Meet the Mortons: Scott Westerfeld & Justine Larbalestier
Join us to celebrate the launch of The Mortons, husband-and-wife duo Scott Westerfeld and Justine Larbalestier’s adult fiction debut, where they will be in conversation with Jaclyn Moriarty, author of Time Travel for Beginners.
The Mortons is an epic novel of inheritance, loyalty, and what it costs to discover empathy when you have been trained to live without it. Larbalestier originally wrote The Mortons as a family crime drama, putting it away in a drawer. Years later, Westerfeld rewrote the opening on a dare. She rewrote his rewrite. He rewrote her rewrite, adding in elements of Dark Academia. After twenty-five years together, this became their first jointly authored novel, built through argument, trust, jokes and the pleasure of killing each other’s darlings.
Enter Jaclyn Moriarty: exchanging first drafts with the duo while working on her own novel, she will be chatting to the authors about writing in collaboration with community, not to mention the process, conflicts and resolutions of writing a book with your spouse.
6:30pm arrivals for a 7pm start.
Tickets: $10 per person (+ GST and Humanitix fee)
Please note: Your $10 ticket fee is redeemable on the night towards any book purchase. Please see staff on the night.
ABOUT THE BOOK:
A darkly funny, action-packed gothic thriller following a modern-day, old-money crime family with murderous intent. It’s The Secret History meets The Sopranos, with a dash of Saltburn!
Meet the Mortons: In this family, murder is currency — and business is booming.
The Mortons are a modern-day, old-money dynasty with impeccable taste. They are also stone-cold killers. Jessica Morton has always excelled at Helshire, a college where legacy students learn to exercise control over their wealthy peers. Now, having committed her first kill, it should be her moment, her honor. But that kill will unknot a series of revelations spanning the Mortons’ country estate, the New York City art world, and Helshire itself.
ABOUT THE AUTHORS:
Scott Westerfeld is the author of twelve New York Times bestsellers, including the Uglies series, which has sold millions of copies in thirty-five languages. Westerfeld is also known for the Leviathan trilogy, a seminal work in the steampunk genre, published in more than twenty countries. Westerfeld’s book So Yesterday won the Victorian Premier’s Award, and his books have also won the Aurealis and Ditmar awards in Australia. He splits his time between Sydney and New York City. The Mortons, written with Justine Larbalestier, is his first adult book in twenty-five years.
Justine Larbalestier is the award-winning author of eight critically acclaimed novels for young adults, including My Sister Rosa, which was an Edgar Award Finalist for Best Young Adult Novel. Among others, she edited the anthology Zombies vs. Unicorns alongside Holly Black, and has contributed essays and short fiction to a number of collections. The Mortons is the first jointly-authored adult debut from Justine and Scott.
Jaclyn Moriarty is the best-selling author of novels for young adults and adults including Feeling Sorry for Celia, The Year of Secret Assignments, and the Colours of Madeleine trilogy. Jaclyn grew up in Sydney, lived in England, the US, and Canada, and now lives in Sydney again. She has been the recipient of the NSW Premier’s Literary Award, the Queensland Literary Award, and the Aurealis Award for Fantasy. Her books have been named Boston Globe Honor Books, White Raven selections, and Best Books for Young Adults by the American Library Assocation. She is very fond of chocolate, blueberries, ice-skating and sleep.