At the 2022 Great Big Book Club held at Success Library with Fremantle Press, historical fiction authors David Whish-Wilson, Sharron Booth and Portland Jones made the writing process sound equal parts challenging and rewarding. Moderator and author Brooke Dunnell kicked off the discussion by having each author introduce their book. Despite their vastly different plots […]

People ask me: Where do your ideas come from?  Each of my books has a different genesis, but often the starting point is me saying,`I want to write a story that does X’.  Sometimes the inspiration is no more than an image or scene that sparks in my brain. Or it might be a big […]

Events

A Shot in the Dark: Karen Herbert

   September 1, 2022
   6.00pm—7.00pm
   Online

Cosy up with a cuppa and catch the second instalment of this year’s A Shot in the Dark series with Karen Herbert and Dani Vee from the Words and Nerds podcast. The pair will be chatting about Karen’s second novel, The Cast Aways of Harewood Hall.

Nadia Rhook is a historian and poet, born in Naarm / Melbourne and currently living in Boorloo / Perth. Her new poetry collection examines birth and parenthood with a consciousness that spans centuries. Second Fleet Baby draws on the energies of 18th century English convict women, including her own ancestors, to open raw questions of […]

Fremantle Press is proud to announce that we’ve committed to becoming carbon neutral. Over the last few months, I’ve had the pleasure of working with Carbon Neutral on behalf of The Press to take the steps to becoming Green. Taking action to help the environment is one of the most important things humans can do […]

Andrew Sutherland’s brilliant debut book examines Queer and HIV-positive identity from the point of diagnosis to the point of openness, resilience and transformation. In this piece Andrew reflects on writing the collection. The Events Here is a poem, failed or unfinished: I was in the waiting room of a clinic in Boat Quay, Singapore. It […]

Bron Bateman’s latest collection of poems, Blue Wren, is structured around a suite of Frida Kahlo paintings that provide a powerful way of healing, of reclaiming the past and of embracing the beauty of now. But in this article, Bron shares how the collection might never have been without some key advice from a friend. […]

Co-curated with Get YA Words Out and edited by Seth Malacari, Fremantle Press is seeking stories from the LGBTIQA+ community for an anthology of YA literature to be published in 2023. This is a chance for around 20 new and emerging LGBTIQA+ writers, who have not yet had a full-length novel traditionally published, to share […]

Events

A Shot in the Dark: Dave Warner

   August 25, 2022
   3.00pm—4.00pm
   Online

Get ready for a thrilling discussion between Dave Warner and Craig Kirchner from Abbey’s Bookshop as they talk about Dave’s new book, After the Flood, part of this year’s A Shot in the Dark series.

It is with much sadness that Fremantle Press acknowledges the passing of Binjarib Nyoongar woman Louise K. Hansen. Her memoir, Smashing Serendipity: The Story of One Mooorditj Yorga will be published with Fremantle Press in February 2023. In what turned out to be the final week of her life, Louise signed off on her book […]

Events

A Shot in the Dark: Wendy Davis

   September 12, 2022
   6.00pm—7.00pm
   Facebook Live

Join us for this special Facebook Live event as Wendy Davis speaks with Tim Clarke from The West Australian about her memoir, Don’t Make a Fuss: It’s Only the Claremont Serial Killer, Monday 12 September, 6 pm AWST.

Award-winning author Dave Warner is heading to west this September to celebrate the release of his new novel, After the Flood, as part of his Never A Dull Moment tour.

It’s 17 years since Dianne Wolfer and Brian Harrison-Lever’s award-winning and acclaimed picture book for older readers was released. And it’s 80 years since the Kokoda Track battles it depicts took place. Published on 30 July 2005 and set in 1942, Photographs in the Mud is told from the point of view of two soldiers, […]

My omnibus (best word ever), The Vexatious Haunting of Lily Griffin grew out of my first middle reader novel Lily in the Mirror (CBCA Notable 2017 – just saying). Lily is a character that appeared one day and spoke to me, I felt like she was whispering in my ear. Don’t judge. Then she wrapped […]

Patsy Millett, the author of Inseparable Elements: Dame Mary Durack was the guest speaker at the Perth/Crawley Rotary Club on the occasion of World Polio Day 2022. Her sister, Robin Miller, is celebrated as a pioneer of delivering Polio vaccine to remote communities, saving countless lives. This is Patsy’s speech:

Writer and two-time Miles Franklin Literary Award winner Professor Kim Scott from the Faculty of Humanities at Curtin University has been awarded the title John Curtin Distinguished Professor. Introduced in 2005, the title is for exceptional teaching and research skills, or scholarly, creative or artistic achievements. In a media release on the Curtin University website, […]

Fremantle Press is proud to announce that cultural leader and entrepreneur Barry McGuire has agreed to become the Fremantle Press patron. The highly acclaimed visual artist and cultural advisor was appointed on Tuesday 14 June 2022. Barry said he was looking forward to helping Fremantle Press further expand its profile, and that his aim and […]

Nandi Chinna has won the Western Australian Writer’s Fellowship as part of the Western Australian Premier’s Prize.

Jane Fraser has resigned as CEO of Fremantle Press after 15 years at the helm. Describing her time at the Press as the highlight of her 35+ years in publishing, Jane said, ‘If ever there was a right time to leave, this is it – I have every confidence that the Press is in the […]

Twelve Fremantle Press writers have been shortlisted in the 2021 WA Premier’s Book Awards across four categories; three authors have made it onto the Speech Pathology Award Shortlist and two are shortlisted in the Comic Arts Awards of Australia 2021 WA Premier’s Book Awards In the emerging writers category, the novels Eye of a Rook […]

I am not a reluctant reader. Quite the opposite, in fact. For as long as I can remember, given the choice between just about anything and a good book, the pages always win. And yet somehow I write books that engage reluctant readers. I didn’t set out to do this – I didn’t even realise […]

Synchronicity – it’s a ‘thing’ for many authors. During the research and writing of each story in my historical ‘Light’ series I’ve experienced delightfully unnerving coincidences, making me wonder how books come about. Do I choose the story or does the story choose me? In the case of The Last Light Horse, perhaps it’s the […]

Australian animals are unique and interesting in so many ways. Sadly, many are endangered, yet people know little about them. Here are some interesting facts about the animals that appear in my picture book Where Do the Stars Go? I hope these lists give you lots to talk about when you read my book. Brushtail […]

Chosen as Apple’s Book of the Month in April, one reviewer described Brigid’s book, A Year of Loving Kindness to Myself, and Other Essays, as ‘an exquisitely unembellished Zen lesson in the art of attention’. As Brigid explains below, cultivating that attention can be a key source of inspiration for students in creative writing. Lists […]