The big-hearted romantic comedy that has everyone smitten.

It Sounded Better in my Head won the 2018 Text Prize and rights have been sold in six international territories.

When her parents announce their impending separation, Natalie can’t understand why no one is fighting or at least mildly upset. And now that Zach and Lucy, her two best friends, have fallen in love, she’s feeling slightly miffed and decidedly awkward. Where does she fit in now? And what has happened to the version of her life that played out like a TV show, with just the right amount of banter, pining and meaningful looks? Nothing is quite going according to plan. But then an unexpected romance comes along and shakes things up even further.

It Sounded Better in My Head is a tender, funny and joyful novel about longing, confusion, feeling left out and finding out what really matters—from an exciting new voice in Australian YA writing.

Contact shalini.kunahlan@textpublishing.com.au for a reading copy.

Nina Kenwood is the marketing manager at Readings bookshop in Melbourne. She has worked in the book industry for 10 years, but has been writing, secretly, for much longer. It Sounded Better in my Head is her first novel.

Nina Kenwood and Text senior editor Jane Pearson recently spoke with Jackie Tang for Books+Publishing to discuss how winning the Text Prize has affected Nina as a debut author. Read the interview here.

See for yourself what all the fuss is about—read a chapter of It Sounded Better in my Head here.