Sam’s novel win

Congratulations to Sam Carmody for winning this year’s Readings Prize for New Australian Fiction for his first novel, The Windy Season. The prize is open to to first and second novels.

The prize is run by the Melbourne bookshops and Sam receives $3000.

Guest judge Christos Tsiolkas said that Carmody’s writing had clarity, economy and precision. “The Windy Season is a very impressive achievement.”

Reviewing the novel in the Fairfax books pages, Emma Young described The Windy Season as “an insightful debut from an author whose fascination with the darker side of things is put to good use … Carmody has produced an impressive Australian narrative that satisfies its ambitions with confidence.”

The book is set in a fishing town in WA where the protagonist Paul moves after his brother has disappeared. Paul follows in his footsteps and takes a job on the same fishing boat in an attempt to establish what happened to his brother in a town that seems full of menace.

Sam teaches the the Diploma in Creative and Indigenous Writing at Batchelor Institute.  The course provides students with the opportunity to develop writing skills in a variety of genres, and establish a firm knowledge base for the strengthening of Indigenous culture through an understanding of Indigenous and non-Indigenous writing traditions.

For more information on the Creative and Indigenous Writing course visit – go.batchelor.edu.au/creative-writing