LITERARY FICTION
Nigel Featherstone is an Australian writer who has been widely published.
His latest work is the novel My Heart is a Little Wild Thing, published by Ultimo Press in May 2022. It has been described as ‘A remarkable look at Australian masculinity’ (Newtown Review of Books), ‘Epic in its intimacy–a triumph of a book’ (Peter Polites), ‘A devastatingly emotional exploration of love, family and place’ (ArtsHub), and ‘Powerful, tender, visceral and sublime–a must-read piece of Australian literature’ (Holden Sheppard).
Nigel’s war novel, Bodies of Men, was published by Hachette Australia in 2019 and has been described as ‘A thoroughly humanising depiction of Australians during World War II’ (Australian Book Review) and ‘A remarkable story–action at break-neck speed and a bitter-sweet ending’ (Canberra Times). Bodies of Men was longlisted for the 2020 ARA Historical Novel Prize, shortlisted for the 2020 ACT Book of the Year, shortlisted in the 2019 Queensland Literary Awards and received a 2019 Canberra Critics Circle Award.
In 2014 the Hume Conservatorium commissioned Nigel to write the libretto for an original song cycle, with the music composed by James Humberstone. This work, titled The Weight of Light, was developed by The Street Theatre in Canberra and had its world premiere in the national capital in March 2018. Nigel’s first full-length play (with spoken-word songs), The Story of the Oars, is currently being developed by The Street Theatre and is supported by CreateNSW.
Nigel is the author of three thematically linked novellas, as well as nearly 50 short stories published in Australian literary journals including the Review of Australian Fiction, Meanjin, Island, and Overland. Nigel’s creative nonfiction has appeared in The Guardian, The Sydney Morning Herald, The Canberra Times, and The Millions (US.)
In 2013 Nigel was a writer-in-residence at UNSW Canberra / Australian Defence Force Academy; he has also held residencies at Varuna and Bundanon. Along with novelists Robyn Cadwallader and Julie Keys, Nigel was awarded the inaugural 2020 Write North Residency, an initiative of the Byron Writers Festival.
Since 2014, Nigel has been a part-time creative producer for ACT Writers and coordinated/facilitated Hardcopy, a long-running national writers development program funded by the Australia Council. Nigel currently coordinates/facilitates Hidden Nerve, also for ACT Writers. Nigel is represented by Gaby Naher, Left Bank Literary, Sydney.