Allen & Unwin acquires Hannah Goldstein debut “Dream Girls”

Allen & Unwin (A&U) has acquired ANZ rights to the debut novel Dream Girls by Hannah Goldstein, in a deal brokered by Rebecca Slater at a4 Literary.

Inspired by Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Dream Girls is a novel about “love and friendship in absurd times”, according to A&U. It follows Hannah and Ruthie, who have been best friends since high school English class, and who dreamed of getting a share house in the city and living “a life of great passion, art and romance”. “But as they drift into their late 20s, they are forced to contend with the idea that growing up might mean growing apart. When an old friend invites Hannah and Ruthie to a glamorous forest wedding, they jump at the chance to reconnect. But finding their way back to each other, past unrealised dreams and younger selves, isn’t as easy as they thought.”

Goldstein is a writer and teacher from Sydney. Her fiction has appeared in The Big Issue and the UTS Writers’ Anthology and been shortlisted for the Richell Prize.

Said Goldstein: “The idea for Dream Girls came when I was watching Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. I was drawn to the characters of Helena and Hermia because they’re two young women navigating a chaotic world, and they’ve been best friends since they were kids, but Helena betrays Hermia to pursue a man who hates her. Even though the play was written in the late 1500s, there’s something about the intensity, anguish and humour of their story that reminded me of my own youthful friendships. In writing Dream Girls, I wanted to explore the idea that friendships might be the greatest comedies, tragedies and, above all, love stories of our lives. I had so much fun with this story and I’m so excited to be working with Allen & Unwin to share it with readers.”

Agent Rebecca Slater said the “warm, funny and friendship-affirming debut” was “the perfect summer read”, while publisher Genevieve Buzo referenced Lena Dunham’s Girls in calling Goldstein “a voice of a generation”. “I cannot wait to publish this hilarious, clever, bittersweet, charming novel and watch everyone fall in love with Helena and Ruthie as swiftly as I did,” said Buzo. “Dream Girls is a millennial masterpiece – 10 Things I Hate About You meets My Brilliant Friend, by way of Lena Dunham’s Girls.”

Allen & Unwin plans to publish Dream Girls in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand in November 2026.