Author Q&A
In this series of Q&As, the Climate Fiction Prize talks to each of the shortlisted writers about all things climate, fiction and their inspiration.
- How would you summarise your book in one sentence?
Desperate twins pursue man-eating puma in distant, lonesome highlands.
- What inspired you to write this story?
Spending time in the Tasmanian wilderness, and encountering the damages wrought on it through invasion, experiments and industry.
- Did you set out to write a story about climate or did those themes develop through
the writing process?
They came out naturally, I think. I don’t try to imbue my work with messages or meaning — I just try and pack it with passion.
- What’s one book you think readers should pick up after they finish your novel?
The Bush, by Don Watson
- Is there a book (or film/TV series/play) that made you see the climate crisis differently?
The Peregrine, by J. A. Baker
- What would you say to a reader looking for a sense of hope in turbulent times?
I would encourage everyone to turn to the vibrancy of the natural world, and the communities they are a part of.
- How do you think storytelling can shape our response to the climate crisis and our sense of what future is possible?
Stories can reorient how we view reality, which can change what we believe, what we value, and how we behave, which — given how violently powerful our species has become — can change the planet.
- What’s the one piece of advice you would give to a writer facing a blank page?
Go walking in a place where you can’t see buildings or roads or streetlights.
- You’ve always written about nature with agency from the River God in Flames to the
titular Rain Heron and now in Dusk with a puma that’s literally out for blood. Why is it
important to you to return raging agency to nature and animal life – where it’s often
depicted in fiction as docile or in need of saving or taming?
Raging agency — I love that. Can I steal it? Essentially, I think the world is just as interesting and meaningful as the people in it. I hope that comes through in the work.