Book launch

On a Bright Hillside in Paradise: Annette Higgs with Alexander Okenyo

From the winner of the 2022 Penguin Literary Prize.

Told from five different points of view, each one revealing something different, On a Bright Hillside in Paradise, tells the story of a family of convict descendants in the back-blocks of Tasmania, on a farm in a place called Paradise. They lead hard-scrabble lives. The drama begins when strangers arrive, Christian Brethren evangelists who hold big revival meetings in local barns.

On a Bright Hillside in Paradise tackles big questions of faith and family but remains grounded in the dreams and strivings of its beautifully drawn characters. Higgs takes lives that history might have judged as small and imbues them with immense dignity and complex and compelling inner lives.

Avoiding the myth of the ‘frontier pioneer’ On a Bright Hillside in Paradise instead shows how these convict descendants wanted nothing more than to retreat to the bush to heal from their trauma, developing a deep love of the landscape in the process.

At its heart the novel is about a close-knit community, and home-making in the bush. Despite injuries, losses, deaths and near-starvation, the family survives.

Annette Higgs was born and grew up in Tasmania, leaving on her 18th birthday to study literature and law at the Australian National University in Canberra. She has lived, worked and studied in Sydney, London and Italy, and holds a Doctor of Arts from the University of Sydney. A Pushcart nominee, her short work has appeared in literary journals and anthologies in Australia, the USA, the UK and India. On a Bright Hillside in Paradise won the 2022 Penguin Literary Prize.

Alexander Okenyo is a Tasmanian artist (represented by Bett Gallery), owner of Black Swan Bookshop in New Norfolk, co-founder and board member of Derwent Valley Arts and a garden designer. He is also a proud father and husband, baroque singer in the St Matthews Singers and recently one of the judges of the national Penguin Literary Prize.

Join Annette and Alexander at the Afterword Cafe.

You can purchase tickets below.