Acknowledgement of Country
I acknowledge and respect the living cultures of the Ngunnawal and Gandangara peoples, who are the traditional custodians of the land on which I am so incredibly fortunate to spend my time writing. I pay tribute to the unique and powerful role that First Nation communities have played – and continue to play – in the life of what some call the Southern Tablelands of New South Wales. I acknowledge all Elders, past, present and emerging, and honour those who continue to teach me wisdom and learning.
In brief
Nigel Featherstone is an Australian writer who has been published widely. His war novel, BODIES OF MEN, was published by Hachette Australia in 2019 and was longlisted for the 2020 ARA Historical Novel Prize, shortlisted in the 2019 Queensland Literary Awards, and received a 2019 Canberra Critics Circle Award. His other works include the story collection JOY (2000), his debut novel REMNANTS (2005), and THE BEACH VOLCANO (2014), which is the third in an award-winning series of novellas. He wrote the libretto for THE WEIGHT OF LIGHT, an adventurous and highly regarded contemporary song cycle that had its world premiere in 2018. He has held residencies at Varuna (Blue Mountains), Bundanon (Shoalhaven River), and UNSW Canberra at the Australian Defence Force Academy. He is represented by Gaby Naher at Left Bank Literary, Sydney.
A little more
Nigel Featherstone is an Australian writer. His 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), ‘A remarkable story – action at break-neck speed and a bitter-sweet ending’ (Canberra Times), ‘A timeless novel of love between men in wartime’ (Newtown Review of Books), and ‘A page-turner underpinned by a fundamental understanding of humanity’ (Whispering Gums). BODIES OF MEN was longlisted for the 2020 ARA Historical Novel Prize, shortlisted in the 2019 Queensland Literary Awards and received a 2019 Canberra Critics Circle Award.
Along with novelists Robyn Cadwallader and Julie Keys, Nigel was awarded the inaugural 2020 Write North Writers’ Group Residency, a special initiative of the Byron Writers Festival and Create NSW.
In May 2020, Nigel’s first full-length play with songs, THE STORY OF THE OARS, underwent creative development at Canberra’s Street Theatre through its First Seen program; an earlier creative development, also at The Street Theatre, was supported by Create NSW. More about this project can be found in the Canberra Times, RiotACT, and on The Street Theatre’s blog.
In 2014 the Hume Conservatorium commissioned Nigel to write the libretto for an original song cycle, with the music composed by James Humberstone from the Sydney Conservatorium of Music. 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 to critical acclaim; it has also been performed in Goulburn (March 2018) and Sydney (July 2018). The work received a 2018 Canberra Critics Circle Award. In November 2020, three songs from THE WEIGHT OF LIGHT will be performed by baritone David Wakeham at Carnegie Hall, New York, as part of a recital comprising a range of world and American premieres.
In 2018-2019 Nigel collaborated with singer-songwriter Pete Lyon on THE FINAL HOURS, a suite of 5 songs inspired by the art work of Myuran Sukumaran, an Australian man executed by the Indonesian government after being found guilty of smuggling heroin as part of the ‘Bali 9’.
Nigel is the author of three novellas: THE BEACH VOLCANO (Blemish Books, 2014), which was described as ‘Elegant and original’ (Sydney Morning Herald), ‘Accomplished – an intense fiction range’ (Canberra Times), ‘Utterly enthralling’ (Newtown Review of Books), and ‘Unforgettable’ (Verity La), and was recognised with a 2014 Canberra Critics Circle Award; I’M READY NOW (Blemish Books, 2012), which was short-listed for both the 2013 ACT Book of the Year and the 2013 ACT Writing and Publishing Award for Fiction; and FALL ON ME (Blemish Books, 2011), which won the 2012 ACT Writing and Publishing Award for Fiction.
His critically acclaimed first novel, REMNANTS, was published by Pandanus Books in 2005: ‘Beautifully written – subtle, soft, sensitive’ (The Mercury) and ‘Featherstone is the inheritor of one of Australia’s greatest articulators of Australian middle class, Randolph Stow; he is like Stow too, in his rejection of the larger-than-life characterisation for the precision of a finely drawn reality (Wet Ink).
Nigel is also the author of nearly 50 short stories published in Australian literary journals including the Review of Australian Fiction, Meanjin, Island, and Overland. His memoir essay, ‘The Boy and the Mountain’, appears in the special Australian Issue of the Chicago Quarterly Review (2020). His collected stories are JOY (2000) and HOMELIFE (1999).
Nigel has written nearly 120 creative non-fiction stories, which have been published in outlets such as the Sydney Morning Herald, Canberra Times, BMA, 3:AM Magazine, and The Millions.
In 2013 Nigel was a writer-in-residence at UNSW Canberra / the Australian Defence Force Academy; he has also held residencies at Varuna (Blue Mountains, NSW) and Bundanon (Shoalhaven River, NSW).
He was the founding editor of Verity La (2010-2014), for which he received a 2012 Canberra Critics Circle Award.
Nigel is currently a Visiting Fellow at UNSW Canberra, a position he will hold until 2021.
Contact
Nigel is represented by Gaby Naher, Left Bank Literary, Sydney.
For publicity enquiries relating to BODIES OF MEN, please contact Tessa Connelly, Senior Publicist at Hachette Australia, on tessa.connelly@hachette.com.au.
For other matters, you’re welcome to contact Nigel direct on contact@opentopublic.com.au. You can stay in touch via Twitter and/or Facebook and/or Instragram.
Home
Nigel lives on the Southern Tablelands of New South Wales, and spends considerable time in Canberra, the national capital of Australia.
Blog acknowledgements
Author photos by Andrew Sikorski, 2018.
The header image used from 2009 to 2013 (and sometimes appears as this blog’s avatar) was a detail of Genuine Texture 1985 by Philippe Reichert and used with kind permission of the artist.
Other images used are either those taken, produced and prepared by Nigel Featherstone, or are presented for educative purposes only.
The National Library of Australia archives Under the counter or a flutter in the dovecot in the National Bibliographic Database as part of the PANDORA Archive, which ensures that all the material published here is safeguarded against changes in hardware and software, and that the blog as a whole is protected in perpetuity.
Copyright
Unless otherwise stated, all work on Under the Counter or a Flutter in the Dovecot by Nigel Featherstone is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.
15 comments
Comments feed for this article
January 29, 2010 at 9:16+00:00Jan
Nate
Hey Nigel,
thanks for you comment on my blog. Your blog is pretty cool. I really love finding cool blogs, specially from people around the globe. I’m also excited to know you’re a novelist, as I’m working my way to become one, hopefully soon. Your other site is pretty great too. Will be checking you out on a regular basis.
Cheers,
Nate.
January 29, 2010 at 9:16+00:00Jan
Nigel Featherstone
Hi Nate, thanks heaps for dropping by and for your very kind comments. All the best for the writing of your novel! Cheers, Nigel
April 10, 2010 at 9:16+00:00Apr
Paul Squires
I read some of your stories over ‘Open To Public’, Nigel. They are brilliant. “Fishing and Two Wives Waiting” knocked me out. What a fantastic tiny tale.
April 11, 2010 at 9:16+00:00Apr
Nigel Featherstone
Hi Paul, thanks very much for your kind comments. ‘Fishing and Two Wives Waiting’ happens to be one of my favourite stories, but not everyone gets it – perhaps because it’s too short. Thanks for dropping by.
May 24, 2010 at 9:16+00:00May
Paul W. Collins
Hullo, Mr. Featherstone.
I have a proposal to relieve some of the soporific sibiiance of thespians’ hissing of Shakespeare from the platform:
My new “novelization” of “Macbeth” — with no footnotes — is available free of charge for on-line reading or download at http://www.wsrightnow.com. It incorporates Shakespeare’s dialogue (from the Globe edition of 1864) into a narrative that can be read like a novel.
I hope you like it!
May 24, 2010 at 9:16+00:00May
Nigel Featherstone
Hi Paul, thanks for letting me know about your novelisation. I’ll be interested to check it out. All the best.
March 16, 2011 at 9:16+00:00Mar
megan skelton
i would like to be informed of up and coming developments of your writing and website. i like the look of what you do with your writing. not just how inspiring it is, to the likes of such as me, an aspiring writer. yet, an accomplished one such as yourlsef.
sincerely yours
megan skelton.
March 17, 2011 at 9:16+00:00Mar
Nigel Featherstone
Hi Megan, thanks for dropping by and commenting. The best way to stay informed is by dropping by again, or even subscribing. Cheers, Nigel
January 2, 2012 at 9:16+00:00Jan
karlbarrett
Well we both like boys, creativity, landscape architecture and New Order! Cool blog!
January 4, 2012 at 9:16+00:00Jan
Nigel Featherstone
Thanks for dropping by, Karl. I hope you continue to find things of interest in the Under the Counter world! Cheers, Nigel.
October 1, 2012 at 9:16+00:00Oct
whisperinggums
Have just read this week’s Panorama … Came here to comment but it’s not here (yet). Your reading trajectory is much like mine though I’d say I was voracious in childhood. It dropped off in my busy 20s and then took off agin in my even busier 30s! Funny how the busier you are the more time you can find! I love a cold tiny day for that freedom to read it gives you.
And you used one of my favourite reading quotes. It makes me smile every time I see it.
October 6, 2012 at 9:16+00:00Oct
Nigel Featherstone
Hi Sue, thanks for that (and I’ve now published the related post). Oh and I love this: ‘a cold tiny day’. That word tiny – are you sure you don’t have a novel in you? Or a novella perhaps? Yes, I do like the Logan Pearsall Smith quote; of course, fiction is as much about life as life is itself!
October 6, 2012 at 9:16+00:00Oct
whisperinggums
I wish I did Nigel … But I think I’ll just reduce the competition and have my little moments!
June 11, 2013 at 9:16+00:00Jun
NIGEL FEATHERSTONE I’m Ready Now. Reviewed by Walter Mason | The Newtown Review of Books
[…] Nigel Featherstone I’m Ready Now, Blemish Books, 2012, PB, 156pp, $25.95 […]
November 17, 2013 at 9:16+00:00Nov
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