Member Spotlight: Sally Bothroyd

5.08.21

Our August Member Spotlight features Sally Bothroyd! Sally was the winner of the inaugural ASA/HQ Commercial Fiction Prize awarded in 2020, and will have her winning novel Brunswick Street Blues published by HQ in March 2022.

Sally grew up in Victoria but has lived in Darwin for the past 20 years. She began her career working as a journalist, but more recently worked for the NT Writers’ Centre and NT Writers Festival. She also writes short stories and has been shortlisted for a Scarlet Stiletto Award and the Peter Carey Prize, and longlisted for the Margery Allingham Prize (UK).  

What inspired you to begin a career in writing? 

I’ve dreamed of being a writer since I was a little girl - probably because I’ve always loved books and reading. My family are all big readers so I was never told to get my head out of a book. 

What did winning the ASA/HQ Commercial Fiction Prize mean to you?

Winning the ASA/HQ Commercial Fiction Prize meant so much to me because it’s resulted in my novel Brunswick Street Blues finally getting published (out March 2022!). This was not the first novel I’d ever attempted but it was the first one I’d ever completed. I learnt a lot about writing through trial and error over many, many drafts, and I was almost at the point of giving up on trying to get it published – but I’m glad I didn’t! 

What do you know now that you wish you'd known at the beginning of your writing journey? 

I wish I’d realised the importance of constructive feedback on the journey to publication. My advice is to get as much as possible  - whether from a writing group or via a writing course or from professional manuscript assessors. All these avenues have helped improve my writing immensely. 

Which Australian authors or illustrators have been influential for your writing practice and career? 

There are so many successful Australian commercial fiction writers these days: Dervla McTiernan, Candice Fox, Jane Harper, Michael Robotham. They are publishing on a regular basis and it takes tremendous drive, as well as talent. I also admire literary novelists, especially Michelle de Kretser and Tony Birch, because they write so beautifully. I wish I could write half as well as them.

Learn more about Sally at www.sallybothroyd.com