Fiction

The Midnight Zoo by Sonya Hartnett & The Red Wind by Isobelle Carmody

Item: The Midnight Zoo
Author: Ruth Starke

by Ruth Starke •

September 2010, no. 324

The Midnight Zoo by Sonya Hartnett

Viking, $24.95 hb, 186 pp, 9780670074051

The Red Wind by Isobelle Carmody

$19.95 hb, 223 pp, 9780670074037

Fiction

The Midnight Zoo by Sonya Hartnett & The Red Wind by Isobelle Carmody

by Ruth Starke •

September 2010, no. 324

I had fun imagining Sonya Hartnett and Isobelle Carmody indulging in a little pre-publication chit-chat:

IC: What are you working on now, Sonya?
SH: A children’s story about two orphaned brothers battling for survival in a world turned upside down; talking animals; themes of freedom and loss. What about you?
IC: A children’s story about two orphaned brothers struggling for survival in a world suddenly turned alien; talking animals; themes of resilience and loss …

The result is two different novels, but the marketing meetings at Penguin must have been interesting.

Ruth Starke

Dr Ruth Starke (1946-2022) was a writer, critic and creative writing teacher. She held Academic Status at Flinders University where she was the Editor, Creative Writing, for Transnational Literature. She was a regular and longtime book reviewer for Australian Book Review, Viewpoint, and Radio Adelaide, and a past Chair of the SA Writers Centre. She published more than twenty-five books for young readers.