It is an immense pleasure to extend warmest congratulations to Eliza Henry-Jones and to announce that HarperCollins have signed her for a three-book deal. Her debut novel,
In the Quiet, will be published in July 2015.
In the Quiet is a tender and beautifully unfolding narrative related by Cate Carlton who has recently died, yet is able to linger on, watching her three children and husband as they grapple over life without her on their rural horse property.
Against the backdrop of a small Australian agricultural town, In the Quiet explores grief and loss and the strange and wonderful ways that people find joy and the strength to carry on.
HarperCollins Publisher Catherine Milne said: ‘I am over the moon to be publishing this novel and to be there at the start of what is bound to be a brilliant career. In the Quiet is beautiful, sweet and heart-warming – I can see so many readers just falling in love with these characters, as I was only five pages in before I wanted to give them all hugs.’
Eliza says “I could not be more thrilled. You can never truly gauge how a manuscript will be taken by other people, and it is incredibly startling and joyful to have had others pick it up and have it resonate. Deepest thanks go to Sally, who has gone above and beyond in every way and who could not have been more wonderful to work with.”
Having written a novel every year since the age of fourteen, Eliza can now, at age twenty-four, say that she has served her apprenticeship. Her work has been published in various literary journals including Southerly and Island and in 2012 she was a Young Writer-in-Residence at the Katharine Susannah Pritchard Writers’ Centre.
Aside from writing, she has gained a Degree in Psychology and English, qualifications in Alcohol and Other Drugs and postgraduate qualifications in Grief, Loss and Trauma Counselling. She is also an accomplished horsewoman who uses horses in therapy sessions for children and families who have experienced trauma and substance abuse at a Melbourne drug rehabilitation centre.
To learn more about Eliza go to http://www.elizajane.com.au
You can also follow her on Twitter http://www.twitter.com/ehenryjones