Acknowledgements

While The Strays was inspired by stories of the Melbourne art world in the 1930s and 1940s, and contains references to certain historical events and people, it is a work of fiction and none of the main characters are based on real people.

This novel started its life as one half of a Creative Writing PhD, and I’m sure it would have stalled somewhere along the way without the support, generosity and encouragement of my supervisor, Professor Kevin Brophy, and without the financial support of an Australian Postgraduate Award and a Henry James Williams Scholarship from the University of Melbourne. Many thanks to my co-supervisors, Dr Elizabeth MacFarlane and Dr Amanda Johnson, and to the other members of the Creative Writing faculty.

I am also extremely grateful for fellowships from Writers Victoria and Varuna, which provided chunks of time devoted to writing, in beautiful settings, and for the opportunities provided by the University of Melbourne Penguin Manuscript Prize and the Victorian Premier’s Literary Award for an Unpublished Manuscript, for which The Strays was shortlisted in 2013.

Huge thanks to Affirm Press, particularly Aviva Tuffield, Martin Hughes and Keiran Rogers, for taking me on and making me feel so welcome. Special thanks to Aviva, who has been a joy to work with – enthusiastic, insightful, exacting and untiring. Thank you to my agent, Clare Forster of Curtis Brown, for making it all happen.

I have been extremely privileged to come into contact with so many wise and inspiring writers over the course of writing this novel, many of whom have shared their knowledge and experience with incredible generosity. Thank you in particular to Michael Gawenda, Helen Garner, Kalinda Ashton, Tony Birch, Antoni Jach, Helen Elliott and Claire Thomas.

I feel very lucky to be part of a supportive and exciting community of writers, who I have met through the Creative Writing program at the University of Melbourne, as well as through Antithesis, workshops, residencies, masterclasses, festivals, journals and around the traps. There are too many to name, but I thank you all – you are the fun part! Special thanks to the Masterclass gang for all their valuable insight and encouragement.

Thank you to my dear family – Mum and Alan, Dad and Sandra, Andrew and Nat, Annie and Elwyn – for your love and support. And to my amazing friends, especially Ali, Joh, Sarah and Jack – all incredible women.

Last but most, thank you to Hootan for supporting and nurturing me in every possible way, and for making me laugh at the end of almost every day.

This book is for Claire G., my first and oldest friend, for my ant Annie, who taught me to love art, and for Mum, who taught me to love books and language, and many other things besides.