Author(s): Molly Schmidt

Contemporary Fiction | Summer Reading Guide 2023 | 2024 Indie Book Award Shortlist

Introducing an exciting new voice in Australian fiction, Molly Schmidt, winner of the 2022 City of Fremantle Hungerford Award.

Salt River Road is a compelling coming-of-age novel about grief and healing set in a small town in the 1970s.

In the aftermath of their mother's death, the Tetley siblings' lives are falling apart. Left to fend for themselves as their family farm goes to ruins, Rose sets out to escape the grief and mess of home. When she meets Noongar Elders Patsy and Herbert, she finds herself drawn into a home where she has the chance to discover the strength of community, and to heal a wound her family has carried for a generation.

Salt River Road is a poignant exploration of healing and resilience, small-town racism and the power of human connection.

'This story retains an innocence and a sense of decency even as it glides through pain, love and complex politics. It's refreshing, and open, and kind of tricky.' Kim Scott