Gillian Mears (21 July 1964 – 16 May 2016) was an Australian short story writer and novelist.Her books Ride a Cock Horse and The Grass Sister won a Commonwealth Writers' Prize, shortlist, in 1989 and 1996, respectively. The Mint Lawn won The Australian/Vogel Award. In 2003, A Map of the Gardens won the Steele Rudd Award.