Curtis Brown VIPs Catalogue 2016 by Curtis Brown Australia

Curtis Brown Australia

VIPs Catalogue 2016

Adult Fiction

Fiction | 384 pp | March 2016

THE SOLDIERâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S CURSE Meg & Tom Keneally Hugh Monsarrat must seek justice at the edge of the known world. Publisher: Penguin Random House|Paperback Rights available: World (excl. ANZ), Translation Agent: Fiona Inglis (fiona@curtisbrown.com.au) Description: In the Port Macquarie penal settlement at the edge of the known world, gentleman convict Hugh Monsarrat hungers for freedom. Not long after the commandant heads off in search of a rumoured river, his beautiful wife, Honora, falls ill with a sickness the doctor is unable to identify. When Honora dies, it becomes clear she has been slowly poisoned. Monsarrat and Mrs Mulrooney suspect the commandant's second-incommand, Captain Diamond, a cruel man who shares history with Honora. Then Diamond has Mrs Mulrooney arrested for the murder. Knowing his friend will hang if she is tried, Monsarrat knows he must find the real killer. Meg Keneally started her working life as a junior public affairs officer at the Australian Consulate-General in New York, before moving to Dublin to work as a sub-editor and freelance features writer. For more than ten years, Meg has worked in corporate affairs and as a part-time SCUBA diving instructor. She lives in Sydney with her husband Craig and children Rory and Alex. Tom Keneally won the Booker Prize in 1982 with Schindler's Ark, later made into the Steven Spielberg Academy Award-winning film Schindler's List. He is a three-time Booker Prize shortlisted author, and his novels Bring Larks and Heroes and Three Cheers For The Paraclete won the Miles Franklin Award.

Fiction | 368 pp | April 2016

THE BEEKEEPERâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S SECRET Josephine Moon Thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a sting in every tale. Publisher: Allen & Unwin|Hard Cover Rights available: US, Translation Agent: Fiona Inglis (fiona@curtisbrown.com.au) Description: Maria Lindsey is content. She spends her solitary days tending her bees and creating delicious honey products to fund orphaned children. A former nun, her life at Honeybee Haven has long been shaped by her self-imposed penance for terrible past events. But the arrival of two letters heralds the shattering of Maria's peaceful existence. Pushing aside the misgivings of her family and friends, Tansy Butterfield, on the eve of her marriage, made a serious deal with her adored husband, Dougal. A deal she'd intended to honour. But, seven years on, Tansy is finding her current feelings difficult to ignore. And on top of those not-really-there feelings, Dougal wants to move to Canada! Josephine Moon's first novel, The Tea Chest (2014), delighted readers with its strong heroine and enchanting story and was a bestseller both in Australia and overseas. Her second novel, The Chocolate Promise (2015), was a lovestory with a difference set in luscious Provence and rural Tasmania and was also a bestseller. Josephine lives with her husband, son and her horses, dogs, chickens, goats and cats on acreage in Queensland.

Fiction | 432 pp | July 2016

TRULY MADLY GUILTY Liane Moriarty It’s just a normal weekend. What could possibly go wrong? Publisher: Pan Macmillan|Paperback Rights available: Translation excl. French, Korean, Hebrew Agent: Fiona Inglis (fiona@curtisbrown.com.au) Description: In Truly Madly Guilty, Liane Moriarty turns her unique, razor-sharp eye towards three seemingly happy families. Sam and Clementine have a wonderful albeit busy life: they have two little girls, Sam has just started a new dream job, and Clementine, a cellist, is busy preparing for the audition of a lifetime. If there’s anything they can count on, it’s each other. Clementine and Erika are each other’s oldest friends. A single look between them can convey an entire conversation. But theirs is a complicated relationship, so when Erika mentions a last minute invitation to a barbecue with her neighbors, Tiffany and Vid, Clementine and Sam don’t hesitate. Having Tiffany and Vid’s larger than life personalities there will be a welcome respite. Two months later, it won’t stop raining, and Clementine and Sam can’t stop asking themselves the question: What if we hadn’t gone? Liane Moriarty is the author of the #1 New York Times bestsellers Big Little Lies and The Husband's Secret, as well as the New York Times bestseller What Alice Forgot and The Hypnotist's Love Story. She lives in Sydney, Australia, with her husband and two children.

Fiction | 320 pp | July 2016

PROMISE Sarah Armstrong How far would you go to protect a child in danger? Publisher: Pan Macmillan|Paperback Rights available: UK, US, Translation excl. Germany Agent: Pippa Masson (pippa@curtisbrown.com.au) Description: When a new family moves in next door, it takes Anna just two days to realise something is very wrong. She can hear their five-year-old daughter Charlie crying, then sees injuries on the little girl which cannot be ignored. Anna reports the family to the police and social services but when no one comes to Charlie's aid, Anna understands that she is alone with her fears for the child's life. So when Charlie comes to her door asking for help, the only thing Anna can think to do is take the girl and run. Raising delicate but deeply felt questions about our individual responsibility for the children around us, Promise is a novel that obliges the reader to ask: if Charlie were my neighbour, what would I do? Sarah Armstrong's first novel, Salt Rain, was shortlisted for several awards including the Miles Franklin, and her second novel His Other House was received to wide acclaim. Sarah was a radio journalist at the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, where she won a Walkley Award. She now lives in northern New South Wales with her partner, writer Alan Close, and their young daughter.

Fiction | 336 pp | April 2016

LIKE I CAN LOVE Kim Lock The deepest secrets are kept by those closest to you … Publisher: Pan Macmillan |Paperback Rights available: US, Translation excl. Germany Agent: Pippa Masson (pippa@curtisbrown.com.au) Description: On a hot January afternoon, Fairlie Winter receives a phone call. Her best friend has just taken her own life. Jenna Rudolph, 26 years old, has left behind a devoted husband, an adorable young son and a stunning vineyard. But Fairlie knows she should have seen this coming. Yet Fairlie doesn't know what Jenna's husband Ark is hiding, nor does she know what Jenna's mother Evelyn did to drive mother and daughter apart all those years ago. Until Fairlie opens her mail and finds a letter. In Jenna's handwriting. Along with a key. Driven to search for answers, Fairlie uncovers a horrifying past, a desperate mother, and a devastating secret kept by those she loves the most. Praise for Like I can Love: “Gripping and poignant ... a moving exploration of all the ways that love can hurt and heal." – Kylie Ladd Kim Lock was born in 1981. She has worked around Australia as a graphic designer and volunteered as a breastfeeding counsellor. Her non-fiction has appeared in The Guardian, Daily Life, and The Sydney Morning Herald online. Kim lives in the Barossa Valley, South Australia, with her partner and their children, a dog and a couple of cats.

Fiction | 360 pp | April 2017

SEE WHAT I HAVE DONE Sarah Schmidt ‘Someone’s killed father.’ Publisher: Hachette |Paperback Rights available: Translation excl. Germany Agent: Pippa Masson (pippa@curtisbrown.com.au) Description: Fall River, 4 August 1892. Lizzie Borden calls out to the maid, ‘Someone’s killed father.’ A domestic nightmare begins. The brutal axemurder of the Borden family patriarch and hated stepmother forces sisters Lizzie and Emma to confront the ghosts of their past. From the outside, no one can understand why anyone would want to murder the wealthy and respected Mr. and Mrs. Borden. As the police struggle to find clues, Lizzie tries to make sense of the moments leading up to the discovery of her father’s body. As it becomes clear that Lizzie is incapable of telling the truth, the police remain unaware that there are other witnesses to the crime. Based on true events, See What I Have Done is a psychological examination of the consequences of love and violence, family and self-identity. Highly claustrophobic, this character-driven novel balances sparse poetics and wild, vivid prose, and is a violent, haunting and original exploration of what it takes to be free and what it means to love. Sarah Schmidt is from Melbourne and has a Bachelor of Arts (Professional Writing and Editing) from Deakin University, a Master of Arts (Creative Writing) from RMIT. She was awarded a Varuna Fellowship in 2009 and 2014, has been published in Overland and Verandah and was shortlisted for the Lord Mayor’s Literary Prize for her short story, The Dolphin, in 2011. See What I Have Done is her first novel.

Fiction | 240 pp | July 2016

TIME TO RUN and THE TWISTED KNOT J.M. Peace The hunt is on. Publisher: Pan Macmillan|Paperback Rights available: World (excl. ANZ), Translation excl. Germany Agent: Grace Heifetz (grace@curtisbrown.com.au) Description: A madman is kidnapping women to hunt them for sport. A frantic search. Detective Janine Postlewaite leads the investigation into the disappearance of Samantha Willis, determined not to let another innocent die on her watch. A shocking twist. The killer's newest prey isn't like the others. Sammi is a cop. And she refuses to be his victim. A run for your life. “Raw and credible, this is a tough and thrilling novel…” – The Sydney Morning Herald J.M. Peace is a serving police officer who has served throughout south-east Queensland in a variety of different capacities. JM currently lives on the Sunshine Coast, juggling writing and police work with raising two kids along with her partner.

Fiction | 240 pp | July 2017

HALF WILD Pip Smith A story of crime and identity. Publisher: Allen & Unwin|Paperback Rights available: World (excl. ANZ), Translation Agent: Grace Heifetz (grace@curtisbrown.com.au) Description: Wellington, 1885. Tally Ho doesn’t need to go to school because she is going to be a fisherman or a cart driver or a butcher boy like Harry Crawford. Wellington is her town and she makes up the rules. Taking her hero Harry Crawford’s advice, she runs away. Sydney, 1917. A burned woman is discovered on the banks of the Lane Cove River. Was she a mad woman? A drunk who’d accidentally set herself on fire? Nobody knows, until—three years later—a tailor’s apprentice tells police that his mother went missing that very same weekend, and his stepfather, Harry Crawford, is not who he seems to be. Who, then, is he? Sydney, 1938. After being hit by a car on Oxford Street, sixty-three-year-old Jean Ford lies in a coma in Sydney Hospital. Doctors talk across her body, nurses jab her in the arm with morphine, detectives arrive to take her fingerprints. Memories come back to her — of a life as a man, of life as a female prisoner — but they are always shifting and she can no longer tell the difference between what she did, what she said she did, and what other people believed she did. Pip Smith is a writer of songs, poems, and stories short and long. Her first poetry collection, Too Close for Comfort (SUP) won the Helen Ann Bell Award in 2013. She was a Faber Academy Writing a Novel scholarship recipient, has been a co-director of the National Young Writers’ Festival, and is currently a doctoral candidate at Western Sydney University. She is one quarter of garage-punkpop band Imperial Broads and works in a bookshop.

Fiction | 360 pp | August 2017

THE LIST Michael Brissenden What is a veteran doing involved with a terror plot? Publisher: Hachette|Paperback Rights available: World (excl. ANZ), Translation Agent: Grace Heifetz (grace@curtisbrown.com.au) Description: A returned veteran badly affected physically and mentally from his experiences during 6 tours in Iraq and Afghanistan returns home to take revenge. He is looking for the Australian Jihadi who severed his hand on his last mission in Afghanistan. Armed with the current ASIO watch list, an axe and a high powered weapon he begins systematically killing those on the list hoping to find his Australian Jihadi nemesis. Along the way he uncovers a serious terror plot. Frustrated by their own inability to find the terror cell the security agencies and the Prime Minister are challenged to allow the veteran to continue on his rampage in the hope his unorthodox approach will prevent an even bigger attack. The List explores the debate around the new security laws, the politics surrounding their introduction, the political motivations behind them, their impact on broader freedoms, the effect and impact on Australia’s Muslim community and the role of the media both mainstream and the new digital platforms. Michael Brissenden is currently the Presenter of ‘AM’ the ABC’s flagship Radio Current Affairs program and has been a political journalist and foreign correspondent for the ABC since 1987. His book – American Stories: Tales of Hope and Anger, was published in 2012 by University of Queensland Press. The List is his first work of fiction.

Fiction | 368 pp | September 2015

RUSH OH! Shirley Barrett “A book to never forget.” Publisher: Macmillan|Paperback Rights available: Translation Agent: Grace Heifetz (grace@curtisbrown.com.au) Description: Mary Davidson, the eldest daughter of a whaling family in Eden, New South Wales, sets out to chronicle the particularly difficult season of 1908. It's a season marked not only by the sparsity of whales and the vagaries of weather, but also by the arrival of John Beck, an itinerant whale man with a murky past, on whom Mary promptly develops an all-consuming crush. Swinging from Mary's hopes and disappointments to the challenges that beset their tiny whaling operation, Rush Oh! is a celebration of an extraordinary episode in Australian history, when a family of whalers formed a fond, unique allegiance with a pod of frisky Killer whales - and in particular, a Killer whale named Tom. Praise for Rush Oh! "vivid prose ... gives savour to a highly enjoyable and unusual yarn." – Sydney Morning Herald Winner of the Dobbie Literary Award 2016 Shirley Barrett is best known for her work as a screenwriter and director. Shirley's first film, Love Serenade won the Camera D'Or (Best First Feature) at Cannes Film Festival in 1996. The script for her film South Solitary won the Queensland Premier's Prize (script) 2010, the West Australian Premier's Literary Prize (script) 2010, and the West Australian Premier's Prize 2010. Rush Oh! is Shirley's first novel. She lives in Sydney, Australia.

Fiction | 240 pp | April 2016

WE ATE THE ROAD LIKE VULTURES Lynnette Lounsbury Lulu, Adolf, a moose and a Hummer... Publisher: Inkerman and Blunt|Paperback Rights available: Translation Agent: Tara Wynne (tara@curtisbrown.com.au) Description: Lulu, a teenage Australian runaway knows bullshit when she hears it and she’s hearing it from the two ‘ornery old geezers she discovers living with an Alaskan moose named Capote, and Salinger, a suicidal circus elephant, on a remote Mexican haçienda. She is on a quest that has taken her halfway around the world—hitching rides, sleeping at truck stops and generally trying to evade Interpol—to prove that ‘Chicco’ and ‘Carousel’, with their stained kaftans and hesitant prostates, were once better known as Jack Kerouac and his muse, Neal Cassady. Written in the scroll style of the renowned Beat writer, and reminiscent of Woody Allen’s Midnight in Paris, the story unravels vibrantly, enticing readers to reach for Kerouac’s classic. Lynnette Lounsbury is a writer, lecturer, martial artist, traveller, and occasional poet. She grew up in Papua New Guinea and on the NSW North Coast. She now lives in Sydney. She currently teaches writing and ancient history at Avondale College and is Senior Editor at the student travel blog, Ytravel. Her first book, Afterworld (Allen & Unwin, 2014) was released for the young adult market in 2014. We Ate the Road like Vultures is her first novel for adults.

Fiction | 360 pp | June 2017 |

THE SIXTH VIRUS Shankari Chandran In 2025, the world is divided. Publisher: Pan Macmillan | Paperback Rights Available: World (excl. ANZ), Translation Agent: Tara Wynne (tara@curtisbrown.com.au) Description: An intelligent, fast-paced dystopian thriller in the year 2025 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 2040. The world is divided between East and West. The West keeps ebola under control with a vaccine which has an extra 'faith inhibiter' to control the East. It was used to prevent religious wars. But a rogue virus and scientist is about to change that. Shankari Chandran began her career as a lawyer in London as the head of an award-winning social justice program for an international law firm, covering projects in over 30 countries. She is currently a columnist for Mamamia.com.au, entertaining audiences with stories about motherhood, multi-culturalism and the perils of returning home with four young children. In 2016, she will be publishing her first book with Perera-Hussein, The Sun God's Gita. Her second book, The Sixth Virus will be published by Pan Macmillan in June 2017.

Fiction | 368 pp | February 2016

RIVER RUN Nicole Alexander With a storm looming, a stranger appears on the horizon. Publisher: Simon & Schuster | Paperback Rights Available: World (excl. ANZ) Agent: Tara Wynne (tara@curtisbrown.com.au) Description: It is January 1951, and after a year away Eleanor Webber has returned home to River Run, her family's sprawling sheep property in western New South Wales. Fleeing a failed love affair back in Sydney, she hopes for some time and space to heal. But with shearing of over 25,000 sheep about to commence, and the infamous and moneyed Margaret Winslow and her husband Keith staying in the main house as her mother's guests, that dream is quickly dashed. More worryingly, her half-brother Robbie is increasingly running wild, playing tricks on his governess, antagonising the jackeroos and obsessing about a communist invasion. Though only eleven, Robbie has appointed himself guardian of the property and, in his treehouse by the river, he readies for an imminent attack. Armed with a gun. Then, with a storm looming and tensions rising in the shearing shed, a mysterious stranger appears on the horizon. And in one disastrous moment young Robbie entangles Eleanor in a situation that will have serious repercussions for every member of the Webber family â&#x20AC;Ś Nicole Alexander is a fourth-generation grazier who manages her family property. Nicole has a Master of Letters in creative writing and her novels, poetry, travel and genealogy articles have been widely published. She is the author of six novels: The Bark Cutters, A Changing Land, Absolution Creek, Sunset Ridge, The Great Plains and Wild Lands.

Fiction | 368 pp | February 2016

ALL THAT IS LOST BETWEEN US Sara Foster The lies we tell for love are the most dangerous of all. Publisher: Simon & Schuster | Paperback Rights Available: World (excl. ANZ) Agent: Tara Wynne (tara@curtisbrown.com.au) Description: A mother’s worst fears. A daughter in distress. A family falling apart. Seventeen-year-old Georgia has a secret – one that is isolating her from everyone she loves. She is desperate to tell her best friend, but Sophia is ignoring her, and she doesn’t know why. Before she can find out, Sophia is left fighting for her life after a hit and run, with Georgia a traumatised witness. As a school psychologist, Georgia’s mother, Anya, should be used to dealing with scared adolescents. However, it’s very different when the girl who needs help is your own child. Meanwhile, Georgia’s father, Callum, is wracked with a guilt he can’t share – and when her younger brother, Zac, stumbles on an unlikely truth, the family relationships begin to implode. Can the family rise above the lies they have told and fight for what matters most of all? Sara Foster is the critically acclaimed author of three bestselling psychological suspense novels. Come Back to Me was published in Australia in 2010 and reached the Sydney Morning Herald top ten Australian bestsellers list. Her second book, Beneath the Shadows, reached No. 4 on the Australian Sunday Telegraph bestsellers list, and rights were sold in the USA and Germany.

Fiction | 360 pp | February 2017

ABOUT THE CHILD Anna George A story of parenting and judgement, love and loss. Publisher: Penguin Random House Australia | Paperback Rights Available: World (excl. ANZ), Translation Agent: Tara Wynne (tara@curtisbrown.com.au) Description: Anna George’s second novel is a literary and commercial psychological thriller. About the Child is set on the blustery Mornington Peninsula. This searing second novel deals with the intersections between parenting and love, and the consequences of loss and judgment. Praise for Anna George: “This debut bodes well for Anna George's future writing prospects . . . Intimate character portraits and a twisty ending make it a worthwhile read.” – Sunday Examiner “A relationship to rival that of Gone Girl's Nick and Amy, in so many ways.” – Canberra Times Anna George is a trained lawyer who has worked in the legal world as well as the film and television industries. She studied Professional Writing and Editing at RMIT, and has written feature film scripts. She lives in Melbourne with her husband and two children.

Fiction | 430 pp | August 2016

CYANIDE GAMES Richard Beasley Would you break the law to save a friend? Publisher: Simon & Schuster | Paperback Rights Available: World (excl. ANZ), Translation Agent: Tara Wynne (tara@curtisbrown.com.au) Description: Peter Tanner is a criminal defence barrister who must cross paths with some of the less desirable but wealthy members of the nation’s underbelly in this fast-paced crime thriller. One evening he receives a call from Melissa Cheung. Her husband, Joe, an old friend from law school and a partner at a global law firm, has been arrested while on business in China on grounds of corruption. The call takes Peter away from drug dealers and crooked property developers into the highest end of corporate corruption – mining companies trying to cover up environmental disasters and families at the top of the rich list who think they’re above the law. Peter knows Joe isn't corrupt but has been set up to save the skin of his firm and one of its biggest clients. And Tanner is like a dog with a bone. As he pursues those who had Joe incarcerated, he unearths cover-up after cover-up, putting his own and others’ lives in danger – and he will not let up until he finds the perpetrators and has them brought to justice. Richard Beasley grew up in Adelaide, before moving to Sydney where he has worked as a barrister since 1997. He is the author of three previous novels: Hell Has Harbour Views (which was adapted for ABC Television in 2005), The Ambulance Chaser, and Me and Rory Macbeath (2014).

Fiction | 360 pp | August 2017

BEAUTY IN THORNS Kate Forsyth The magic of Sleeping Beauty in a pre-Raphaelite world. Publisher: Simon & Schuster | Paperback Rights Available: World (excl. ANZ), Translation Agent: Tara Wynne (tara@curtisbrown.com.au) Description: Beauty in Thorns is a spellbinding reimagining of the Sleeping Beauty fairy-tale, set amongst the passions, scandals and tragedies of the Pre-Raphaelite circle of painters and poets. In 1890, the Pre-Raphaelite artist Edward Burne-Jones finished a monumental series of paintings inspired by Sleeping Beauty. Greeted with ecstasy by the public, it sold for a record 15,000 guineas and made the artist a rich and famous man. Told in the voices of eight extraordinary women â&#x20AC;&#x201C; the wives and mistresses, sisters and daughters of the famous artists of the Pre-Raphaelite circle â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Beauty in Thorns brings the dramatic story of love, desire, obsession and tragedy that lies behind the creation of this famous depiction of Sleeping Beauty. Kate Forsyth is the internationally bestselling author of more than thirty books, including The Witches of Eileanan and Rhiannon's Ride fantasy series for adults. She completed a doctorate in fairytale retellings and the novels that have come out of this fascination include the winner of the 2015 American Libraries Association Prize for Historical Fiction, Bitter Greens, The Wild Girl and The Beast's Garden.

Fiction | 336 pp | May 2014

THE STRAYS Emily Bitto Winner of the 2015 Stella Prize. Publisher: Simon & Schuster|Paperback Rights available: Translation Agent: Clare Forster (claref@curtisbrown.com.au) Description: On her first day at a new school, Lily befriends one of the daughters of infamous avant-garde painter Evan Trentham. He and his wife are trying to escape the stifling conservatism of 1930s Australia by inviting other like-minded artists to live and work at their family home. Lily becomes infatuated with this wild, makeshift family and longs to truly be a part of it. As the years pass, Lily observes the way the lives of these artists come to reflect the same themes as their art: Faustian bargains and spectacular falls from grace. Yet it’s not Evan, but his own daughters, who pay the price for his radicalism. The Strays is an engrossing story of ambition, sacrifice and compromised loyalties from Australia’s newest literary star. Praise for The Strays: “Like a gemstone: polished and multi-faceted, reflecting illuminations back to the reader and holding rick colour in its depths.” – Stella Prize Judges’ Report Emily Bitto has a Masters in Literary Studies and a PhD in Creative Writing from the University of Melbourne, where she is also a sessional teacher and supervisor in the creative writing program.

Fiction | 288 pp | March 2016

ALL THESE PERFECT STRANGERS Aoife Clifford You don’t have to believe in ghosts for the dead to haunt you. Publisher: Simon & Schuster|Paperback Rights available: US, Translation, ANZ Agent: Clare Forster (claref@curtisbrown.com.au) Description: Within six months of Pen Sheppard starting university, three of her new friends are dead. Only Pen knows the reason why. College life had seemed like a wonderland of sex, drugs and maybe even love. The perfect place to run away from your past and reinvent yourself. But Pen never can run far enough and when friendships are betrayed, her secrets are revealed. The consequences are deadly. Praise for All These Perfect Strangers: “A stunning debut.” – The Sydney Morning Herald “This sparkling debut paints a picture of death and betrayal across the sexually charged canvas of a first year on a university canvas...Tense, sparse and unmistakably Australia, the gripping plot challenges and subverts the notion of innocence until the very last page.” – Monocle Magazine “wonderful, gripping and compelling.” – Jane Harper, author of The Dry Aoife Clifford won two major Australian crime writing prizes in short story form and has been shortlisted for the UK Crime Writers Association Award for ‘Debut Dagger’. In 2013 she was awarded an Australian Society of Author's mentorship for All These Perfect Strangers. She lives in Melbourne with her husband and three children.

Fiction | 360 pp | April 2017

ARTEMISIA’S GARDEN Kirsty Manning A story of love and food across the ages. Publisher: Allen & Unwin|Paperback Rights available: World (excl. ANZ), Translation Agent: Clare Forster (claref@curtisbrown.com.au) Description: This beguiling novel is the story of two women across the ages. The contemporary story features young Australian scientist Pip who must find a way to balance the desires of her heart and her head, and the historical story features Artemisia, a herbalist who holds a lowly position in the kitchen of a medieval French château. When a gift of some dusty, beautiful old copper pots arrives in Pip’s kitchen, the two stories come together in a stirring, abundant celebration of food, family and love, exploring what has changed for women over the years and what remains timeless. Kirsty Manning is a former editor and publishing manager whose lifestyle and travel journalism and photography regularly appear in magazines. In 2006, Kirsty and her family de-camped from inner-city life and built a house in an old chestnut grove in Victoria’s Macedon Ranges, where they planted an orchard and veggie patch, created large herbal ‘walks’, and constructed stone walls by hand. Their garden, Castanea, has since featured in the press and in We Love Food, a cookery and gardening book co-written by Kirsty. Kirsty is a partner in the award-winning Melbourne wine bar Bellota, and the Prince Wine Store in Sydney and Melbourne.

Fiction | 360 pp | April 2016

THE DRY Jane Harper A desperate act in a small town with big secrets. Publisher: Allen & Unwin|Paperback Rights available: World (excl. ANZ), Translation (excl. Serbian, Italian, Hebrew, German, Spanish, Norwegian, Dutch, Swedish, French, Hungarian, Polish, Japanese, Slovene, Korean and Romanian) Agent: Clare Forster (claref@curtisbrown.com.au) Description: After getting a note demanding his presence, Federal Agent Aaron Falk arrives in his hometown for the first time in decades to attend the funeral of his best friend, Luke. Twenty years ago when Falk was accused of murder, Luke was his alibi. Falk and his father fled under a cloud of suspicion, saved from prosecution only because of Luke’s steadfast claim that the boys had been together at the time of the crime. But now more than one person knows they didn’t tell the truth back then, and Luke is dead. Amid the worst drought in a century, Falk and the local detective question what really happened to Luke. As Falk reluctantly investigates to see if there’s more to Luke’s death than there seems to be, long-buried mysteries resurface, as do the lies that have haunted them. And Falk will find that small towns have always hidden big secrets. Jane Harper has worked as a print journalist for thirteen years both in Australia and the UK. She lives in Melbourne and writes for the Herald Sun, among other publications. Winner of the Victorian Premier's Literary Award for an Unpublished Manuscript, The Dry is her first novel with rights sold to over twenty territories.

Non-Fiction

Memoir | 320 pp | May 2016

ENEMY Ruth Clare 'I was born into the war still raging inside my father.' Publisher: Penguin Australia|Paperback Rights available: World (excl. ANZ), Translation Agent: Grace Heifetz (grace@curtisbrown.com.au) Description: Ruth Clare's father came back from the Vietnam War a changed man: a violent, controlling parent and a dominating, aggressive husband. Through a childhood of being constantly on guard, with no one to protect her but herself, Ruth learned to be strong and fierce in the face of fear. After escaping her difficult upbringing, Ruth went on to have a family of her own. Facing the challenges of parenting brought her past back to life, and she lived in fear that she was doomed to repeat her father's behaviour. Wanting to understand the experiences that had damaged her father, she met with other veterans and began listening to their stories, of war, conscription, returning to civilian life. What Ruth uncovered left her with a surprising empathy for the man who caused her so much pain and heartache. Praise for Enemy: "...enormously rewarding and revealing exploration of the effects of war on family life and on the human soul and psyche.... emotionally charged and thoroughly engaging book." â&#x20AC;&#x201C; The Australian Ruth Clare was born in Brisbane, raised in Rockhampton and graduated from biochemistry and journalism at Queensland University of Technology. She has had careers as an actor, presenter and has been a professional copywriter since 2004. She began writing her first book, Enemy, in 2013.

Non-Fiction | 376 pp | March 2017

DARLING CHUBBIE Carol Baxter A haunting rise and fall of aviation’s glamour couple. Publisher: Penguin Australia|Paperback Rights available: World (excl. ANZ), Translation Agent: Tara Wynne (tara@curtisbrown.com.au) Description: Chubbie Miller found love in the cockpit and the arms of a WWI veteran aviator on a record-setting flight from England to Australia in 1927/28. When she met Bill Lancaster in London in June 1927, he was hoping to become the first person to fly a light plane from England to Australia. Chubbie, Australian by birth, offered to help him raise the funds if he would take her along and teach her how to fly. He reluctantly agreed – he was a married man with children, but no money. Chubbie Miller then went on to become one of America’s elite female aviators during the Golden Age of Aviation, winning races, setting records, crashing and even disappearing – at which time the world mourned her loss. Chubbie's relationship with Lancaster was tempestuous and he was later charged with the murder of one of her lovers. At that time she became the world’s most notorious ‘scarlet woman’, renowned for her involvement in what became an internationally-reported sex scandal and celebrity murder trial. Carol Baxter is a prize-winning author of three popular histories, all with a criminal bent, including The Peculiar Case of the Electric Constable, Captain Thunderbolt and His Lady, which have been published to critical acclaim. She lives in Sydney.

Non-Fiction | 320 pp | June 2016

BEAUTIFUL FAILURES Lucy Clark How does the quest for success harm our kids? Publisher: Random House Australia|Paperback Rights available: World (excl. ANZ), Translation Agent: Fiona Inglis (fiona@curtisbrown.com.au) Description: What is the meaning of success? What do you do when the system says your child is a failure? Why is it so hard for parents to talk to each other about how badly their kids are doing? They can't ALL be doing brilliantly, so why aren't we talking about the kids who struggle to fit the narrow expectations of the education system? We all talk about how much pressure there is on kids today; we all shake our heads at what seems to be an epidemic of anxiety . . . so why is it so hard to change our expectations? Moreover, when there are children who want to harm themselves because of stress about school, how can we fail to act? In a world of 'winners' and 'losers' â&#x20AC;&#x201C; and in an education system that has become about competing for the top spots rather than learning for the joy of it â&#x20AC;&#x201C; we urgently need to rethink the meaning of success. For the sake of our children. For the sake of ourselves. Lucy Clark is a journalist and editor with 31 years experience in newspapers and magazines in Sydney, London and New York. She was most recently the editor of the news and opinion website The Hoopla, and has worked as a literary editor, features writer, and opinion columnist. She is now a Senior Editor at Guardian Australia.

Memoir | 360 pp | May 2017

CONFESSIONS OF A BEAUTY QUEEN Stephanie Darling A tell-all memoir spotlighting the outlandish world of beauty. Publisher: Penguin Australia|Paperback Rights available: World (excl. ANZ), Translation Agent: Grace Heifetz (grace@curtisbrown.com.au) Description: Confessions of a Beauty Queen is a behind the scenes look at the sometimes outlandish and often exotic world of beauty. An irreverent, funny, fabulous tongue in cheek memoir filled with wonderfully witty, sharp and honest advice. Stephanie Darling is the Beauty Director of Fairfax’s Sunday Life magazine. She is one of Australia’s most accomplished and talented beauty journalists. Darling has had a long and impressive career in beauty journalism as Beauty Director of Vogue Australia, Harper’s Bazaar and, most recently, Madison.

Non-Fiction | 288 pp | March 2015

RANSACKING PARIS Patti Miller Combing the lives of the great French memoiristsâ&#x20AC;Ś Publisher: University of Queensland Press|Paperback Rights available: World (excl. ANZ), Translation Agent: Clare Forster (claref@curtisbrown.com.au) Description: When Patti Miller arrives to write in Paris for a year, the world glows 'as if the light that comes after the sun has set had spilled gold on everything'. But what can Paris offer us beyond romantic illusion? Miller turns to French writers, Montaigne, Rousseau, de Beauvoir and other memoirists, each one intent on knowing the self through gazing into the 'looking glass' of the great world. They accompany her as she wanders the streets of Paris and talk about love, suffering, desire, motherhood, memory, the writing journey - and the joys and responsibilities of ransacking. Patti Miller was raised on a farm in central western NSW. Her many books include the award-winning The Mind of a Thief (UQP, 2012) and Ransacking Paris (UQP, 2015). She has worked teaching writing for over twenty years, including at the innovative Faber Academy in Sydney and London.

Young Adult Fiction

YA | 208 pp | March 2016

THE WAY WE ROLL Scot Gardner A rattling urban bromance. Publisher: Allen & Unwin |Paperback Rights available: US, Translation Agent: Pippa Masson (pippa@curtisbrown.com.au) Description: From the author of the award-winning The Dead I Know comes an urban 'bromance' with an unexpected twist, featuring a boy from the upper end of town who finds refuge and friendship pushing trolleys at the local supermarket and avoiding a troubling secret in his own past. Will went to private school, and Julian went to juvie. Will is running from a family secret, and Julian is running from the goat next door. The boys meet pushing trolleys, and they find a common enemy in the Westie hoons who terrorise the carpark. After a few close calls, Will has to nut up and confront his past. But on the way, he learns a few things about what it means to be a friend â&#x20AC;&#x201C; and what it means to be family. Scot Gardner became a writer after a chance meeting with a magazine editor while hitchhiking in eastern Australia. Magazine articles led to op-ed newspaper pieces and eventually novels. Scot's first fiction for young adults, One Dead Seagull, was published after he attended a writing camp with John Marsden. More than a decade later, his many books have found local and international favour, including books like White Ute Dreaming, Burning Eddy and most recently Happy as Larry, winner of a WA Premier's Book Award for Young Adult fiction, and The Dead I Know, winner of the CBCA Book of the Year Award for Older Readers.

YA | 272 pp | February 2016 |

YELLOW Megan Jacobson People can be haunted in more ways than one. Publisher: Penguin Australia|Paperback Rights available: World (excl. ANZ), Translation Agent: Tara Wynne (tara@curtisbrown.com.au) Description: If fourteen-year-old Kirra is having a mid-life crisis now, then it doesn't bode well for her life expectancy. Her so-called friends bully her, whatever semblance of a mother she had has been drowned at the bottom of a gin bottle ever since her dad left them for another woman, and a teenage ghost is speaking to her through a broken phone booth. Kirra and the ghost make a pact. She'll prove who murdered him almost twenty years ago if he makes her popular, gets her parents back together, and promises not to haunt her. But things aren't so simple, and Kirra realises that people can be haunted in more ways than one. Praise for Yellow: “This story has such a generous heart. I loved it. Utterly unique and beautifully written.” – Kirsty Eagar “In her first novel, Megan Jacobson reveals herself to be a masterful storyteller . . . This is young-adult fiction at its best.” – Nick Earls Megan Jacobson grew up in Darwin and the far north coast of NSW but now lives in Sydney where she works in TV news production at the ABC. Her short stories have been published in the Sydney Morning Herald, aired on ABC radio, and appeared in the UTS writers' anthology I Can See My House from Here. Yellow is her first novel.

Middle-Grade Fiction

Middle Grade | 192 pp | September 2016

THE IMPOSSIBLE BOY Leonie Agnew Vincent is an imaginary friend who doesn't know he’s not real. Publisher: Penguin NZ|Paperback Rights available: World excl. NZ, Translation Agent: Pippa Masson (pippa@curtisbrown.com.au) Description: Benjamin Grey is an orphan. His closest companion is his imaginary friend, Vincent Gum. Nobody sees Vin cent Gum apart from Benjamin and Vincent knows he will die the second Benjamin stops believing in him. Set in a fictional, war-torn country, violence has erupted over disputed water rights and many ex-pat families (American and English) have been ripped apart. Vincent drags Benjamin into the Northern Children’s Shelter, but doesn’t plan on sticking around. He has bigger problems than babysitting a little kid. Vincent has no idea why he’s invisible and wants some answers. What he finds out at the Children’s Shelter is disturbing – he must act quickly and convince the other children he is real in order to save himself. Praise for The Impossible Boy: Winner of the 2015 David Fickling Books Master of the Inkpot Award. Leonie Agnew lives in Auckland, New Zealand. She is an award winning children's author, a former advertising copy writer, and currently moonlighting as a primary school teacher. Witnesses claim her defining characteristic is a tendency to make things up. This is called lying, unless you write it down. Then it is pleasantly referred to as being an author.

Middle Grade | 212 pp ea | May 2016

THE TREEHOUSE SERIES Andy Griffiths and Terry Denton Publisher: Pan Macmillan Australia|Paperback Rights available: Translation excl. German, Hungarian, Japanese, Vietnamese, Polish, Greek, Chinese, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish, Norwegian, Dutch, Italian, Hebrew, Farsi, Latvian, Korean Agent: Fiona Inglis (fiona@curtisbrown.com.au) Description: Who wouldn't want to live in a treehouse? Especially a multiplestorey treehouse that has a bowling alley, a see-through swimming pool, a tank full of sharks, a library full of comics, a secret underground laboratory, a games room, self-making beds, vines you can swing on, a vegetable vaporiser and a marshmallow machine that follows you around and automatically shoots your favourite flavoured marshmallows into your mouth whenever it discerns you're hungry. Anything can happen in a treehouse! Children's Book Council List of Notables 2016 Shortlisted for YABBA Awards 2016 Best-selling Book in Australia 2015: The 65 Storey Treehouse Andy Griffiths and Terry Denton are a creative partnership that began with Just Tricking! in 1997 extending to eight Just books and more than a million copies sold. Andy and Terry have won numerous kids choice awards and many of their titles are nominated every year.

Middle-Grade | 272 pp | September 2016

ESCAPE TO MOON ISLANDS Mardi McConnochie The first title in breathtaking new series: Quest of the Sunfish. Publisher: Allen & Unwin|Paperback Rights available: World (excl. ANZ), Translation Agent: Fiona Inglis (fiona@curtisbrown.com.au) Description: When Will and Annalieâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s father disappears, the two children and their friends, Essie and Pod, set out on a perilous sea voyage to try and find him. Their world has been transformed by the Flood, a catastrophic human-caused event which has permanently raised sea levels. The crew of the Sunfish discover a world of adventure on the high seas which will test their ingenuity, their sailing skills, and their friendship to the limits. During the voyage they face many hazards, from storms at sea to pirates, but the biggest threat of all comes from the Admiralty, the all-powerful navy that rules the oceans of the world. The Admiralty are supposed to be the good guys, but the deeper the children go into the Moon Islands, the more they realise that nothing is what it seems. Mardi McConnochie is the author of three previous novels: Coldwater, which was shortlisted for the Commonwealth Writer's Prize First Novel Award (Pacific region), The Snow Queen and Fivestar. She has also written two novels for younger readers, Melissa, Queen of Evil, winner of an Aurealis Award, and Dangerous Games. Her TV scriptwriting credits include Home and Away, McLeod's Daughters, Always Greener and Pacific Drive. She lives in Sydney with her partner, James Bradley, and their two daughters.

Middle Grade | 256 pp | April 2016

THE TURNERS Mick Elliott It’s Leo’s thirteenth birthday and he has just grown a tail. Publisher: Hachette|Paperback Rights available: World (excl. ANZ), Translation Agent: Fiona Inglis (fiona@curtisbrown.com.au) Description: Introducing the funniest Australian kids' author in years, with a tale of snake-skinned baddies, giant, flesh-eating pigs, genetically modified hamsters, car chases, and a main character who discovers that he is a shape-shifter on his birthday. You'd think that growing a tail in the middle of the school library would be the worst thing that could happen to you, but Leo is about to discover that things can always get worse – and a whole lot weirder. Now, as he discovers an unthinkable family secret, Leo must team up with his infuriating older sister to escape snake-skinned henchmen, ancient shapeshifters and a whispering villain determined to feed him to a pack of genetically engineered killer pigs – all while trying to control his new shapeshifting powers. Mick Elliott is a children's television producer, scriptwriter and animator. Since 2001 he has worked at Nickelodeon Australia, overseeing award-winning series for kids of all ages. His credits as producer include Camp Orange, Play Along with Ollie, Slimefest and hundreds of advertising campaigns. His work at Nickelodeon has won more than twenty international awards, while his animated short films have screened at over sixty festivals worldwide.

Middle Grade | 256 pp | April 2016

TENSY FARLOW Jen Storer Can this fiery orphan save the Home for Mislaid Children? Publisher: Penguin Random House|Paperback Rights available: World (excl. ANZ), Translation Agent: Clare Forster (claref@curtisbrown.com.au) Description: Dumped in the River Charon, hunted by an accursed river creature and betrayed by the wicked Matron Pluckrose, Tensy Farlow is in mortal danger. She has no parents. Worse still, she has no guardian angel. When she is thrown into the Home for Mislaid Children – a gloomy orphanage where ravens attack, Watchers hover over your bed, and even the angels cannot be trusted – it seems that all hope is lost. Yet could it be that a plucky, flame-haired orphan with a mysterious past is precisely what this dark world needs? Praise for Tensy Farlo: “deliciously menacing, deliciously funny . . . a glorious read.” – The Australian Bookseller’s Association Jen Storer is a full-time writer for young people. Her gothic fantasy novel, Tensy Farlow and the Home for Mislaid Children, was shortlisted for a string of awards including the Prime Minister's Literary Awards (Best Children's Fiction) and the Children’s Book Council of the Year Award. Her books include the classic fantasy Accidental Princess and the ‘Truly Tan’ series. Jen lives and works in Melbourne.

Middle-Grade | 160 pp | March 2017

ARTIE AND THE GRIME WAVE Richard Roxburgh How will Artie and Bumshoe solve this Grime scene? Publisher: Allen & Unwin|Paperback Rights available: World (excl. ANZ), Translation Agent: Grace Heifetz (grace@curtisbrown.com.au) Description: The story of Artie Small and his best mate, Bumshoe. Together they decide to unravel the mystery that is The Cave of Possibly Stolen Stuff and they go head-to-head with a villainous cast of characters including the awful band of robbers and Nate Mullet and his dastardly family. Along the way the boys get a little help from the wondrous Aunty Boy, her dog Macaroni and her bizarre inventory of weapon inventions, such as the Fartex 5000. Richard Roxburgh is an award-winning actor who has worked on stage and screen around the world. His screen credits include amongst others Moulin Rouge, Doing Time For Patsy Cline, Mission Impossible II, Oscar & Lucinda, and James Cameronâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s action adventure film Sanctum. Richardâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s directorial debut, Romulus, My Father, starred Eric Bana and drew critical acclaim when it was released in 2007. Artie And The Grime Wave is his first children's book.

Childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Fiction

Childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s | 48 pp | April 2016

MILO: A MOVING STORY Tohby Riddle Milo's life is almost entirely unremarkable. Until â&#x20AC;Ś Publisher: Allen & Unwin|Hard Cover Rights available: Translation Agent: Fiona Inglis (fiona@curtisbrown.com.au) Description: Milo's life is almost entirely unremarkable. He lives in a solid kennel in an okay part of town. Then Milo's life is turned upside down by an argument with his friend Snombo, followed by a strange wild storm that leaves him and his kennel in a precarious place. So begins Milo's surprisingly remarkable journey back to his friends. A warm and whimsical adventure by the acclaimed creator of My Uncle's Donkey and Nobody Owns the Moon. Tohby Riddle is a writer and illustrator based in Katoomba, NSW. He has created numerous award-winning picture books, two cartoon collections and a novel, and is the illustrator of the multi-award-winning Word Spy books on the English language. Recent books include the ambitious 128-page picture book Unforgotten, which has been published in five languages and The Greatest Gatsby: A Visual Book of Grammar. Tohby has won awards for both literature and book-design and has presented talks and workshops across Australia and overseas. Tohby loves words, images and combining the two to capture all kinds of ideas in his books.

Titles You May Have Missed

Memoir | 256 pp | June 2011

PIANO LESSONS Anna Goldsworthy 2010 Australian Book Industry Awards Winner Publisher: Black Inc.|Paperback Rights available: UK, Translation Agent: Clare Forster (claref@curtisbrown.com.au) Description: In this remarkable memoir, Anna Goldsworthy recalls her first steps towards a life in music, from childhood piano lessons with a local jazz muso to international success as a concert pianist. As she discovers passion and ambition she confronts doubt and disappointment. Goldsworthy captures the hopes and uncertainties of youth, the fear and exhilaration of performing, and the complex bonds between teacher and student. An unforgettable cast of characters joins her: her family; her friends and rivals; and her teacher, Mrs Sivan, who transforms what seems an impossible dream into something real and sustaining. Praise for Piano Lessons: “This impressive debut will surely mark Anna Goldsworthy's arrival as an Australian writer to be reckoned with.” – The Age Anna Goldsworthy is an award-winning writer and pianist. She has published two memoirs, Piano Lessons and Welcome to Your New Life, and is the author of the Quarterly Essay ‘Unfinished Business’. Anna is a founding member of Seraphim Trio, and former Artistic Director of the Port Fairy Spring Music Festival, cultural critic for The Monthly, Kenneth Moore Memorial Music Scholar at Janet Clarke Hall, and Research Fellow at the J.M. Coetzee Centre for Creative Practice at the University of Adelaide. She has toured Australia extensively with the successful stage show of Piano Lessons.

Non-Fiction | 656 pp | May 2012

THE OFFICE Gideon Haigh The office: itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the history of all of us. Publisher: Melbourne University Press|Paperback Rights available: World (excl. ANZ), Translation Agent: Clare Forster (claref@curtisbrown.com.au) Description: For many of us, it's where we spend more time and expend greater effort than anywhere else. Yet how many of us have stopped to think about why? In The Office: A Hardworking History, Gideon Haigh traces from origins among merchants and monks to the gleaming glass towers of New York and the space age sweatshops of Silicon Valley, finding an extraordinary legacy of invention and ingenuity, shaped by the telephone, the typewriter, the elevator, the email, the copier, the cubicle, the personal computer, the personal digital assistant. Amid the formality, restraint and order of office life, too, he discovers a world teeming with dramas great and small, of boredom , betrayal, distraction, discrimination, leisure and lust, meeting along the way such archetypes as the Whitehall mandarin, the Wall Street banker, the Dickensian clerk, the Japanese salaryman, the French bureaucrat and the Soviet official. Gideon Haigh is an award-winning business and sports writer and has been a journalist for almost thirty years. He has written thirty books and edited seven others. The Office won the NSW Premierâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Literary Awards Douglas Stewart Prize for Non-fiction.