Hear from acclaimed storytellers Robbie Arnott, Fiona McFarlane and James McKenzie Watson about their beautiful new novels, which chart very different lives set against unmistakably Australian backdrops. Robbie’s Limberlost tells the story of a man’s journey through life, while evoking Tasmania’s diverse natural habitat. Fiona’s The Sun Walks Down unfurls the narrative of a missing child in 1883 South Australia, depicting the distinct landscape and unsettling history of the Flinders Ranges. James McKenzie Watson’s gothic thriller Denizen is a simultaneous celebration of harsh country and stoic people, set against the backdrop of remote NSW. They will be in conversation with Jason Steger.
Supported by the Copyright Agency’s Cultural Fund.
Robbie Arnott (Australian)
Robbie Arnott is the author of Limberlost, The Rain Heron and Flames. He has won The Age Book of the Year, been named a Sydney Morning Herald Best Young Novelist and been shortlisted for the Miles Franklin Literary Award. He lives in Hobart.
Fiona McFarlane (Australian)
Fiona McFarlane is the author of The Night Guest, which was shortlisted for the Miles Franklin Literary Award, and The High Places, which won the Dylan Thomas Prize. Her latest novel is The Sun Walks Down, and her short stories have been published in The New Yorker, Best Australian Short Stories, and Zoetrope: All-Story. She teaches fiction at the University of California, Berkeley.
James McKenzie Watson (Australian)
James McKenzie Watson writes fiction with a focus on health and rural Australia. His novel Denizen won the 2021 Penguin Literary Prize and was published by Penguin Random House in 2022. His writing has appeared in The Guardian, Meanjin, and the Newtown Review of Books. He co-hosts the writing and health podcast James and Ashley Stay at Home and works as a nurse.
Jason Steger (Australian)
Jason Steger is Books Editor at The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald. He was a regular panellist on ABC TV’s The Book Club.
