Sharon Kernot
NIGHT SWIMMING
Publication Date - June 2, 2026, Text Publishing
January Clare Colson is haunted by the tragic drowning of her best friend when they were rebellious teens. She’s a mess of pills and broken promises, swimming in desperation.
When he walks back into her life, changed but the same, the events of long ago take a new grip on her. She needs to know what happened. She needs to know him. To call him to account. But her strategy is dangerous, obsessive, warped by insomnia and the intense power of thwarted desire.
Sharon Kernot’s debut verse novel for adults is a riveting psychological thriller that catapults the reader into the mind of a deeply tormented and vulnerable protagonist, blurring the boundaries between victim and aggressor with shocking effect.
‘Tense, addictive and masterfully written — Night Swimming takes one woman’s obsessive dream of revenge and makes it all too real and relatable.’ Vikki Wakefield
‘Kernot’s choice of form feels fresh against the formulaic tendencies of the thriller genre…Stylistically similar to Dorothy Porter’s erotic thriller The Monkey’s Mask, Night Swimming will also interest readers of Gillian Flynn for its tight pacing, while also remaining in an intriguing league of its own.’ Books+Publishing
BIRDY
9781922791672, Publication - January 30, 2024, Text Publishing
Since the incident, Maddy has barely spoken. When she and her mother and brother move to the country for the summer, it's a chance to rest and recuperate - or a way to hide from the world.
While there, she meets Alice who has been waiting for forty-five years for her daughter, Birdy, to come home.
In the quiet not-speaking and waiting, amid the clutter and chaos of the old woman's house, Maddy and Alice slowly become friends. Until Maddy takes something that's not hers.
Birdy is a tender warm-hearted verse novel about the pain of loss and shame, the beauty of words, and the healing power of small acts of kindness.
'Compelling…The language is evocative and lyrical…Fans of Sarah Crossan will be hooked by this hope-filled story of how small acts of kindness make a big impact on everyone.’ Books+Publishing
‘An exquisite young adult verse novel that delves into the pain of loss and trauma and the healing balm of friendship, from the highly acclaimed author of The Art of Taxidermy.’ Where The Wild Things Are
THE ART OF TAXIDERMY
9781925603743, Publication - July 2, 2018, Text Publishing
Lottie is fascinated with death. She collects birds, lizards and other small dead animals she finds, trying preserve them, to hold onto the life they once had.
Her aunt tries to put a stop to this worrying obsession, but her father can see a scientist’s mind at work, and he introduces her to the art of taxidermy.
For Lottie, the beauty and tenderness she finds in her preserved creatures provide a way for her to feel close to the mother she lost.
The Art of Taxidermy is an exquisitely imagined verse novel about sadness and loss, and the way art and beauty can help us make sense of it all.
‘Kernot has created an intriguing tale of mystery and the imagination with a haunting ambience that the ghost of Edgar Allan Poe would recognise and admire…this is a delightful story about grief transformed and the urge to resurrect and to re-create.’ Saturday Paper
‘[An] exquisite lyrical verse novel…[A] sharply evocative tale.’ West Weekend
UNDERGROUND ROAD
978 1 743051924, Published August 20, 2013
Damien, Edith, Kenneth and Mary are residents of a single street whose lives are ordinary to the last degree and as such encompass addiction and domestic violence, quiet achievements and small acts of kindness and treachery. Jack and Mary, locked at uncomfortably close quarters on Jack's retirement, chafe and sulk and fret. Edith finds solace in her lonely life playing the pokies. Young Damien, terrified of his stepfather Marcus and the school bully, broods on revenge. And Kenneth, unhinged, wanders the streets. Lives intertwine and decisions are made. And the tension grows to its shattering climax.
'A sharply political novel, highlighting uncomfortable but necessary questions about justice, fairness and human rights.' - Francesca Rendle-Short