Some doors take half a lifetime to open

Some doors take half a lifetime to open. This one just did.

I have signed with Fremantle Press. My memoir will be published in 2027.

If you have ever stood in front of a door that would not open and felt that everything ended there, then I wrote this book for you. I have stood in that place too.

This year Fremantle Press turns fifty. They have launched award-winning and bestselling authors, published memoirs that have sold more than a million copies, and seen their stories adapted for stage, film and television. My manuscript went to them the old way, unsolicited, into the open submissions pile. They read it and they chose it. I am full of gratitude.

The book is in the hands of Georgia Richter, publisher at Fremantle Press and the editor of this book. Her titles have been recognised in the Miles Franklin Literary Award and the Dublin Literary Award, and she co wrote How to Be an Author: The Business of Being a Writer in Australia. My story could not be in better hands.

Last week I wrote that a door opened and I walked through it. The truth is, no door opens on its own. You walk towards it, you knock, you do the work, and you stay ready for the day it moves. When it moves, you know exactly who to thank. This book is the long answer.

What exactly is in it will have to wait a little longer. In the meanwhile, you can follow the book from manuscript to shelf. Subscribers hear the title and the release date before anyone else, and go into the draw for a signed copy.