THE ACCIDENTAL NOVELIST | CHRIS HAMMER
After five books in five years, Chris Hammer ranks as one of Australia’s best-selling crime fiction authors. But it almost didn’t happen – not so long ago he was out of a job and facing an uncertain future. So how did he come to be living every writer’s dream – and how did he come to write his latest bestseller The Tilt?
ABOUT CHRIS HAMMER: Chris Hammer is a leading Australian crime fiction novelist, author of the internationally bestselling Martin Scarsden series: Scrublands, Silver, and Trust. Now Chris has started a new series, beginning with Treasure & Dirt (Australia & New Zealand) / Opal Country (UK & international) and followed in 2022/23 by The Tilt/Dead Man’s Creek. Scrublands was an instant bestseller upon publication in 2018, topping the Australian fiction charts. It was shortlisted for major writing awards in Australia, the UK and the United States. In the UK it was named the Sunday Times Crime Novel of the Year 2019 and won the prestigious UK Crime Writers’ Association John Creasey New Blood Dagger Award. Scrublands, Silver, and Trust all feature troubled journalist Martin Scarsden and his partner Mandalay Blonde, while Treasure & Dirt follows homicide detectives Ivan Lucic and Nell Buchanan. All of Chris’s books have atmospheric Australian settings, a range of colourful characters, intricate plots, descriptive language, and emotional depth. Before turning to fiction, Chris was a journalist for more than thirty years. He reported from more than 30 countries on six continents for SBS TV. In Canberra, roles included chief political correspondent for The Bulletin, senior writer for The Age, and Online Political Editor for The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald. Chris has written two non-fiction books The River (2010) – winner of the ACT Book of the Year – and The Coast (2012), published by Melbourne University Press. He has a bachelor’s degree in Journalism from Charles Sturt University and a master’s degree in International Relations from the Australian National University. He lives in Canberra, Australia.
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