There Was Still Love strengthens its shelf-life

The Torquay novelist knew the book had won the fiction category two weeks before the announcement was made last Monday, but said she was overjoyed to have taken out the award overall.

“It’s huge, I was so surprised. If you think about what it means, I mean, it’s all of the categories, all of the books and it’s been an absolutely top year in Australian publishing.

“I was very surprised and just so grateful to independent book sellers who are now going to be doing it even tougher.”

Parrett, who considers the staff at Torquay Books to be family, said it’s never been more important to support your local book store as people turn to reading in self-isolation.

“The doors at Torquay Books may be closed but they are open in the fact that you can call or go online and they will deliver the book for free locally, straight away.

“Many book shops are doing this, and what they’re trying to do is stop people into thinking that the only online solution is Amazon.

“We’re going to need books, families are going to need books, kids are going to want books, so just find out if your local’s doing this and go online and order away.

“Suddenly people are losing their jobs but the positive is that the books are still there, support your local and support your community.

“In Torquay there’s a lot of ways we can support each other by going out and getting that takeaway coffee form Swell or whatever it is, ordering the books, going to the IGA, all those little things that help the community.”

There Was Still Love has received critical acclaim since its release, having been shortlisted for the Stella Prize and longlisted for the 2020 Australian Book Industry Awards (ABIA) Awards Best Literary Fiction.

A love letter to her late grandparents, the book is the gift that keeps on giving, Parrett said.

“I’m very surprised at how it’s gone and it seems to keep going and that means so much.

“It’s not money, because writers don’t really make a lot, but it means that the next project will get published. The more your book stays on the shelf, the more likely you are to get another contract and then you can get an advance and live off that.

“At this time of lockdown, it’s kind of good for writers because we’re absolutely forced to face that screen, we can’t procrastinate, I can’t say ‘Oh, I’ll just go to the shops or go to the gym’, it’s like ‘No, sit down and write’.”

But it’s not just writing that keeps Parrett occupied.

A lover of dingoes, the award-winning author volunteers at the Dingo Discovery Sanctuary and Research Centre in Toolern Vale every Wednesday.

She said her next project, a middle fiction book for 10-year-olds, will be about the sanctuary’s pure alpine dingo, Wandi, who was dropped from the claws of an eagle into a Wandiligong backyard.

“The sanctuary desperately needed new genes for their breeding program because they’re trying to breed a sustainable population of alpine dingoes.

“Wandi literally fell from the sky and answered the sanctuary’s prayers, so I’m writing his story. I don’t know when it’ll be out, I’m only a couple of rough chapters in. It’ll have illustrations and it’ll be something beautiful.”

The winner of this year’s Stella Prize – which celebrates women in Australian literature across all genres – will be announced on April 14 and livestreamed.

Parrett said just to be shortlisted was a “career highlight”.

“I burst into tears when they told me and it’s not even the prize money, it’s just being recognised. It’s such an important award and it’s so diverse so that’s why it’s so nice to make it.

“The other books on the list are all so good, and I know this sounds like a cliché but I’m not going to be sad to lose to any of those people. And that’s what’s so good about the Stella – it’s a real celebration, so whoever wins this, it’s a win for everyone. It’s not like there’s any rivalry. I’m just happy to be in the mix.”

To keep up to date with Favel, head to favelparrett.com.au.