Books falling into the genre of contemporary women’s fiction generally raise issues that are relevant to a modern female audience, including work/life balance, relationships, women pursuing careers or creative goals, fashion, travel, family issues and a search for identity. The books can be humorous and light-hearted at times and are entertaining to read. The storyline is largely character driven, generally ranging beyond a basic romance scenario to include a more diverse range of plotlines and themes.
There are many Australian authors putting Australian settings and characters on the global literary map in a variety of genres and writing styles. The following authors are a selection of Australian women currently writing in the contemporary women’s fiction genre.
Fran Cusworth
Melbourne-based journalist and writer Fran Cusworth has published two novels, The Love Child (Penguin, 2006) and Hopetoun Wives (Penguin, 2009). The latter is set in the Western Australian mining town of Hopetoun and is a fascinating look into the influence of a mining boom on a small town community and on the relationships of three very different women.
Lisa Heidke
Lisa Heidke has a background in book and magazine publishing and currently lives in Sydney. She is the author of three novels, Lucy Springer Gets Even (Allen & Unwin, 2009), What Kate Did Next (Allen & Unwin, 2010) and Claudia’s Big Break (Allen & Unwin, 2011). Heidke’s novels combine the humour of everyday life with characters dealing with career, family and relationship issues .
Anita Heiss
A poet, academic, social commentator, lecturer and writer of both fiction and non-fiction, Dr Anita Heiss is an Indigenous Literacy Day ambassador and member of the Wiradjuri nation of central New South Wales. She has recently released her fourth contemporary women’s fiction novel Paris Dreaming (Random House, 2011). Her previous titles in this genre include Manhattan Dreaming (Random House, 2011), Avoiding Mr Right (Random House, 2008) and Not Meeting Mr Right (Random House, 2007).
Melanie La'Brooy
Melanie La'Brooy worked for several years at Christie's art auction house in Sydney and Melbourne, where she trained as a specialist in Australian paintings. She is now a full time writer, usually living in Melbourne but currently residing in South Africa. La'Brooy is the author of five novels: Love Struck (Penguin, 2003), The Wish List (Penguin, 2004), Serendipity (Penguin, 2008), The Babymoon (PEnguin, 2008) and Bittersweet (Penguin, 2010).
Kylie Ladd
Kylie Ladd is a novelist and freelance writer living in Melbourne. She also holds a PhD in neuropsychology. Her first novel After the Fall is a fascinating story of the consequences of marital infidelity. Her second novel, Last Summer, is due to be released in July 2011.
Fleur McDonald
Fleur McDonald grew up in mid-northern South Australia and now lives on 8,ooo acres east of Esperance, Western Australia. Her knowledge of Australia’s remote rural lifestyle comes through clearly in her novels, Red Dust (Allen & Unwin, 2009) and Blue Skies (Allen & Unwin, 2010), both set in the Australian outback and exploring the challenges of living and working in this remote environment. Her third novel, Purple Roads, is due for release in March 2012.
Liane Moriarty
Liane Moriarty lives in Sydney and is the author of three contemporary women’s fiction novels in addition to a series of children’s fiction novels under the name L. M. Moriarty. She describes her novels as ‘often funny, sometimes sad, stories about families and relationships and the extraordinary lives of ordinary people’. Her novels include Three Wishes (Pan Macmillan, 2004), The Last Anniversary (Pan Macmillan, 2006) and What Alice Forgot (Pan MacMillan, 2009). The film rights to What Alice Forgot have recently sold to Fox 2000.
Benison O’Reilly
Benison Anne O’Reilly lives in Sydney and is a passionate writer and speaker on the subject of Austism Spectrum Disorder. Her first novel, Happily Ever After? (Jane Curry Publishing, 2010) follows heroine Ellie Cooper as she discovers that a fairy tale romance doesn’t guarantee a fairy tale life.
Jessica Rudd
Born in Canberra and raised in Brisbane, Jessica Rudd now lives in Beijing. She has a background in law, PR and political campaigning and her debut novel, Campaign Ruby (Text Publishing, 2010) is a ‘combination of fashion, faux pas and the unexpected fun of federal politics.’
Further information about the above authors can be found at their websites/blogs or through their author profiles on the publisher websites. Many of these authors are also active on Twitter
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