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Josephine Rowe

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Josephine Rowe
OccupationAuthor
Notable worksHere Until August

Josephine Rowe is an Australian author known for her short story collections, including Here Until August, and her two novels A Loving, Faithful Animal and Little World.[1] She is a two-time The Sydney Morning Herald Best Young Australian Novelist and was shortlisted for the 2020 Stella Prize for her short story collection Here Until August.[2][3][4]

Career

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Rowe's short story collection Tarcutta Wake was published by the University of Queensland Press in 2012.[5] The collection was longlisted for the 2013 Frank O'Connor International Short Story Award.[6] In a review in Australian Book Review, William Heyward wrote that the collective was somewhat formulaic and monochromatic, but that its stories were mysterious and satisfying.[7] Reviewing the collection for Overland, Tony Birch wrote that Rowe's writing deserved to be read more widely and that she was a talented writer of "micro-fiction".[8]

In 2016 Rowe's first novel A Loving, Faithful Animal was published by the University of Queensland Press.[9] The book was longlisted for the Miles Franklin Award and was shortlisted for the Voss Literary Prize and the fiction prize at the Adelaide Festival Awards for Literature.[10][11][12] In a review in The New York Times, Samantha Hunt wrote that the novel featured "gorgeous, precise language" and a compelling cast of characters.[13] In The Sydney Morning Herald, Emma Young praised the novel for its "measured and concise writing" and its exploration of grief and trauma.[14] Reviews in the Financial Times and Australian Book Review similarly praised the precision of Rowe's writing style.[15][16]

Rowe's next short story collection Here Until August was published by Black Inc in 2019.[17] The collection was shortlisted for the 2020 Stella Prize and was shortlisted for the short story collection prize at the 2020 Queensland Literary Awards.[18][19] In a review in The New York Times, Siobhan Jones praised the collection for its diverse collection of settings.[20] Reviewing the work in The Saturday Paper, Roanna Gonsalves described it as "a superb collection, pared back, astute, yet brimming with life and love and expectation".[21]

In 2025, Rowe's novel Little World was published by Black Inc.[22] The novel received somewhat mixed reviews. In The Guardian, Beejay Silcox wrote that Rowe's writing was characteristically gorgeous, but that the novel felt hollow and lacked answers to the questions it posed.[23] Tony Hughes-d'Aeth gave a more positive review of the novel in The Conversation, writing that it had an exquisite lyricism.[24] In Australian Book Review, Maria Takolander described the novel as "grandly and enduringly enigmatic" and described it as a work of magical realism.[25]

Works

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Novels

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  • A Loving, Faithful Animal (2016) ISBN 9780702253966
  • Little World (2025) ISBN 9781760645427

Short story collections

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References

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  1. ^ "Josephine Rowe". Melbourne Writers Festival. Retrieved 14 June 2025.
  2. ^ Steger, Jason (1 May 2020). "Three short story writers named Herald's Best Young Australian Novelists". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 14 June 2025.
  3. ^ Morris, Linda (22 May 2017). "The 2017 Best Young Australian Novelists". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 14 June 2025.
  4. ^ Nelson, Camilla (26 March 2020). "Stella Prize 2020: a readers' guide to the contenders". The Conversation. Retrieved 14 June 2025.
  5. ^ "Tarcutta Wake by Josephine Rowe". University of Queensland Press. Retrieved 14 June 2025.
  6. ^ Romei, Stephen (13 April 2013). "Actors enter stage 'write'". The Australian. Retrieved 14 June 2025.
  7. ^ Heyward, William (November 2012). "The Rest is Weight by Jennifer Mills & Tarcutta Wake by Josephine Rowe". Australian Book Review. No. 346. Retrieved 14 June 2025.
  8. ^ Birch, Tony (21 August 2012). "'Never Short of Class'". Overland. Retrieved 14 June 2025.
  9. ^ "A Loving, Faithful Animal". University of Queensland Press. Retrieved 14 June 2025.
  10. ^ "Miles Franklin award 2017 longlist reveals 'depth and strength of Australian writing'". The Guardian. 2 May 2017. Retrieved 14 June 2025.
  11. ^ "Voss Literary Prize shortlist 2017". Readings. 24 October 2017. Retrieved 14 June 2025.
  12. ^ "Adelaide Festival Awards for Literature shortlists announced". Books+Publishing. 8 January 2018. Retrieved 14 June 2025.
  13. ^ Hunt, Samantha (6 October 2017). "Decades After the Vietnam War, Where Does Violence Begin?". The New York Times. Retrieved 14 June 2025.
  14. ^ Young, Emma (6 May 2016). "A Loving, Faithful Animal review: Josephine Rowe's concise style has power". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 14 June 2025.
  15. ^ Holden, Kate (May 2016). "A Loving, Faithful Animal by Josephine Rowe". Australian Book Review. No. 381. Retrieved 14 June 2025.
  16. ^ Scholes, Lucy (9 December 2021). "A Loving, Faithful Animal by Josephine Rowe — flayed raw". Financial Times. Retrieved 14 June 2025.
  17. ^ "Here Until August: Stories". Black Inc. Retrieved 14 June 2025.
  18. ^ Convery, Stephanie (6 March 2020). "Stella prize 2020: Charlotte Wood, Favel Parrett and Tara June Winch make shortlist". The Guardian. Retrieved 14 June 2025.
  19. ^ "History of the Awards". State Library of Queensland. Retrieved 14 June 2025.
  20. ^ Jones, Siobhan (15 October 2019). "New Short Fiction, Including a National Book Foundation Honoree". The New York Times. Retrieved 14 June 2025.
  21. ^ Gonsalves, Reviewer: Roanna (5 October 2019). "Here Until August". The Saturday Paper. Retrieved 14 June 2025.
  22. ^ "Little World: A Novel". Black Inc. Retrieved 14 June 2025.
  23. ^ Silcox, Beejay (1 May 2025). "Little World by Josephine Rowe review – a beautiful novella that lacks heft". The Guardian. Retrieved 14 June 2025.
  24. ^ Hughes-d'Aeth, Tony (19 May 2025). "Little World, what are you? Josephine Rowe's latest novel is a precisely drawn enigma". The Conversation. Retrieved 14 June 2025.
  25. ^ Takolander, Maria (May 2025). "The sacred and the profane". Australian Book Review. No. 475. Retrieved 14 June 2025.
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