Jock Serong is the award-winning author of Quota (2015 Ned Kelly Award) and The Rules of Backyard Cricket (shortlisted for the Victorian Premier’s Award and MWA Edgar Awards). His novel On the Java Ridge won the Colin Roderick Award and the inaugural Staunch Prize (UK). Serong’s historical fiction includes Preservation, The Burning Island (ARA Historical Novel Prize winner), and The Settlement (shortlisted for the Voss Prize). His latest novel, Cherrywood, is a darkly playful and imaginative story about legacy, community, wonder, love, and reinvention.

Photo credit Joanne O’Keefe