Inga Simpson is an Australian novelist and nature writer

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Her first collection of short fiction,

ONCE WE WERE WILDLIFE: stories

is  OUT NOW​​​

 

A tender, luminous collection of interconnected tales that explore love, longing and wildness - both within and around us.

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Set among scorched landscapes, wild oceans, and rocky terrain. Simpson follows people on the edge of desire, heartbreak and change.

In 'Poached', an ex-soldier finds himself between a poacher and a Bengal tiger. In 'The Wash', a woman's reckless ocean swim reveals the instinct to survive, and the cracks in a passionate relationship. In 'Tanglefoot' a landscape photographer pushes her art to the brink.

From the intensity of romantic love to the quiet devastations of ageing, Simpson shines a light on the power of nature to shape our lives and relationships. These stories narrow the distance between human and animal worlds, crossing thresholds without guarantee of return. 

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Melancholic and joyful, masterful and inspiring, this is contemporary fiction at its finest by Australia's foremost writer of the natural world.

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"Perhaps none understand the volatility of the wilderness better than nature writer and novelist Inga Simpson. Her previous work was the apocalyptic thriller The Thinning, and her newest is a collection of short stories ... Melding melancholy with optimism, Simpson proves she is the master of expanding nature’s role within human relationships and societies"  ~ THE GUARDIAN

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