller & Publisher
* [http://www.lib.unimelb.edu.au/collections/special/nicholson.htm Joyce Thorpe Nicholson Collection]
* Peter Nicholson
* [http://www.mikenicholson.com Michael Nicholson]
* [http://home.vicnet.net.au/~abr/Aug00/hud.html A Life of Books (Review by Nick Hudson)]