Lofty Enjoying The Sunshine!

I am proud to be part of Australasia’s small but close-knit community of rural fiction writers. We are in turn supported by many loyal, generous and enthusiastic readers –readers who can’t seem to get enough stories set in regional Australia & NZ. Lucky for us!

In an uncertain and rapidly changing publishing landscape, Aussie & NZ rural authors are shining stars. We’ve been regularly outselling other genres for years, and this popularity shows no sign of waning. You might think this would lead to robust competition between us – it does in some other genres. However far from being rivals, we are friends who help each other extend the popularity of our writing.

A win for one is a win for all! The website Australian & NZ Rural Fiction demonstrates this principle, as it is built and run cooperatively by the authors themselves.

Another wonderful thing about Aussie & NZ rural fiction is that so many of our authors are women (apologies to Greg Barron and Peter Watt!) Gender parity has been slow in coming to the literary world. The UK’s prestigious Women’s Prize For Fiction and Australia’s own Stella Prize are attempts to redress this inbalance. But our own genre transcended this boundary long ago. Aussie rural literature written by women is not new. Quite the contrary, it’s steeped in history. From Henry Handel Richardson’s (yes she’s a woman) Fortunes Of Richard Mahoney, Nancy Cato’s All The Rivers Run through to Colleen McCullough’s Thorn Birds, the drama, difficulties and romance of the bush has long been the stuff of great narrative tales. And the tradition continues!

In celebration of this proud tradition I will be showcasing Australian & New Zealand rural writers on my blog each week. I hope this helps new readers discover the richness and variety of our hugely entertaining and home-grown genre 🙂 

Congratulations to the winners of last month’s prize draw! I shall be emailing you shortly.