Nevill Drury


Nevill Drury was an English-born Australian editor and publisher, as well as the author of over 40 books on subjects ranging from shamanism and western magical traditions to art, music, and anthropology. His books have been published in 26 countries and in 19 languages.

Early life

Born in Hastings, England in 1947, Drury moved to Australia at the age of nine. He attended Sydney University in the late 1960s and later earned his Master of Arts degree in anthropology from Macquarie University. He received his PhD from the School of Humanities and Social Research, University of Newcastle in 2008 for a dissertation on the visionary art and magical beliefs of Rosaleen Norton.

Career

In 1970 Drury was an English teacher at West Wyalong High School in the Riverina District of NSW. A few years later in 1976 he started working in the Australian book industry. He was a former managing editor for the holistic journal Nature and Health. A former managing editor for Harper and Row and Doubleday in Australia, he helped found the specialist visual arts publishing company Craftsman House in 1981, which became Australia's leading art book imprint. Drury worked full-time as publishing director of this company from 1989 to January 2000. He also co-edited Australian Painting Now, which was published in the UK and US by Thames & Hudson. He was briefly the manager of Adyar Bookshop in Sydney.

Writing and lecturing

Drury was a prolific author of books on shamanism, spirituality, and different forms of magical practice. His many books include the first serious overview of occultism in Australia: Other Temples, Other Gods. Others include Don Juan, Mescalito and Modern Magic, The Occult Experience, and Pan's Daughter: the first biography of Australian artist and witch Rosaleen Norton.
He authored several books on Australian art, including the three-volume Images series. Artist Matthew Tobin describes Nevill Drury as
...one of those most responsible for Aboriginal art's growth

His books have been translated into 19 languages. Since 1980 he was a speaker and workshop facilitator on subjects such as magical visualization and shamanic drumming. He was both an interviewer and a guest on several programs on Australian television, including the ABC Television shows The Ark and Compass, as a spokesperson for the New Spirituality. He has also lectured at the University of Queensland in Australia.

Awards

Nevill married three times – to Susan Pinchin, to writer Anna Voigt, and to Lesley Andrews-Buffard. From 2008 onwards he lived in and around the small rural town of Milton, on the New South Wales south coast. In retirement his interests included drawing in pastels, gardening, lecturing for the U3A organization, learning how to play slide guitar on a dobro, and singing in a local gospel choir.

Death

Drury suffered various cancers and complications and was found to have advanced liver failure. He died at home on 15 October 2013 aged 66. He was survived by his wife Lesley, his three children, Rebecca, Megan and Ben, and his grandchildren Jethro, Isabella, Madeleine, Archie and Zara.

Filmography