Song of the Crocodile

WINNER OF THE 2018 BLACK&WRITE! FELLOWSHIP

WINNER OF THE 2021 THE UNIVERSITY OF QUEENSLAND FICTION BOOK AWARD

WINNER OF THE 2021 ASSOCIATION FOR THE STUDY OF AUSTRALIAN LITERATURE AWARDS (AUSTRALIAN LITERARY STUDIES GOLD MEDAL)

SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2021 VICTORIAN PREMIER'S LITERARY AWARD (INDIGENOUS WRITING)

SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2021 INDIE BOOK AWARDS (DEBUT FICTION)

SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2021 MUD LITERARY PRIZE

SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2021 AGE BOOK OF THE YEAR

SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2021 READINGS PRIZE FOR NEW AUSTRALIAN FICTION

SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2021 ADELAIDE FESTIVAL AWARDS FOR LITERATURE

LONGLISTED FOR THE 2021 MILES FRANKLIN AWARD

LONGLISTED FOR THE 2021 STELLA PRIZE

LONGLISTED FOR THE 2021ABIA LITERARY FICTION BOOK OF THE YEAR

LONGLISTED FOR THE 2021 ABIA MATT RICHELL AWARD FOR NEW WRITER OF THE YEAR

LONGLISTED FOR THE 2021 VOSS LITERARY PRIZE

Darnmoor, The Gateway to Happiness. The sign taunts a fool into feeling some sense of achievement, some kind of end - that you have reached a destination in the very least. Yet as the sign states, Darnmoor is merely a gateway, a waypoint on the road to where you really want to be.

Darnmoor is the home of the Billymil family, three generations who have lived in this 'gateway town'. Race relations between Indigenous and settler families are fraught, though the rigid status quo is upheld through threats and soft power rather than the overt violence of yesteryear.

As progress marches forwards, Darnmoor and its surrounds undergo rapid social and environmental changes, but as some things change, some stay exactly the same. The Billymil family are watched (and sometimes visited) by ancestral spirits who look out for their descendants and attempt to help them on the right path.

But as secrets start to be uncovered, the town will be rocked by a violent act that forever shatters a century of silence.

Full of music, Yuwaalaraay language and exquisite description, Song of the Crocodile is a lament to choice and change, and the unyielding land that sustains us all, if only we could listen to it.

'Simpson's writing attains a rare quality of grace in the novel, the prose lyrical and grounded at the same time . . . skilfully weaving the profound into the everyday' The Saturday Paper

'exquisite . . . Simpson explores the enduring legacy of violence and racism, in a narrative enriched by beautiful descriptions of the landscape.' Sydney Morning Herald

'lyrical and evocative' Sunday Age

'a captivating saga from an astonishing Aus

Nardi Simpson is a Yuwaalaraay storyteller from New South Wales' (NSW) northwest freshwater plains. As a member of Indigenous duo Stiff Gins, Nardi has travelled nationally and internationally for the past 22 years. She is also a founding member of Freshwater, an all-female vocal ensemble formed to revive the language and singing traditions of NSW river communities.

Nardi is a graduate of Ngarra-Burria First Peoples Composers and is currently undertaking a PhD through the Australian National University's School of Music in Composition. Nardi is the current musical director of Barayagal, a cross-cultural choir based at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music. In 2021, Nardi was First Nations artist in residence at the Sydney Conservatorium and with Ensemble Offspring.

Nardi's debut novel, Song of the Crocodile, won the 2017 Black&Write! Fellowship and the ALS Gold Medal, and was longlisted for the 2021 Stella Prize and Miles Franklin Literary Award. Nardi currently lives in Sydney and continues to be heavily involved in the teaching and sharing of culture in both her Sydney and Yuwaalaraay communities.

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