I’m doing a few appearances in NSW and the NSW-enclave of Canberra, as well as in Melbourne, over the next month or so. Canberra Writers Festival – Saturday 26 August You’ll never guess who I’m appearing with at Canberra Writers Festival… James Bradley and I will be talking with Dr Martha Sear, Head Curator at […]

I have a new story in Review of Australian Fiction. It’s called Amy’s twin and it’s a kind of prequel to my novella, Formaldehyde. Review of Australian Fiction publishes two stories every two weeks in e-book form. My story is paired with Wayne Marshall’s The Magicians, which is a strange and funny book. These two stories are Volume 1 […]

This is our last post for ‘What to expect when you’re expecting a book’, and we thought we’d finish up with an ode to the thing that brought Annabel and me together: social media. Thanks for having us, and look out for a new series Annabel is going to run about how to make money […]

EOFY. What a ridiculous acronym. I reckon I saw it around for at least two years before I figured out what it actually stood for. Anyway, happy new year financial planners and accountants: let’s tell the story of my reading so far this year IN NUMBERS! Books started: 55 Books finished: 47 Books given up […]

Annabel Smith and I are writing a series on what to expect when your first book comes out – all those questions you’re too embarrassed to ask your publisher, answered here! Part 6 is about feelings. Of course you’re going to be happy about your book getting published, but did you know you might also […]

I’m doing a few appearances over the next couple of months. Here are the details: I’m chairing a panel on emerging when old, at Willy Lit Fest (Williamstown) on Saturday 17 June. The blurb says, “It’s never too late to debut. While many people think ‘young writer’ when they hear ’emerging writer’, Jenny Ackland, Christy […]

There are dozens of writers festivals around Australia. In addition to the major festivals in Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide, Perth and Brisbane, there are smaller regional festivals all over the place, as well as specialist festivals such as Emerging Writers Festival, Digital Writers festival and so on. In all likelihood, your publisher will pitch you to […]

Annabel Smith and I are writing a series on what to expect when your first book comes out – all those questions you’re too embarrassed to ask your publisher, answered here! Part 4 is about entering prizes. Is it even possible for a debut novel to win a prize? How do you know which prizes to […]

What a big weekend my small book had over Easter, with reviews in the Fairfax papers (SMH/Age/Canberra Times) and the Weekend Australian. Adam Rivett at Fairfax said “[the limits of genre] make Jane Rawson’s new novel all the more striking – two paths are likewise drawn, yet the fences that might divide them do not hold. Instead, […]

An offer to an author from a publishing house consists of two key elements: first, the advance on royalties they’re prepared to pay you, and second, their marketing plan. It is easy to focus on the money, but the marketing and publicity is arguably just as—if not more—important. In theory, pre-release publicity begets buzz which […]

Annabel Smith and I are writing a series on what to expect when your first book comes out – all those questions you’re too embarrassed to ask your publisher, answered here! Part 2 is about the launch. Will your publisher throw you one? Do you even need one? What’s it going to cost and will […]

I’m just going to put these here so I can find them later…. Over the past couple of weeks, From the wreck has been reviewed in: Australian Book Review – Fiona Wright said it was ‘a deeply ecological novel…fascinating for its hybridity, its willingness to bend and blend genres – as well as perspectives and worlds. […]

So your first book has been accepted for publication: congratulations! You’ve been through edits, the cover is chosen, and it’s about to go off to the printers. In the next few months your face will be all over television and you’ll be getting daily bank deposits of thousands of dollars. Right? Maybe not. All authors’ […]

I’ve done a few interviews over the past couple of weeks. ‘Published or not’ on Melbourne radio station 3CR had a chat with me about the metaphysics of From the wreck – it was the first time I’d heard someone else read the book out loud, and it sounded great! Annabel Smith asked me about […]

Happy International Women’s Day! As part of a (one-year-old) tradition, I’m listing my favourite feminist books since last International Women’s Day. Since March 8 last year I’ve read about 90 books, and around 55 of those were by women. Below are eight of my faves (in line with it being March 8), with links to […]

Today is From the Wreck’s first official day of life. I’ve already seen it out in the wild – at Melbourne bookshops Paperback Bookstore, Readings in Carlton, Hill of Content and Dymocks on Collins Street – and I’ve heard rumours of it from Better Read than Dead in Sydney and Avid Reader in Brisbane. It’s […]

If you’d love to read From the Wreck but would really rather not pay for it (the cost of books these days!), then why not enter this Goodreads giveaway to win a free copy? There’s no cost to enter.

Yesterday I did my first interview for From the Wreck, with Elizabeth and Lou from 3RRR’s ‘Multi Storied’. It was a great little chat. If you’d like to have a listen, you can go to 3RRR’s Radio On Demand.

From the Wreck is officially out on 1 March (though I suspect its little face will appear in your local bookshop before that). But if you’re in Melbourne, come along to the launch, which is not until March 21. Details are here.

This year I started 90 books (this fact is untrue. For example, last night I started two books and stopped them within three chapters. I didn’t add them to this count. And I bet I read a couple more books before the end of the year) and finished 84 of them. Here is a picture […]