UQP acquires the first work of fiction from award-winning First Nations poet, Samuel Wagan Watson

UQP is delighted to announce that we’ve acquired world rights to a short story collection, New and Used Ghosts, from multi-award-winning poet Samuel Wagan Watson.

Marking Wagan Watson’s first shift from poetry to prose, this collection of ghost stories interrogates and celebrates myth, legend and secrets through storytelling.

As Samuel Wagan Watson says:

‘One of the few commodities that Indigenous people cannot have seized from them is their ghosts. For many Indigenous people, spiritual presence is a constant shadow in the corner of the mind’s eye: a power without restraint. These stories explore those connections and presences.’

Publishing Director Madonna Duffy says:

‘It is a privilege to continue our long publishing relationship with Samuel, which began with his David Unaipon Award win over twenty years ago. He continues to be a ground-breaking voice in First Nations writing. With this shift from poetry to prose, he once again challenges, surprises and delights.’

About Samuel Wagan Watson

Samuel Wagan Watson, born in Brisbane, is of Munanjali, Birri Gubba, German and Irish descent. Wagan Watson’s first collection of poetry won the prestigious David Unaipon Award in 1999 and his collection, Smoke Encrypted Whispers, took out the Kenneth Slessor Poetry Prize and Book of the Year at the NSW Premier’s Literary Awards. In 2018, Samuel was the recipient of the Patrick White Literary Award for his significant contribution to Australian literature.

For more information, please contact Louise Cornegé on louise.cornege@uqp.com.au or 07 3346 7932