The longlist for the Stella Prize for Australian women’s writing was announced earlier this month, and it was interesting to see that five of the 12 works on the list were written by debut authors. This prize and others—such as the Readings Prize for New Australian Fiction and the MUD Literary Prize—highlight some of the outstanding books by up-and-coming Australian authors that were published in a year where brand-name authors and backlist bestsellers often prevailed.
But as countries emerge from lockdown and readers return to bookstores, publishers are hoping for a renewed interest in new voices.
In the first issue of Think Australian for 2021, we shine a spotlight on debut and early-career authors, from publishers’ and agents’ top picks to recent acquisitions and award-winners. Books+Publishing has also produced a handy round-up of first-time fiction authors who launched their books in the midst of the pandemic.
As in previous years, we’ve teamed up with Publishers Weekly and BookBrunch to distribute Think Australian to over 55,000 subscribers. Look out for future issues ahead of the Bologna, London and Frankfurt book fairs. For more information on Think Australian and to sign up directly, click here.
Andrea Hanke
Editor
Think Australian
thinkaustralian@booksandpublishing.com.au
 
In this issue of Think Australian we asked Australian publishers and literary agents to nominate their most promising new authors, whose debut or second books would appeal to an international readership.
Fiction
For international publishers looking for the next Jane Harper or Michael Robotham, there’s no shortage of new Australian crime fiction and thriller writers to consider.
Lyn Yeowart’s debut The Silent Listener is a literary suspense novel set in the ‘dark, gothic heart of rural Australia’, which travels between the 1940s, 1960s and 1980s. Represented by Jacinta Di Mase Management and recently published in Australia by Penguin Random House, it has already sold via pre-empt to Joffe Books in the UK, Presses de la Cite in France and Eskmo in Russia.
Things We Thought Would Burn by Hayley Scrivenor, represented by Left Bank Literary, is a ‘stunning debut Aussie crime novel about a missing girl, a dying town, and a summer that will change everything’. Auctions have closed in Australia, North America and the UK, and the title is currently under offer in multiple translation territories via The Marsh Agency.
Clare Moleta’s debut thriller Unsheltered will be published by Scribner in Australia and New Zealand in May, with world rights (ex ANZ) available from Jenny Darling and Associates. ‘Against a background of social breakdown and destructive weather, Unsheltered tells the story of Li, a woman who never wanted to bring a child into this world but now that her eight-year-old daughter is missing will stop at nothing to find her.’
When Lucie receives a note from a man she thought was killed in the 9/11 attacks, she wonders if her long-dead lover could have staged his own disappearance, if someone else is stalking her, or if her vivid imagination is playing tricks? Sarah Hawthorn’s debut A Voice in the Night (Transit Lounge, July) is ‘an addictive thriller of twists and turns’ set in London, New York and Sydney. Read the full article here.
 
In the cold, wet summer of 1960, 11-year-old Joy Henderson lives in constant fear of her father. She tries to make him happy but, as he keeps reminding her, she is nothing but a filthy sinner destined for Hell … Yet, decades later, she returns to the family’s farm to nurse him on his death bed. To her surprise, her ‘perfect’ sister Ruth is also there, whispering dark words, urging revenge.
The Silent Listener is an unforgettable literary suspense novel set in the dark, gothic heart of rural Australia.
‘A wickedly dark debut—haunting and unputdownable.’ Christian White, author of The Nowhere Child
The Silent Listener
Author: Lyn Yeowart
Publishers: Penguin Random House Australia, Joffe Books UK, Presses De La Cite France, Eskmo Russia
Rights held: World ex ANZ, UK, France and Russia
Contact: Jacinta di Mase
Email: jacinta@jacintadimase.com.au
Website: Jacinta di Mase Management
Catalogue available here
How would our lives change if we set our goals based on what would actually fulfil us, instead of what feels easy or achievable?
Lillian Ahenkan’s hypothesis: anyone can create a unique formula for their own personal success. You don’t have to be exceptional to be successful. You just need to learn the algorithm.
Through her own success experiment, Lillian transformed herself from a uni drop-out stuck in a career that paid in burn-out, into a highly sought-after media personality, FlexMami. And here she shows that her experience hasn’t been a fluke.
Instead of focusing on what you can’t change, spend your time hacking what you can—yourself. The result? Getting what you really want.
The Success Experiment: FlexMami’s formula for knowing what you really want and how to get it
Author: Lillian Ahenkan
Publisher: Pantera Press
Rights held: World
Contact: Katy McEwen
Email: katy.mcewen@panterapress.com
Website: Pantera Press
Catalogue available here
‘A fast-paced and emotional page-turner.’—Christian White, bestselling author of The Nowhere Child
Following a bitter separation, Lucie moves to London to take up a position with a prestigious law firm. It seems an optimistic new beginning, until one day she receives a hand-delivered note with the strange words: At last I’ve found you. A shock I’m sure. But in time I’ll explain. Martin.
Lucie hasn’t forgotten a man called Martin who was tragically killed twenty years ago in the 9/11 attacks. When she was working in New York as young intern Lucie had fallen in love with him and he vowed to leave his wife to be with her permanently.
As an inexplicable series of events occurs Lucie wonders if her long-dead lover could have staged his own disappearance under the cover of that fateful day. Or could it be that someone else is stalking her, or that her vivid imagination is playing tricks?
In a novel filled with compelling characters, and set in London, New York and Sydney, it seems that anyone could be out to sabotage Lucie’s memories and ambitions, including herself. A Voice in the Night is an addictive thriller of twists and turns, a gripping and emotionally resonant debut from a striking new voice.
A Voice in the Night
Author: Sarah Hawthorn
Publisher: Transit Lounge
Release date: 1 July 2021
Rights held: World ex audio
Contact: Barry Scott
Email: barry@transitlounge.com.au
Website: Transit Lounge
When Zimdalamishkermishkada starts a new school, he knows he’s got to do something about his long name.
When no amount of shrinking, folding or crumpling works, he simply settles for Zim—but deep down, it doesn’t feel right. It’s not until a new friend sees him for who he truly is that Zimdalamishkermishkada finds the confidence to step boldly into his long name.
A warm and uplifting picture book that encourages young readers to celebrate their individuality, and shows how no-one should ever have to shrink themselves down to fit in.
The Boy Who Tried to Shrink His Name
Author: Sandhya Parappukkaran
Illustrator: Michelle Pereira
Publisher: Hardie Grant Children’s Publishing
Rights held: World
Contact: Joanna Anderson
Email: joannaanderson@hardiegrant.com
Website: Hardie Grant Children’s Publishing
Please contact us to arrange a virtual meeting.
In a city gone to the dogs … get yourself a cat.
The Underdog Detective Agency has a proud tradition of sniffing out trouble (plus sniffing each other’s butts). They’re on a mission to catch Dogtown’s elusive cat burglar … but if they want to crack this case, they’re going to need help! Enter Fang. Letting a scruffy street cat join the Underdogs is a bold move, but sometimes you’ve got to risk it to get the (dog) biscuit.
Jump on the case with Fang and Barkley as they hit the mean streets of Dogtown. Will they catch the cat burglar? Is Barkley’s bark worse than his bite? Will they bond over furballs?
This hilarious, highly-illustrated new series is perfect for fans of Dog Man and Real Pigeons.
The Underdogs: Catch a Cat Burglar
Author: Kate and Jol Temple
Illustrator: Shiloh Gordon
Publisher: Hardie Grant Children’s Publishing
Rights held: World
Contact: Joanna Anderson
Email: joannaanderson@hardiegrant.com
Website: Hardie Grant Children’s Publishing
Please contact us to arrange a virtual meeting.
Meg Mason’s novel Sorrow and Bliss has sold into 21 countries since it was published by HarperCollins Australia in 2020, and now Hollywood has come calling. The US production company New Regency has acquired the film and television rights to the novel in a deal brokered by Casarotto Ramsay and HarperCollins Australia. Sorrow and Bliss follows a woman trying to make sense of the mental illness that’s plagued her for decades, ‘combining the psychological insight of Sally Rooney with the sharp humor of Nina Stibbe and the emotional resonance of Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine’.
Rachel Givney’s debut novel Jane in Love (Michael Joseph)—which follows Jane Austen as she time-travels to the present day and falls in love, only to find that her books begin disappearing—has been optioned for film by DiNovi Pictures for Amazon Studios, in a deal brokered by Jerry Kalajian at IPG and Jeanne Ryckmans at Cameron’s Management. Director Elissa Down said: ‘I knew [Givney’s] clever re-imagining of Jane Austen would make a fantastic movie. I’m thrilled about bringing Jane Austen to the present day and imagining her perspective on modern love.’
Sally Piper’s 2018 novel The Geography of Friendship (UQP)—‘a provocative novel that reads like a Thelma & Louise journey for contemporary times’—will be adapted into a six-part television series after being picked up by two female-led production houses, Dollhouse Pictures and Aquarius Films. The novel follows three young women whose friendship is tested when a hike in the wilderness goes wrong. Years later the three estranged friends reconnect to revisit the original hike.
Several Australian book-to-TV adaptations have also received funding in recent months. These include adaptations of novels The Family Doctor (Debra Oswald, Allen & Unwin), The Rich Man’s House (Andrew McGahan, Allen & Unwin) and Ladies in Black (Madeleine St John, Text), which picks up the story six months after the events of the novel and 2018 film adaptation.
Author Alice Pung and illustrator Sher Rill Ng have teamed up on a highly anticipated new children’s book that was acquired at auction by HarperCollins Children’s Books Australia via Curtis Brown Australia and Jacinta di Mase Management.
‘Sher Rill and I wanted to explore, from a child’s perspective, how the enormous love from our parents can be a burden when it manifests as an overwhelming need to protect us from every perceived danger in the world,’ said Pung. ‘Our own families’ experience of adversity—war, poverty and displacement—has given this book its backbone.’ Be Careful, Xiao Xin! will be published in English and Mandarin in 2022.
University of Queensland Press has acquired world rights to the first picture book by YA author Clare Atkins, a ‘multi-layered picture book with thought-provoking metaphors around environment, generational disparity, global warming, refugees, the power of kindness, and what it means to have a home’. Egg tells the story of a misshapen egg that ‘washes ashore on a scrubby, acrid island that’s inhabited by a diverse range of talking eggs, most of whom have “set” long ago and are no longer able to hatch into anything. What will they do with this unknown arrival?’
Simon & Schuster Australia has acquired world rights to a new middle-grade fiction series by Sam Kerr, captain of the Australian national women’s soccer team and a player in the English FA Women’s Super League. Kerr said the series would share ‘personal stories of growing up, of pushing boundaries and chasing my dreams’.
Two new memoirs that explore life in modern-day China have been acquired by Australian publishers.
Allen & Unwin has acquired ANZ rights to Vicky Xu’s memoir You’re So Brave at auction, from Benython Oldfield of Zeitgeist Agency. A&U described the book as ‘a coming-of-age (geo)political drama, punctuated by dildo jokes’. ‘It tackles important, dead-serious issues such as China–US rivalry and human rights, but also provides ample entertainment because Vicky, the narrator, is a young, abrasive, Borat-like figure who courts controversy.’ Australia-based Xu is a former state media propagandist in Beijing and reporter at the New York Times.
Ultimo Press has acquired world rights to The Last Correspondent: Dispatches from the frontline of Xi’s new China by Michael Smith (2021), one of the last Australian journalists to leave China in September 2020. The Last Correspondent documents life under Xi Jinping’s rule and China’s economic rise in the years leading up to the coronavirus outbreak through first-person accounts of life on the ground and interviews with friends, as well as key players in Chinese society.
In other nonfiction news, Black Inc. acquired world rights to climate scientist Joëlle Gergis’s Witnessing the Unthinkable: Notes from the front line of the climate crisis (2022), from Jane Novak Literary Agency in a ‘spirited multi-house auction’. The publisher says Gergis, who is a lead author for the next United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report on the state of the planet, is ‘uniquely placed to offer insights from the battlelines of the climate emergency’. Her book is an insider’s account of what it’s like to be among a group of the world’s elite climate scientists trying to avert disaster at humanity’s eleventh hour, as well as an urgent call to action.
Julia Baird’s book on internal happiness, Phosphorescence, was one of the bestselling Australian nonfiction books in 2020. Her follow-up, Bright Shining, explores grace: what it is, what it looks like in our world, and how we recognise, nurture and express it, even in dark times. HarperCollins Australia has acquired ANZ rights to Bright Shining from Amanda Urban at ICM Partners and will publish the book in 2022.
Nathan Lyons is ‘the Australian TikTok sensation behind Kooking With A Koori’, attracting more than 95,000 followers after launching cooking videos on TikTok in September 2020. Simon & Schuster Australia acquired world rights to a cookbook from Lyons (2021), which will feature ‘affordable and realistic recipe ideas’ and ‘some Indigenous Australian soul foods’.
University of Queensland Press publisher Aviva Tuffield describes author Mirandi Riwoe as a ‘superstar who deserves all the recognition she’s received to date for Stone Sky Gold Mountain—and I’m sure there’s more to come’. The publisher has acquired world rights to two new books from the award-winning author: the short story collection Somewhere Between and the historical novel Sunbirds.
Sunbirds is set in Indonesia in 1941 during World War II and follows airline pilot Matthias, who is conscripted into a squadron of the Royal Australian Air Force. First, though, he is given the opportunity to relocate his loved ones to safety in Australia. Will he rescue his fiancee, Wilhelmina, a young Eurasian woman at risk, or Diah, the Indonesian woman he truly loves? Tuffield said, ‘Sunbirds will be a gripping and nuanced reimagining of an historical era, yet again putting a human face to the impacts of colonialism and war, and the violence and racism those entail.’
The acquisition is just one of numerous new novels—including several from debut and early career authors—recently picked up by Australian publishers.
Jessica Au’s second novel Cold Enough For Snow will be published in early 2022 by Giramondo Publishing in Australia and New Zealand, Fitzcarraldo Editions in the UK and Ireland, and New Directions in North America after the Australian author was selected for the inaugural Novel Prize from an international field of over 1500 submissions. In Cold Enough for Snow, a daughter takes her mother on a visit to Tokyo. They walk the canals at night, escape the typhoon rains, share meals in small restaurants and visit galleries in an itinerary planned by the daughter. All the while, they talk: of the weather, of clothes and objects, of family, migration and memory. But who is really speaking, and what is the real purpose of their journey? Giramondo, Fitzcarraldo and New Directions jointly control world rights and have so far sold German rights to Suhrkamp, French rights to Grasset and Fasquelle and world Spanish rights to Siruela.
Transit Lounge acquired world rights to Sean Rabin’s second novel The Good Captain (2022), via Jessica Craig at Craig Literary. Set at the end of the 21st century—a time of plummeting fish stocks and rising sea levels—the novel follows an international group of radical environmentalists led by a female captain, who have committed to a mission of extreme civil disobedience against the powers threatening to destroy the last of the world’s marine life. Co-publisher Barry Scott said the novel ‘delivers a narrative written in the tradition of cat-and-mouse seafaring classics that also reflects how the world might soon be—random, dangerous, surprising and sometimes even miraculous’.
Pantera Press has acquired world rights to The Scarlet Cross (2022), a ‘gripping debut psychological thriller’ by Canadian-Australian writer Liv McFarlane, from Jane Novak Literary Agency. Set in North America, The Scarlet Cross introduces ‘bold, brilliant head nurse’ Meredith, who manages a large emergency department where a number of women have started showing up with the same fatal cut.
Simon & Schuster Australia has acquired world rights to Julie Bennett’s historical fiction debut The Understudy (2022), ‘an addictive read that delves into the gritty underbelly of the Australian theatre world’. Set in 1973, the year the Sydney Opera House opened, the novel follows the mysterious disappearance of a female lead just days before opening night, with suspicion landing on the understudy.
New Australian publisher Ultimo Press has a number of promising debuts on its list, including Australia and New Zealand rights to Diana Reid’s Love & Virtue (2021), which it acquired in ‘a hotly contested eight-publisher auction’ via Curtis Brown. The novel explores virtue signalling and moral ambiguity in a contemporary college setting.
Scribe has acquired two new book-length comics and will publish its first graphic novel in Australia in May (and in the US and UK in August). Two-Week Wait, written by Luke C Jackson and Kelly Jackson with artwork by Maya Graham, follows its protagonists on a difficult, expensive and emotional journey through the world of IVF. Senior editor David Golding said the timing of the acquisitions reflects ‘the vitality of the Australian comics scene, as well as a greater interest in comics from readers in Australia and around the world’.
Jacinta di Mase is the founder and lead agent at Jacinta di Mase Management, which she established after working under ‘formidable’ agents Lyn Tranter and Jenny Darling. She spoke to Think Australian.
How did you become a literary agent?
I followed advice from Australian book designer Sandy Cull on how to get into the publishing industry by getting a job in a bookshop. I worked at Greens Bookshop with Ross Reading (the original owner and namesake of Readings Bookstores), and learned about the book trade. From there I got a job at Macmillan Distribution Services and went to every networking event and book launch on offer. I was studying the RMIT Grad Dip of Editing and Publishing, and then applied for a job as an agents’ assistant in the Melbourne office of Australian Literary Management, where I worked closely with Lyn Tranter and Jenny Darling. I credit those two formidable agents for their faith in me. I started my own agency in 2004.
What do you love most about your job?
I love working with creators and helping to bring their work to readers. I learn something new almost every day and I love the fact that I’m helping to build a legacy with every new book, from a simple picture book that captures a child’s imagination and makes them laugh, to uncovering the untold stories of history and society. I am passionate about advocating for creators’ rights.
What titles are you currently pitching?
Locally I’m working with agent Danielle Binks to pitch April Watson’s Awkward Teen to Lilac Queen, a YA title, reminding teens that they shouldn’t be ashamed to take up space and dream big. I’m working with agent Karen Tayleur to pitch a debut historical fiction, To Catch the Moon by Samoan writer Lila Tuivasa-Heinmann, who has ‘woven a large fine mat’ depicting Samoan island life with its unique customs and culture that embrace a communal way of living.
Internationally, I’m working with our network of literary scouts and sub-agents on the campaign for The Silent Listener by Lyn Yeowart and The Girl Remains by Katherine Firkin. We have new children’s and adult catalogues ready ahead of the London and Bologna Book fair seasons.
What have been your biggest rights successes over the past year?
The Silent Listener has sold into France (via a pre-empt offer from Presses de la Cite thanks to the work of our literary scout Jane Southern), Russia (to Eskmo via our co-agent at Synopsis Literary Agency), and to Joffe Books in the UK (via a direct connection with Emma Grundy-Haigh). We are hoping to secure more translation rights sales and perhaps a deal in North America. Another success was the sale of North American rights of Briony Stewart’s picture book, We Love You Magoo (to Kira Lynn at Kane Miller via Annabel Barker Agency, with assistance from Nerrilee Weir and Jordan Meek at Penguin Random House Australia). It was a real team effort!
Which title or author on your list do you believe deserves greater recognition overseas?
Michael Pryor, whose intriguing and thoroughly entertaining fantasy series ‘The Laws of Magic’ (Random House Australia) sold more than 50K copies in Australia and definitely deserves greater recognition (especially for fans of Harry Potter). The series blends magic and alternate history with a pinch of the fun and wittiness of Sherlock Holmes
How has Covid-19 changed the ways you make contacts and sell rights?
We have embraced video conferencing and hold regular meetings with our sub-agents and literary scouts. This has led to much stronger connections and positive results in real time. Now that I have regular meetings with our international contacts, if/when I travel to a big book fair again, I will be able to attend seminars for professional development as well as touring the halls to discover new possibilities and publishing trends, rather than focussing solely on meetings and being confined to the agents’ centre or Australian stand.
What are you currently reading?
As well as lots of new manuscripts, I am reading The Yield by Tara June Winch (Hamish Hamilton), The Animals in That Country by Laura Jean McKay (Scribe), the stories in Growing Up Disabled in Australia, edited by Carly Findlay (Black Inc.), and Greetings from Trumpland by Zoe Daniel and Roscoe Whalan (ABC Books).
Photo credit: David Fowler Photography
For the second year running, Trent Dalton’s debut novel Boy Swallows Universe and Scott Pape’s guide to household finance The Barefoot Investor have come out on top as the year’s overall bestselling Australian books in their respective categories, with The Barefoot Investor the top-selling Australian nonfiction title for the fourth year in a row.
In fiction, Jane Harper’s The Survivors managed to reach second spot on the chart after being released in September 2020, while Trent Dalton’s sophomore novel All Our Shimmering Skies, released in October, made it to number three.
Hope and positivity were the order of the day for Australian nonfiction, with Julia Baird’s Phosphorescence, released in late 2019, the second highest selling title of 2020, followed by 100-year-old Holocaust survivor Eddie Jaku’s memoir The Happiest Man on Earth. Meanwhile, Bruce Pascoe’s perennial bestseller Dark Emu made it to number four on the nonfiction chart, six years after it was first published.
In children’s books, we take a closer look at the category of primary school to young adult (as the picture book category is wall-to-wall Bluey). By far the highest selling title was The 130-storey Treehouse by Andy Griffiths and Terry Denton. Junior and middle fiction series dominated sales, with books from five different series composing the entire top 10 chart.
Australian fiction bestsellers 2020
- Boy Swallows Universe (Trent Dalton, Fourth Estate)
- The Survivors (Jane Harper, Macmillan)
- All Our Shimmering Skies (Trent Dalton, Fourth Estate)
- The Two Lost Mountains (Matthew Reilly, Macmillan)
- The Tattooist of Auschwitz (Heather Morris, Echo)
- The Dictionary of Lost Words (Pip Williams, Affirm)
- Honeybee (Craig Silvey, A&U)
- The Godmothers (Monica McInerney, Michael Joseph)
- Before the Storm (Di Morrissey, Macmillan)
- The Yield (Tara June Winch, Hamish Hamilton)
Australian nonfiction bestsellers 2020
- The Barefoot Investor (Scott Pape, Wiley)
- Phosphorescence (Julia Baird, Fourth Estate)
- The Happiest Man on Earth (Eddie Jaku, Macmillan)
- Dark Emu (Bruce Pascoe, Magabala)
- A Bigger Picture (Malcolm Turnbull, Hardie Grant Books)
- The Storm Within (Cameron Smith & Andrew Webster, A&U)
- The Resilience Project (Hugh van Cuylenburg, Penguin Life)
- Breaker Morant (Peter FitzSimons, Hachette)
- Killing Time (Jimmy Barnes, HarperCollins)
- The Pie Maker (AWW Cookbooks)
Australian children’s primary to YA bestsellers 2020
- The 130-Storey Treehouse (Andy Griffiths & Terry Denton, Pan)
- The Bad Guys Episode 11: Dawn of the Underlord (Aaron Blabey, Scholastic)
- The Secret Cave: Wolf Girl 3 (Anh Do, A&U)
- Into the Wild: Wolf Girl 1 (Anh Do, A&U)
- Vote WeirDo: WeirDo #14 (Anh Do, A&U)
- The Great Escape: Wolf Girl 2 (Anh Do, A&U)
- The Bad Guys Episode 12: The One?! (Aaron Blabey, Scholastic)
- The 13-Storey Treehouse (Andy Griffiths & Terry Denton, Pan)
- The 117-Storey Treehouse (Andy Griffiths & Terry Denton, Pan)
- Hollowpox: The Hunt for Morrigan Crow: Nevermoor 3 (Jessica Townsend, Lothian).
© Nielsen BookScan 2021
Period covered: 29 December 2020 to 2 January 2021
Data supplied by Nielsen BookScan’s book sales monitoring system from 1500 retailers nationwide
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