This has all happened very quickly, but I wanted everyone here to be the first to know that on Friday last week, I signed a contract to write a new book for NewSouth Books, the publisher of my two previous books.
I’m really excited about this, though a little daunted, as we are working to a very tight deadline.
NewSouth want to have it available for Christmas this year, which means I have to deliver the finished manuscript in the next few months. Of course, there will be an editing process, but obviously that means the thing to edit must be done by then.
Gulp.
The book will be about what happened at the last election, the rise of the Voices Of candidates, the role women have played in all this, the collapse of the Liberal Party, the loss of authority of the mainstream media, and the ways in which we might ensure that the positive change of 21 May is bedded down and, hopefully, improved upon.
The working title for the book is, Voices Of Us: What the 2022 Election Changed and What Will Happen Next.
I suspect the Voices Of Us bit will stay, but the subtitle will change. Maybe something like, How the 2022 Election Revitalised Our Democracy.
I don’t know. Titles are usually the last thing settled on.
I’ve already spoken with NewSouth about offering discounts to people who are subscribed here, so stay tuned for information about.
Obviously, the book will draw on things I have written here and elsewhere, especially during the election, but the basic issues are matters I have been writing about for years, and that, to some extent, came to fruition a few Saturdays back.
I was actually noodling around some old articles, looking for a few things, and found this from something I wrote on The Drum:
What seems more likely is that, thanks to the mechanics of our voting and parliamentary systems, which are structured to favour the major parties…the two major parties will continue to dominate, even as their ability to generate much real support in the community diminishes.
Meanwhile, more independents and small parties will emerge as voters grope desperately for alternatives.
That was from 2013, believe it or not, so these ideas have been percolating for a while.
Anyway, as I say, stay tuned for more news, especially about how to pick up a pre-order at discounted price.
We will sort out the details as soon as we can, and I will let you know.
As ever, thank you for your support.
Excellent news! I look forward to reading it. I hope you try more bits of it out on us here over the next few months. 😉
Brilliant! Looking forward to reading your incisive take on what we all witnessed but perhaps did not fully understand or appreciate. Just let me know when it's published.