by Annette Higgs

Penguin Random House, published July 2023

Winner of the 2022 Penguin Literary Prize

PRE-ORDER HERE

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.

‘A jewel of a novel: luminous, vivid, and deftly shaped. I felt, as I read, that there was ordinary time, and there was paradise time, and that I could have stayed forever on that bright hillside.’ — Fiona McFarlane

‘Higgs draws her characters with clarity and truth, and pitches the narrative forward with a quiet but deep rhythm belonging to the time and landscape she describes. What we want for them is what we want for ourselves, to find a place in our family, our community and our time.’—Alexander Okenyo

‘The Hatton family grabbed hold of my imagination and wouldn’t let go.’—Anton Enus

‘A whole, vividly conjured world. From the Novel’s magical first line to its moving conclusion, we come to know and care deeply about a family trying to make a home amid a landscape, and life, of grief and wonder.’—Belinda Castles

‘I can’t wait to introduce my characters to readers,’ Annette says. ‘I feel as if I’ve been channelling their voices onto the page and at last, they’ll be able to join a wider conversation with readers. Heartfelt thanks to the judges for reading and selecting my novel and congratulations to all the shortlistees.’