Two weeks to go...
On all the events & the feels pre-THE HIDING PLACE release
The whiteboard in my studio is covered in lists. Monthly list, weekly list, daily list. A practical attempt at keeping my head above water in a busy time, but also an attempt at feeling a semblance of control over what I know - five books in - is a period where you just kind of hang on and ride the wave. In two weeks - my new novel The Hiding Place - will be released and I’m jangling with anticipation and nerves and that slightly sick feeling of putting one’s heart and brain on the page for public consumption.
I’ve been going back over my journal for this book (variously called ‘We Built a Town’, ‘Willow Creek’, ‘Hypocrisy’ and ‘A Hill to Die On’ in my working docs!) and trying to take a moment to celebrate how it started and how it’s going. The seed for the story came from a real estate notice for an old mining town for sale, which me and my family went to visit enroute to our annual Easter Camping trip with mates. The property - the river, the tall Mountain Ash, the tree ferns, the old pub - were captivating, and became the setting of The Hiding Place.
The idea (as ours was) or buying this place with friends and family became the premise - and then all the big ideas and questions that were burning in my brain about land ownership and ethics and parenting and relationships and the climate catastrophe and friendship and loyalty smashed together and I started to write.
It’s kind of mind-blowing to think about everything I didn’t know then - about these characters and their choices and the consequences. This has been the most fun I’ve ever had writing a book and I can’t wait for you to read it!
The tour is set and I would LOVE to see any of your wonderful Bowerbird folk if I’m coming to a town or city near you! There’s a full list of events here and I’m thrilled to be heading to Barwon Heads, my beloved local Eltham Bookshop, Bendigo, Sorrento, Adelaide, Launceston, Hobart, Huskisson (22 Nov) and a host of events in and around Melbourne. I’m also super excited about joining brilliant authors Bri Lee (Seed) and Madeleine Gray (Chosen Family) for events in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth.
There are already events and festivals booked in for 2026 after a long break at the beach but the tour this year concludes with one of my favourite literary events of the year - the Literary Listings Lunch at Elwood Bathers where Michael Williams will be hosting Toni Jordan (Tenderfoot), Mark Brandi (Eden) and myself over a splendid lunch. I know there are only a few tickets left for this one so make sure you don’t miss out!
Last week I clapped eyes on my first ever book trailer and I’ve been watching it on repeat. My camping gang have been quick to point out that we would never have such a neat seating arrangement around our campfire, but, as I am at pains to keep reminding them - it’s not about us!
It’s also been so thrilling to start seeing reviews come in. Those wonderful writers we send ARCs (Advance Reading Copies) out to so they can (hopefully) say something delightful for the cover are the first thrill; but we generally pick those ‘puffers’ carefully and think that the book will be something that appeals. Not so the general reading public! So I was so gratified to read this review from ‘book whisperer’ Simon McDonald who just totally got what it is I wanted The Hiding Place to be.
This is a perfectly calibrated thriller about a group of friends who decide to buy an idyllic chunk of land in the bush, whose first weekend at the property turns into a nightmare when someone ends up dead—and a decision is made to tell nobody. Hence their camp is divided between those aware of this major transgression, and those who aren’t; and there are plenty of other ruinous secrets bubbling beneath the surface of these friendships.
If the setup of Kate Mildenhall’s The Hiding Place sounds fairly orthodox—friends gathered together are gradually fractured by secrets—her execution is masterful. The plot doesn’t necessarily dip and swerve; it’s not about earth-shattering revelations, or pulling the rug out from under the reader. Rather, it’s the thick tension created by the gradual unravelling of this major deceit—the weekend slipping out of control as various infractions come to light, and characters seeking to rectify their mistakes with devastating consequences—that keeps you turning pages. Just how deep will they fall into this hell of their own manufacturing?
There’s nothing slapdash about The Hiding Place; it’s propulsive, yes, but Mildenhall’s control of her narrative is superb. It would be easy for this many characters, and this many subplots, to become a knotted mess. But everything here is precise and assured. There is a filmic quality to this story that makes it a shoe-in for adaptation to television. Blend the beautiful cinematography of Eric Bana’s Untamed with the melodrama and interpersonal relationships of Reese Witherspoon’s Big Little Lies—you’ve got a winner, surely. Of course, the book is always better, but such a development would enable Mildenhall to become one of the household names in Australian literature that she deserves to be.
I’ve never had a book out at this pointy end of the year before and it’s both daunting and exciting to release amid a slew of brilliant books! The Hiding Place hits shelves on the same day as Madeleine Gray’s Chosen Family, Sofie Laguna’s The Underworld and Christian White’s The Long Night, and amid Tony Birch’s Pictures of You, Jane Harper’s Last One Out, Trent Dalton’s Gravity Let Me Go, Chris Hammer’s Legacy, Melissa Lucashenko’s Not Quite White in the Head, Eleanor Elliot Thomas’s Do We Deserve This?, Jo Dixon’s A Disappearing Act, Evelyn Araluen’s The Rot - and so many others. I’m so excited about getting my hands on some of these books and stacking them up next to me beachside once the tour is over. What books are you most looking forward to reading this summer?
One of the things I often speak about with debut writers is the idea of Good Industry Citizenship and the healthy headspace of seeing the authors who have books out at the same time as peers and colleagues rather than ‘competition.’ Writers often ask what this ‘peer vs competition’ headspace means and in practical terms celebrating other books out around the same time as yours might look like:
tagging ‘shelfies’ when visiting book stores
recommending other books during events or panels,
and using media and other publicity opps to also ‘big up’ the books you are loving or want to read.
As the truly wonderful Sulari Gentill said this past weekend at Mansfield Writers Festival - ‘every new book is good for us all in the industry’. While all the shiny new books on shelves next to yours can feel overwhelming - they are also a sign of the healthy reading appetite and glorious writer brains in this country and that is always something to celebrate. I left Mansfield with a bunch of new books, including Sulari’s latest novel Five Found Dead which went straight to the top of my reading pile, Marg Hickey’s An Ill Wind and Dani Netherclift’s Vessel.
It will come as no surprise to writers, readers and bookish folk that the general industry conditions are changing rapidly and book sales aren’t necessarily hitting the heights they have in the past (the economy, incomes, the general state of the world and all the things we have to worry about). You’ll often hear authors saying the best thing you can do to support new books is to pre-order and share pics and reviews online (if you love them! Don’t tag the author if it’s a ‘meh’ for you!). You can pre-order books through the big retailers, but you can also contact your local indie bookseller and pre-order through them. This website is a great one for seeing who has stock and where you can order for Australian Independent bookstores. You can also ask your local library to order in copies of the book you would like and/or put the book on hold so you can be first in line to read.
I’ve had a couple of beloved friends listen to early copies of the audiobook of The Hiding Place (which you can also pre-order ;)) read by the talented Anthea Greco who also voiced The Hummingbird Effect. They assure me it is excellent - it’s one of my weird writerly things that I can’t listen back! Do let me know if you listen and what you think!
Before the The Hiding Place Tour kicks off, I’ve got a workshop and two more festivals to cross off the list!
Thursday 16th October: Diving into Dystopia - a free workshop at Kew Library 6.30-8pm. We’ll be generating new words and finding inspo in some of the many, many dystopian novels I adore. Free but bookings limited.
Saturday 18th October: Dandenong Ranges Literary Festival. A fabulous brand new festival with loads of panels and workshops. I’ll be speaking to Kerryn Mayne (Joy Moody is Out of Time), Mark Mupotsa-Russell (The Wolf Who Cried Boy) and Lia Hills (The Desert Knows Her Name) about place and story in their latest novels at 11am at Belgrave Hub. Tickets here.
Saturday 25th October: Canberra Writers Festival kicks off on October 22 through until October 26. I’ll be hosting Brigid Delaney on Saturday 25th at 11.30am and Lucinda Price aka Froomes and Madison Griffiths in Let’s Be Honest at 6pm. I also get to have my first chat about the new book in Bolthole or Hellhole with Shelly Burr, Jessica Mansour-Nahra and Alice Grundy at 2pm.
A wonderful upcoming event I’d love to draw your attention to A Night of Solidarity and Speaking Out Against Censorship on Thursday November 20 in Castlemaine with Dr Randa Abdel-Fattah in conversation about her book Discipline with Dr Micaela Sahhar. The conversation will be followed by a panel including Evelyn Araluen. Readers and Writers Against Genocide t-shirts will be available on the night along with book sales from Bookish Bendigo.
If you got all the way to here, thank you for wading through! Book release time is BIG and I’m so grateful for you being here and for your lovely messages and excitement online! Normal(ish) transmission will resume on the other side.
Big love to you in your days x
Exciting, Kate! Can’t wait to read. Enjoy this next part! xx
I wish I could see your event in Perth! But I’ll be overseas. I’m very sad to miss hearing you talk about your book but I hope you have a wonderful tour. And try to enjoy the next two weeks and not stress too much! x