Four emerging Australian writers have been named The Sydney Morning Herald Best Young Australian Novelists for 2018. Congratulations to Jennifer Down, Shaun Prescott, Marija Peričić and Pip Smith!

Here are our bookseller recommendations for each of their books.

Pulse Points by Jennifer Down

‘Jennifer Down brings to these 14 stories her sharp control over language, her mastery of voice and of place, and her empathetic and nuanced emotional intelligence. A human pulse runs through this collection; these stories live and breathe, and as a result Pulse Points is powerful and deeply affecting.’

– Stella Charls

The Town by Shaun Prescott

‘A bit like many things, nothing quite like anything else, Shaun Prescott’s The Town might be Wake in Fright written by Dostoevsky (as a try-out for Notes from Underground). But it’s funnier. It’s a plot full of holes and a story without end. Something’s always happening but there’s nothing going on – life’s a bit like that, and The Town is full of life – running on empty.’

– Mark Luffman

The Lost Pages by Marija Peričić

‘An imagined memoir of Franz Kafka’s literary executor Max Brod, The Lost Pages is a psychological examination of rivalry, madness and unrequited love. The deepest of human emotions are laid bare and sifted through with a clear eye by the author. At times farcical, at other times surreal, this book is utterly unique.’

– Gabrielle Williams

Half Wild by Pip Smith

‘In her first novel, Pip Smith imaginatively recreates the life of Eugenia Falleni, a female-to-male transgender person who captivated Sydney in 1920 when Eugenia, living as Harry Crawford, was arrested for the murder of Annie Birkett, his wife, who disappeared in 1917. This enjoyable historical novel, driven by characters and mystery, will appeal to a broad audience.’

– George Delaney