HarperCollins acquires Waterland’s commercial fiction debut in two-book deal
HarperCollins has acquired world rights to the commercial fiction debut by author and comedian Rosie Waterland, in a two-book deal. Waterland’s yet-to-be-titled first novel tells the story of Olive Alexander,...
Personnel changes at Overland; Corbett appointed fiction editor
Literary journal Overland has announced a number of changes to its editorial team. Author Claire Corbett has been announced as Overland’s new fiction editor, taking over from outgoing fiction editor...
Reversing the cultural cringe: Martin Hughes on publishing debut fiction
Publishing debut fiction in Australia is worth the risk, argues Affirm Press publisher Martin Hughes. Can anyone remember a year that has delivered so sweetly for Australian debut novels? Not...
‘Pulse Points’ wins 2018 Readings Prize for New Australian Fiction
Jennifer Down's short story collection Pulse Points (Text) has won the 2018 Readings Prize for New Australian Fiction. Pulse Points was chosen from a shortlist of six by a judging panel comprising...
National Book Award 2018 fiction longlist announced
In the US, the National Book Award fiction longlist has been announced. The finalists in the fiction category are: A Lucky Man (Jamel Brinkley, Graywolf Press) Gun Love (Jennifer Clement, Hogarth) Florida (Lauren...
Verse by verse: Sally Morgan on ‘Sister Heart’
Sally Morgan is the author and illustrator of multiple books for adults and children. Sister Heart (Fremantle Press) is her first verse novel, about a young Aboriginal girl taken from...
Balancing at the precipice: Antonia Hayes on ‘Relativity’
Author Antonia Hayes has been a bookseller, book publicist and co-director of the National Young Writers’ Festival. Her debut novel Relativity (Viking) is a family drama interwoven with cosmology and quantum...
A wild ride: Gary Kemble on ‘Skin Deep’
Gary Kemble’s debut novel Skin Deep (Echo Publishing) is ‘an imaginative, fast-paced page-turner that combines crime-writing with a delightful serving of the supernatural’, writes reviewer Deborah Crabtree. She spoke to...
Murder in the Far North: Caroline de Costa on ‘Double Madness’
Australian author Caroline de Costa’s first crime novel Double Madness (Margaret River Press, August) finds mystery in the dark undergrowth of tropical Far North Queensland. It is a debut that...
Unhappy families: John Tesarsch on ‘The Last Will and Testament of Henry Hoffman’
John Tesarsch’s The Last Will and Testament of Henry Hoffman (Affirm, July) is a family drama that plays out in the lead-up to Victoria’s Black Saturday bushfires. Reviewer Hannah Cartmel...
Short and strange: Paddy O’Reilly on ‘Peripheral Vision’
Paddy O’Reilly’s latest short story collection Peripheral Vision (UQP, July) is ‘blackly comic and bitingly clever’, writes reviewer Hilary Simmons. She spoke to the author. Read Simmons’ review here.Why did you...
Blurred lines: Jen Craig on ‘Panthers and the Museum of Fire’
‘The year 2015 is only in its early days, but already I know that Sydney writer Jen Craig’s novella, Panthers and the Museum of Fire [Spineless Wonders, March], will be...
Under the covers: Fiction top picks 2015
Hilary Simmons asks publishers to share their top fiction picks for 2015. (See nonfiction picks here.)Affirm Press publisher Martin Hughes’ top pick for 2015 came from the slush pile. Hughes...
The comedy in extremis: Anson Cameron on ‘The Last Pulse’
Anson Cameron’s latest novel The Last Pulse (Vintage, December) is ‘much more than a political comedy about water policy’, writes reviewer Louise Fay. She spoke to the author.You’re from Shepparton...
Rarely seen worlds: Clare Atkins on ‘Nona & Me’
Debut author Clare Atkins’s YA novel Nona & Me (Black Inc., October) is the story of a friendship between Rosie, a white girl, and Nona, an Aboriginal girl, set in...
Stories within worlds: Garth Nix on ‘Clariel’
‘The long-awaited prequel to Garth Nix’s “Old Kingdom” series (Sabriel, Lirael and Abhorsen) is going to make a lot of readers very, very happy,’ writes reviewer Holly Harper. She spoke to...
A decade in dresses: Lorelei Vashti on ‘Dress, Memory’
Dress, Memory: A Memoir of My Twenties in Dresses (A&U, September) chronicles Lorelei Vashi’s coming-of-age era with a focus on her vintage dress collection. ‘Ultimately it’s the story of a...
After the games: Catherine Harris on ‘The Family Men’
The Family Men (Black Inc., September) explores the fallout from an AFL football team’s post-season celebration. ‘[It’s] a nuanced indictment of a sporting culture that forgives appalling behaviour in our...
Expect the unexpected: J M Donellan on ‘Killing Adonis’
‘Farcical plotlines, secrets, surreal moments and eccentric characters populate the pages’ of J M Donellan’s novel Killing Adonis (Pantera Press, October), which will appeal to fans of Wes Anderson’s films,...
Mission—Impossible Quest: Kate Forsyth on ‘Escape from Wolfhaven Castle’
Kate Forsyth’s Escape from Wolfhaven Castle is the first book in the ‘Impossible Quest’ fantasy series that blends old-fashioned storytelling with online games and competitions. Sarah Coull spoke to the...