FICTION

The winning Fiction entry will receive a copy of Texas by Sarah Hay.

The compelling new novel of life, land and love in the Top End by Sarah Hay, winner of The Australian/Vogel Literary Award for her first novel, Skins in 2001.

Description

When did it all start? This feeling of being beneath water: slow and cumbersome, every movement met with something thicker than air, some form of resistance she was unable to see.

On a rundown station in the remote top end of Australia, life for Susannah is isolated and difficult. Left alone by her husband, the manager of the station, Susannah has to cope with their young twins, the relentless physical work of running the homestead, and the frustration that these things now mark the boundaries of her life. A dark history seeps through the land and the air shimmers with heat and an intangible menace; nothing is as she expected it to be. And then a young English jillaroo, Laura, arrives to work on the property. She falls in love with Texas, the Aboriginal head stockman, believing that her love will pull him out of long-held destructive habits. As the weather builds and the heat intensifies, both Susannah and Laura are faced with decisions that will affect the rest of their lives.

Winner of the 2001 The Australian/Vogel Literary Award for her bestselling novel Skins, Sarah Hay writes compellingly of the ruthless nature of this country and the fragility of the people trying to force their will upon it.

A taut and powerful story of the land and the past and desire. A novel of place, history and our relationship with the land, it tells of the extremity and ruthlessness of this country and the way in which it constantly reminds us of the fragility of our place on it.

About Sarah Hay

Sarah Hay's first novel, Skins, won The Australian/Vogel Literary Award in 2001. Sarah grew up in Esperance, Western Australia, and has worked in journalism and public relations. She now lives in Perth and is studying at the University of Western Australia.

POETRY

The winning Poetry entry will receive a copy of The Stranding by Karen Viggers.

A novel of love, loss and the healing power of nature.

Description

Lex Henderson washes up in a small coastal village after a tragedy shatters his life in Sydney. He is broken in every way, and wants only to escape from the world. The best place to hide is one where you'll be left alone, or so Lex thinks until the small community of Merrigan starts taking an interest in him. By then, despite himself, he's a little fascinated in return, and is soon drawn into the community in ways he could never have anticipated, discovering that Merrigan has social rules of its own that he must learn to navigate. It is through new and unexpected friendships that he gradually embarks on the path to recovery, finding support and common ground with his reclusive neighbour, the owner of the town cafe and his employer at a local dairy farm. He also meets Callista Bennett, an artist with a hidden history, and enters into a friendship with her that is both volatile and difficult. Slowly, painstakingly, they turn to each other, but each attempt to get closer ends up in retreat, as both of them are paralysed by their pasts and by the idea of trusting anyone ever again.

What Lex does learn to trust is the beauty of the natural world, the strange comfort of the wild seascapes he sees from his windows, and the transfixing majesty of the whales that swim close to his house on the point. Giving himself up to nature is one thing he can do, and he embraces it wholeheartedly, swimming out among the whales, spending hours a day studying the ever-changing patterns of the sea and the play of light and shadow, storm and sunshine. This is one way he can connect with Callista, who has spent her whole life engaged with the natural world and whose paintings capture it so vividly.

Then a whale is stranded on a remote beach near Merrigan, and Lex, Callista and the townsfolk become involved in a tense and uncertain rescue that challenges their attitudes and beliefs, creating rifts and liaisons. It is through the trials and emotions of this event that Lex and Callista see a way through their grief. But will their pasts ever let them go?

The Stranding is a beautifully told story of loss and recovery, exile and belonging, and the redemptive power of the natural world.

About Karen Viggers

Karen Viggers was born in Melbourne, Australia, and grew up in the Dandenong Ranges riding horses and writing stories. She studied Veterinary Science at Melbourne University, and then worked in mixed animal practice for seven years before completing a PhD at the Australian National University, Canberra, in wildlife health. Since then she has worked on a wide range of Australian native animals in many different natural environments. She lives in Canberra with her husband and two children. She works part-time in veterinary practice, provides veterinary support for biologists studying native animals, and writes in her spare time.

Prizes are courtesy of our lovely friends at Allen & Unwin http://www.allenandunwin.com/