Brio acquires O’Neill’s ‘The Drover’s Wife’ reinterpretations; acquires new debut novel by Vincent Silk

Xoum imprint Brio has acquired Ryan O’Neill’s The Drovers Wives, a collection of 99 remixes and reinterprations of Henry Lawson’s The Drover’s Wife.

In the collection, O’Neill reimagines Lawson’s classic short story in 99 different ways, including as a year eight essay, a sporting commentary, a pop song, a Hollywood movie adaptation and more.

A selection of O’Neill’s remixes were previously published in the Seizure website, and new material will be added to the collection, which Brio is publishing in June 2018.

The Drovers Wives is ‘inventive and unexpected’ said the publisher, adding:‘This is laugh-out-loud literature from one of Australia’s finest satirists’.

O’Neill’s most recent book, Their Brilliant Careers (Black Inc.), won the Prime Minister’s Literary Award for fiction and was shortlisted for the Miles Franklin Literary Award 2017.

Brio has also acquired debut novel Sisters of No Mercy by Melbourne-based author Vincent Silk.

The novel follows an underground network of women who make up the Sisters of No Mercy as they ‘[mete] out punishment for their deserving victims’.  

The novel was acquired by Xoum associate publisher Alice Grundy, who said she has been following Silk ‘for years’, having previously published him in Seizure. ‘Watching him take possession of his talent has been a real pleasure. I can’t wait to share this book with readers—it will stir them up, introducing them to some truly unforgettable characters,’ said Grundy.

Sisters of No Mercy will be published in August 2018.

Image: Author Vincent Silk

Category: Local news Rights and acquisitions