UWA Publishing has acquired world rights to N. J. Madden’s literary fiction novel Laughing River which was shortlisted for the Dorothy Hewett Award in 2025.
Laughing River is a thrilling historical fiction novel about a boy who grows to become a feared bushranger, before going through a moral and spiritual crisis. Set against the pristine but violent backdrop of the goldrush era, it is a meditation on what becomes of individuals when they are held together only by an instinct to survive. Through its tightly controlled narration and subtle music, the novel, like its characters, is charged with a powerful reticence that gives each burst of violence or tenderness an almost mythic resonance.
Madden says: “For a long time, I’ve felt UWA Publishing would be the perfect home for my book and to be able to announce this acquisition means I can safely say this book has found where it belongs. It’s a remarkable privilege to be working with the supportive and generous UWAP team to help bring this story to life. UWAP has always championed meaningful and unique writers and to now count myself as a part of this incredible legacy is an honour I don’t take lightly.”
Kate Pickard, publisher of UWA Publishing, says: “Myself and my fellow judges for the 2025 Dorothy Hewett Award were captivated by N. J. Madden’s atmospheric historical road novel set in Victoria's goldrush when we first came across it and now it is my pleasure to be introducing readers to it in April next year.”
N. J. Madden is a Naarm-based writer. His debut novel, Laughing River, was shortlisted for the Dorothy Hewett Award as well as for the Unpublished Manuscript Award at the Victorian Premier's Literary Awards. Madden has been a featured artist at the Emerging Writers' Festival and was selected for the Wheeler Centre's Hot Desk Fellowship 2025, where he worked on his second novel.
Laughing River will be published by UWA Publishing in April 2027 with a national publicity campaign by Brendan Fredericks PR.
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