UQP acquires debut novel from Uruguayan Australian writer Natalia Figueroa Barroso
UQP is delighted to announce that we have acquired Natalia Figueroa Barroso’s debut novel, Hailstones Fell without Rain. Natalia is a Uruguayan Australian writer who is part of Sweatshop and has been widely published, including in Griffith Review, Overland and Meanjin. In 2023 she was selected for the inaugural Varuna Residency for Sweatshop Writers.
Hailstones Fell without Rain is a semi-autobiographical novel that focuses on the experiences of three generations of women from one family, who are all distant or estranged from one another at the start. As the novel moves from Western Sydney to Uruguay and back again, it comes to reveal the various ways that the Uruguayan civic-military dictatorship of 1973 has impacted each character, and how buried secrets and family trauma will always resurface. This is an impressive debut whose power lies in its memorable characters, and their wise, powerful and often witty voices.
UQP has acquired world rights and will publish in early 2025.
Natalia Figueroa Barroso says:
‘Hailstones Fell Without Rain is based on – and inspired by – the Uruguayan and Chilean women in my life, and certain sections are autobiographical, such as helping my single mother of two deliver pamphlets into mailboxes around Fairfield in the early hours before going to primary school. I decided that the only way to tell these stories was by blending poetic prose with code-switching between modern Australian English and Uruguayan and Chilean Spanish vernaculars. In part this reflects the fact that, since migrating when I was nearly eight to Western Sydney from Uruguay, and my family being immersed in the Latin American communities in our new home, my native language has become Spanglish with a westie twang! I am humbled and honoured to be working with UQP and Aviva Tuffield on my debut novel.’
Publisher Aviva Tuffield says:
‘Natalia is a writer of immense talent with a capacious vision for what a novel can be and do – and a vibrant, distinctive style to match. Her three protagonists are unforgettable, the settings are evocative and the narrative voice is captivating. Hailstones Fell without Rain oozes sardonic humour and is set to captivate readers.’
Mohammed Ahmad, Director of Sweatshop, says:
‘Our collective of Sweatshop Writers have ignited an explosion of literary excellence that has resonated right across the country. Following in the footsteps of trail-blazing women of colour, this captivating new work from Natalia Figueroa Barroso is about to make history: Australia’s first mainstream novel from an author of Uruguayan descent. Hailstones Fell without Rain represents a new generation of Australian writing: radical yet compassionate, familiar yet original, local yet out-of-this-world. Everything our national literature should be!’
About Natalia Figueroa Barroso
Natalia Figueroa Barroso is a Uruguayan-Australian poet and storyteller of Charrúa, African and Iberian origins who was raised between the unceded lands of Charrúa Nation and Dharug Country. Natalia’s a member of Sweatshop Literacy Movement and has degrees in Communication, Screenwriting and Media Production from the University of Technology, Sydney. Her poems and stories have been shortlisted for the 2015 Lane Cove Literary Award and longlisted for the 2021 Newcastle Poetry Prize, the 2021 SBS Voices Emerging Writers’ Competition and the 2022 Palette Emerging Poet Prize. She worked in the writers' room on the development of the script for the critically acclaimed TV series, Bump seasons 3 and 4 (Stan, 2021). Natalia’s writing has appeared in Sweatshop Women: Volume One, Racism: Stories on Fear, Hate & Bigotry, SBS Voices, Puentes Review, Meanjin, ABC Everyday, Mascara Literary Review, Overland and Griffith Review. Natalia has been selected for the inaugural Varuna Residency for Sweatshop Writers 2023 to work on her manuscript. She’s currently a post-production coordinator for Fika Entertainment working onTeletubbies Let’s Go!
For more information please contact Sally Wilson on sally.wilson@uqp.com.au or 07 3346 7932
