A&U acquires Haddrick’s ‘The Mushroom Murders’

Allen & Unwin (A&U) has acquired world rights for nonfiction title The Mushroom Murders by Greg Haddrick. 

The book will follow the trial of Erin Patterson, who was convicted this week of three counts of murder and one count of attempted murder after serving a lunch of ‘homemade beef Wellingtons laced with toxic death cap mushrooms’ on 29 July 2023 in Leongatha, Victoria, said the publisher.

Haddrick (In the Dead of Night, also A&U) is a screenwriter and film and television producer. Some of his work includes the TV series Underbelly, Janet King and Pine Gap. He has won seven AWGIE Awards as a writer and three AFI Awards as a producer, and he has also received an International Emmy Award nomination as a writer and producer.

Discussing the case, Haddrick said, ‘At the beginning, the public was convinced that Erin Patterson was guilty of deliberately murdering her in-laws. But as the murder trial continued, genuine doubt arose that it may have been a dreadful accident after all. There are so many details omitted from the media’s daily summaries of the proceedings that make this a much bigger story than people realise.’

A&U plans to release The Mushroom Murders on 11 November 2025.