How the Whirlpool Got Its Spin

In the High and Far-Off Times, O Best Beloved, the Publisher had no stories. But she had a friend, a Literary Agent. And so that was all right, Best Beloved. Do you see?

Sometimes, publishing is like trying to find your true love at a bar in the CBD on a Friday night. There are a lot of fish in the sea, and not all of them are going to *ahem* meet your exacting criteria. So, to narrow the field and increase their chances of finding their one true love/the perfect book, publishers often look to a matchmaker - otherwise known as a literary agent.

Agents know their clients' work, obviously, but one of their other great skills is building deep and lasting relationships with publishers and editors, and knowing exactly which book and author might suit which publisher. If a literary agent you trust sets you up, chances are you'll be going home together.*

Publisher Anna McFarlane remembers one such match-made-in-heaven:

My first day at Allen & Unwin was 20 July 2010. And while I was excited, I was also discombobulated. I had a desk, a print-out of procedures, a phone, a wall of bookshelves without any books in it, and an email address (although only one email -- the subject being 'Testing your email'). I was a blank slate and even though I was happy, Bad Thoughts were starting to pop into my head. Was this the right thing to be doing? Could I still publish books? Would I ever fall in love with a manuscript again? It was all rather nerve-wracking.

But at 1:40pm on that very first day, I received my (second ever) email, subject: 'New Book'.

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Hello Anna

Welcome to your new home!! I know that today is your first day and you probably haven't even found the mail room yet (first door on the left) but wanted this to be the first thing I send you.

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It was from Curtis Brown agent and MD Fiona Inglis and the 'this' was a new novel by the award-winning writer Andrew McGahan. Rather surprisingly to all involved (even him), Andrew had written a young-adult novel set on the high seas in a strange-but-familiar world. Luckily, I was able to read it straight away (empty inbox, after all) and very quickly I was captivated by the Great Ocean and the splendor of those tall ships, and longed to read more about Dow's journey from timber cutter to great mariner.

Reading the manuscript was a beautiful experience, not just because I was being transported by the story to a world of wild storms, terrible beauty and that dangerous and mysterious ocean, but also because those Bad Thoughts had disappeared.

It was day one and I had fallen in love with a manuscript. I desperately wanted to publish it. And (ironically if you know the story, which questions the very concept of destiny, and challenges the idea of portents and superstitions) it was also a sign that this was indeed the right thing to be doing.

And there you have it. True love fostered, fears allayed and zeal renewed, all without Anna needing to leave her shiny** new desk.

Thank you, Fiona - and thank you to all the other agents who help us to find stories we love and authors we adore.

* Metaphorically. METAPHORICALLY.

** Metaphorically. This is publishing, after all.

'As is a tale, so is life: not how long it is, but how good it is, is what matters.'*

Tomorrow was her birthday. She would be sixteen years old and full grown - and finally able to do whatever she liked. Susan's impatience ignited again. All day it had been growing in her, like an ache. She'd hurried carelessly through her chores - the washing of the sheets and the scrubbing of the floors - until at last, while her mother's back was turned, she'd slipped off without permission before fault could be found, or more work assigned. She'd felt so hot and flushed by then that it was almost as if she was coming down with a fever. That was why she'd come climbing up to the top of East Head on such a bleak and rain-threatened evening. She needed fresh air. And yet it hadn't really helped. The salt wind had cleared her head a little, but there was still a strange and unsettling quiver that pulsed in her limbs...

This is an excerpt from a short story.

An excerpt from a rattling good short story by Andrew McGahan.

A short story by Andrew McGahan that you can read, in it's entirety, entirely for free.

And the title of the short story is...

The Blinding of Mother Gale 

We'll lay good money that the title alone will send chills down the spine of anyone who has read Ship Kings book 1: The Coming of the Whirlpool. And the story will intrigue and delight everyone else.

Read 'The Blinding of Mother Gale' if you loved The Coming of the Whirlpool.
Read it if you've never heard of The Coming of the Whirlpool.
Read it if you're a fan of Andrew McGahan, or a fan of short stories, or you're casting about for something to transport you from your Friday afternoon.

But do read it, because it's wonderful and intense and heartbreaking and fierce.

The Ship Kings website  is full of other exciting bits and pieces, too, like Andrew's Author's Log , and a sneak preview of the gorgeous maps from Ship Kings Book 2: The Voyage of the Unquiet Ice.

And you know where else you can get a look at those maps? IN THE BOOK! Which is in shops TODAY! 

Look at it! Is it not beautiful beyond measure? And inside?

Well... inside...

• What happens after the Chloe sails out of the Claw, taking Dow far from everything he has ever known?
• What secrets will Dow discover at the top of the world, in the realms of the Unquiet Ice?
• How will he deal in the treacherous world of the Ship Kings?
• And what of Nell, the strange and magnetic scapegoat girl?  Will fate bring her and Dow together or pull them apart?

Oh good lord - it's just so good. READ ALL THE THINGS. READ THEM NOW.

And then have a lovely Melbourne Cup weekend.** 





* -- Seneca
** If you're in Melbourne, that is. If you're not in Melbourne, well, sorry about that; carry on as best you can.

Inky Awards Long Lists

Melbourne in winter. The sky is grey. The temperature has risen three whole degrees since the overnight low. There is rain on the radar.* 

So, inside the House, the winter woollies are getting a good work out and we are huddled around our heaters. But do not despair, we Onions are not nearly as gloomy as the weather. We are positively glowing with delight because the Inky Long List has been announced and we have NEWS to TRUMPET!

Long-listed for the Gold Inky (Australian titles)

 

Sea Hearts by Margo Lanagan

 

The Coming of the Whirlpool by Andrew McGahan 

 

Long Listed for the Silver Inky (International titles)

Storm by Brigid Kemmerer

Many HOORAYS for Margo!

Many HOORAYS for Andrew!

Many HOORAYS for Brigid!

We congratulate all the authors on the Gold & Silver Long Lists, and now we shall quietly cross all of our fingers and all of our toes for the Short List announcement on 27 August.

*We even saw one of Inky's relatives all rugged up when we braved the cold outdoors to fetch some hot coffee.

Introducing... Andrew McGahan!

No, that's not a mistake.

Andrew McGahan.

Yes, the Andrew McGahan.

The Miles Franklin-winning Andrew McGahan.

The Miles Franklin-winning Andrew McGahan, famous for such beloved books as Praise, The White Earth and Wonders of A Godless World.

Why, you ask, are we introducing him to you if:

A) clearly everyone knows him already, and

B) he writes books for adults anyway.

Why?

WHY?

Because Andrew has written a book for young people and...

It.

Is.

Awesome.

It is awesome, and we are publishing it.

It is awesome, we are publishing it, and we are so excited we have developed an irritating rhetorical tick of repeating ourselves for emphasis, because did we mention IT IS FREAKING AWESOME.

The Coming of the Whirlpoool

Last of the Ship Kings, Book 1*

It is not drowning your mother fears. What she truly dreads is that if you go to sea then you will come to the attention of the Ship Kings. And that if they discover who you are, they will kill you.

Young Dow Amber is no sailor. But driven by a strange sea-longing he ventures down to a grim fishing village on the shores of the bay known as the Claw. There he finds the people living in dread not only of the mysterious Ship Kings that rule their country, but also of the fury of the ocean itself. And when the Ship Kings sail their tall ships into the Claw, Dow's forbidden longing only grows.

Who are the Ship Kings? Who is the strange and fascinating girl who lives aboard one of their ships? And when the whirlpool rises, will the call of the sea lead Dow to his heart's desire or to certain death?

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There is intrigue and adventure, capture and escape, destiny and desire. Andrew's writing sings with the wind in the rigging and thrums with the rush of water under the bow...

You will love Dow - but not without complication.

You will believe utterly in his world - but you won't be sure you want to live there.

You will taste the salt spray and feel the wind on your cheek.

But above all you will fear the coming of the whirlpool...

What's that you say? You want to see the cover? Well, to be honest, we're not sure if you're ready; we're not sure if you can handle the awesome.

So here is the bottom left corner.

Not enough? You want more? You think you can handle more?

Well...

We'll think about it...

In the meantime, here is Andrew himself, signing proof copies in the House.

The proof copies are very pretty.**

And the real book is going to be a gorgeous little hardback*** with beautiful endpapers, and little illustrations - an all round fabulous object.

You know what, they're going to look so good we might not let them actually leave the warehouse. We might just cancel all those bookshops' orders and go out to Scoresby and roll around in the gorgeousness.

But no, that wouldn't be fair. We must be unselfish. We will generously share The Coming of the Whirlpool with you because it is just too good to keep for ourselves.

And in that spirit...

So, Andrew... although as a favourite son of The Mothership you need no introduction, we're dipping the ensign; we're stringing bunting between the masts; we're hanging all the shields over the side to welcome you to the House of Onion.

* Okay, we lied. Andrew hasn't written just one book for young people - he is writing a FOUR-BOOK series. We wanted to break it to you gently so you didn't expire on the spot. Breathe. Breathe. You'll get through this. One AWESOME book at a time.

** As is Andrew, obviously.

*** Clearly it needed to be a hardback to contain the awesome.

Wonders of a Godless World

This just in from The Mothership:




Isn't it beautiful? It has such a strong mood and it's very intriguing. We are all intrigued.

The animation is by James Gulliver Hancock, who also designed the gorgeous book jacket and composed the music in the clip. Clever fellow.

Wonders of A Godless World by Andrew McGahan is out in the world in October.
And well... would you look at that... October is tomorrow! Hurrah!

Good work, Sydney Onions!