Discover the debut books of some of Australia’s bestselling authors

Before the bestsellers, the awards and the books we know and love, even the most celebrated authors started out as debut writers, putting their first book out into the world with little expectation, hoping it would find the right audience.

Sometimes, those first books offered an early glimpse of everything that would make an author famous. Other times, they were the beginning of a writing career that would grow and evolve. Either way, there’s something fascinating about going back to where it all started.

In the spirit of Fresh Voices, we’re looking back at the debuts of some of today’s most well-known and accomplished Australian authors. From first novels that became instant sensations to quieter beginnings you might not know about, discover the books that introduced these authors to readers for the very first time.

Richard Flanagan

Death of a River Guide

Richard Flanagan is one of Australia's greatest authors. He has won numerous literary awards and is the first and only author to have ever won both the Booker and the Baillie Gifford prizes. His debut novel, Death of a River Guide, was described by the Times Literary Supplement as ‘one of the most auspicious debuts in Australian writing’.

Flanagan's powerful novel shares the story of Aljaz Cosini, river guide, who lies drowning beneath a waterfall on the Franklin. Beset by visions at once horrible and fabulous, he relives not just his own life but that of his family and forebears. As the river rises, his visions grow more turbulent, and in the flood of his past Aljaz discovers the soul history of his country.

Anna Funder

Stasiland

Originally trained as an international human rights lawyer, Australian author Anna Funder started writing her debut novel, Stasiland, at twenty years old whilst living in then West Berlin. Praised for her beautiful writing and origionality, Funder won the UK’s premier award for non-fiction, the Samuel Johnson Prize (now Baillie Gifford Prize).

In this now classic work, Funder tells extraordinary stories from the most perfected surveillance state of all time, the former East Germany. She meets Miriam, condemned as an enemy of the state at sixteen, and Frau Paul, for whom the Berlin Wall ‘went through my heart’. And she meets ex-Stasi – men who spied on their families and friends – still loyal to the deposed regime as they await the next revolution.

Omar Musa

Here Come the Dogs

Omar Musa is a critically acclaimed Bornean-Australian author whose creative talents extend to visual art, rap and poetry. Originally from Queanbeyan, Musa was already an accomplished poet when he made his fiction debut, earning praise for his raw and poetic writing.

Here Come the Dogs follows three young men in small town suburbia, who are ready to make their mark. Solomon is all charisma, authority and charm, down for the moment but surely not out. His half-brother, Jimmy, bounces along in his wake, underestimated, waiting for his chance to announce himself. Aleks, their childhood friend, loves his mates, his family and his homeland, and would do anything for them. The question is, does he know where to draw the line?

Tim Winton

An Open Swimmer

Western Australian author Tim Winton needs little introduction. With thirty-two books to his name, four times Miles Franklin Award winner and two times Booker Prize nominee, he is undoubtably one of Australia's greatest writers. But it all began with An Open Swimmer, a debut novel that introduced the themes that remain central to his writing: coming of age, the weight of the past and our relationship with the natural world.

At the heart of the novel is Jerra, who sets off with his best mate Sean in a beaten-up old VW to go camping on the coast. Jerra’s friends and family want to know when he will finish university, find a girl and make his mark. But they don’t understand the marks he’s already made and those he wears in secret.

Steve Toltz

A Fraction of the Whole

Sydney-born author Steve Toltz made his literary debut with A Fraction of the Whole. Now featured as one of the Penguin Modern Australian Classics, the hilarious family saga was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize. The Sunday Telegraph described it as a 'gloriously absorbing, preposterous and funny excursion to the brink of madness and the meaning of life.'

The novel follows Jasper Dean as he recounts the unlikely story of his scheming father Martin, his crazy Uncle Terry and how the three of them upset - mostly unintentionally - an entire continent. Incorporating death, parenting (good and bad kinds), one labyrinth, first love, a handbook for criminals, a scheme to make everyone rich and an explosive suggestion box, 

Monica McInerney

A Taste for It

Now one of Australia's most-loved authors, Monica McInerney is the author of thirteen internationally bestselling books for adults and one children's book. Her first novel is set in Ireland and Australia and is a warm, funny story about following your heart and pursuing your dreams.

Maura Carmody's off on the trip of a lifetime. A talented chef, she's travelling around Ireland for a month to promote Australian food and wine. She's expecting a straightforward business trip. But what she gets is a whirlwind of mishaps, misunderstandings, rivals and revelations – and Dominic Hanrahan, who's giving her plenty of food for thought.

Bryce Courtenay

The Power of One

The Power of One is the debut novel of the multimillion-copy bestselling author, Bryce Courtenay. It follows Peekay, a seven-year-old boy who dreams of being the welterweight champion of the world. Born in a South Africa divided by racism and hatred, this one small boy will come to lead all the tribes of Africa. Through enduring friendships with Hymie and Gideon, Peekay gains the strength he needs to win out. And in a final conflict with his childhood enemy, the Judge, Peekay will fight to the death for justice.

Candice Fox

Hades

Candice Fox is the author of twelve crime novels and the winner of three prestigious Ned Kelly Awards, including for her first novel, Hades. The first in the Archer and Bennett trilogy, Hades introduces us to homicide detective Frank Bennett and his new partner, the dark and beautiful Eden Archer.

But there’s something strange about Eden and her brother. Something Bennett can’t quite put his finger on. At first, as they race to catch a very different kind of serial killer, his partner’s sharp instincts come in handy. But soon Frank’s wondering if she’s as dangerous as the man they hunt . . .

Benjamin Stevenson

Greenlight

Award-winning Australian stand-up comedian and bestselling author, Benjamin Stevenson is perhaps best known for the ingenious and hilarious Ernest Cunningham Mysteries series. But before Cunningham was turning the rules of crime fiction on their head, there was Greenlight, a similarly fresh and self-aware take on the genre.

In his debut novel, Stevenson follows true-crime documentary maker Jack Quick, whose new series argues that Curtis Wade has been wrongly convicted of murder. But when Jack uncovers evidence that may prove Wade guilty after all, he covers it up, and Wade is released. Then a new victim is found bearing similarities to the original murder. Has Jack just helped a killer walk free?

Peter Carey

The Fat Man in History and Other Stories

After thirteen years of writing alongside his full-time job, Peter Carey published his first short story collection, The Fat Man in History and Other Stories, in 1974. The book was a huge success, launching a celebrated literary career that has since earned him two Booker Prizes, two Commonwealth Writers' Prizes and three Miles Franklin Literary Awards.

The Fat Man in History is a collection of bizarre, brilliant and chilling short stories, which play with intriguing what-ifs and explore questions of power. The title story wonders how, if some post-Marxist utopia were to declare obesity counter-revolutionary, a household of fat men would strike back.

Tom Keneally

The Place at Whitton

Tom Keneally is a Australian literary legend and Living Treasure. He has published more than thirty-five novels, eighteen non-fiction works and several plays. He has won the Miles Franklin Award, the Booker Prize and the Mondello International Prize.

Published after his time in a seminary, Keneally's first novel, The Place at Whitton, is a psychological mystery about a man found brutally murdered in Whitton's monastery. A nightmare begins as another brazen killing follows. Then, into the whirlpool of fear and violence, steps a cold and steely young woman who, it seems, has a very specific use for a priest gone bad . . .

Melina Marchetta

Looking for Alibrandi

With eighteen books spanning young adult fiction, fantasy, contemporary fiction, crime and stories for younger readers, Australian author Melina Marchetta is a writer of impressive range and versatility. Her debut novel, Looking for AlibrandiI, swept the pool of literary awards when it was published and is now featured as one of the Penguin Modern Australian Classics.

In Looking for Alibrandi, seventeen year old Josephine Alibrandi is in her final year at a wealthy girls' school. This is the year she meets her father, the year she falls in love and the year she discovers family secrets that will finally set her free. It's a moving and revealing book, unusual for its honesty and its insight into the life of a young person on the brink of adulthood.

Amanda Hampson

The Olive Sisters

Melbourne-based author Amanda Hampson has been writing professionally for more than thirty years. Her first novel, The Olive Sisters, deliciously blends old loves, new loves, warm toast and rich traditions in an absorbing story.

When Adrienne's marketing company goes down, her lifestyle does too. She retreats from the city to the beautiful, abandoned olive grove once owned by her Italian grandparents. A 'tree change' isn't what Adrienne has in mind, however, and life in the country delivers some surprises as she confronts the past and learns the secrets of the Olive Sisters . . .

Fiona McIntosh

Betrayal

Fiona McIntosh is an internationally and million-copy bestselling author of novels for adults and children across several genres. While many know Fiona for her highly successful historical fiction titles, her debut novel is the first in the epic fantasy adventure trilogy: The Trinity Series. 

Betrayal takes readers to the land of Tallinor, where a dark legend tells of a powerful sentient who almost destroyed the entire land. Now, centuries later, any sentient who is discovered is executed. But in a village far from the royal city, a young scribe, Torkyn Gynt, blazes with undetected power and healing abilities.