1.

Nigel Featherstone’s latest work is My Heart is a Little Wild Thing, which was published by Ultimo Press (an imprint of Hardie Grant) in May 2022. The novel has been described as ‘A devastatingly emotional but ultimately hopeful exploration of love, family and place–a compelling and moving read’ (ArtsHub), ‘Yearning and intimate’ (West Australian), ‘Epic in its intimacy–a triumph of a book’ (Peter Polites), ‘A remarkable look at Australian masculinity and its meaning’ (Newtown Review of Books), ‘Powerful, tender, visceral and sublime–a must-read piece of Australian literature’ (Holden Sheppard), ‘A poignant and ultimately hopeful novel’ (Delia Falconer), and ‘With My Heart is a Little Wild Thing, Featherstone has cemented his talent and allowed us an intimate view into another person’s heart–it is a gift’ (Readings). The novel received a 2022 Canberra Critics Circle Award.

2.

Nigel’s earlier novel, Bodies of Men, was published by Hachette Australia in 2019 and has been described as ‘A thoroughly humanising depiction of Australians during World War II’ (Australian Book Review), ‘A remarkable story–action at break-neck speed and a bitter-sweet ending’ (Canberra Times), ‘A timeless novel of love between men in wartime’ (Newtown Review of Books), and ‘A page-turner underpinned by a fundamental understanding of humanity’ (Whispering Gums). Bodies of Men was longlisted for the 2020 ARA Historical Novel Prize, shortlisted for the 2020 ACT Book of the Year, shortlisted in the 2019 Queensland Literary Awards and received a 2019 Canberra Critics Circle Award.

3.

Nigel’s debut novel, Remnants, was published by Pandanus Books in 2005: ‘Featherstone is the inheritor of one of Australia’s greatest articulators of Australian middle class, Randolph Stow; he is like Stow too, in his rejection of the larger-than-life characterisation for the precision of a finely drawn reality’ (Wet Ink).

4.

Nigel is the author of three thematically linked, limited-print-run novellas: The Beach Volcano (Blemish Books, 2014), which was described as ‘Elegant and original’ (Sydney Morning Herald), ‘Accomplished–an intense fiction range’ (Canberra Times), and ‘Utterly enthralling’ (Newtown Review of Books); I’m Ready Now (Blemish Books, 2012), which was short-listed for the 2013 ACT Book of the Year; and Fall on Me (Blemish Books, 2011).

5.

Nigel is also the author of nearly 50 short stories published in Australian literary journals including the Review of Australian Fiction, Meanjin, Island, and Overland. His collected stories are Joy (2000) and Homelife (1999).

6.

Nigel has written over 120 creative non-fiction stories, which have been published in outlets such as The Guardian Australia, The Sydney Morning Herald, The Canberra Times, and The Millions. His commissioned essay on the audacity of Christos Tsiolkas appears in Reading like an Australian Writer, which was published by New South Books in 2021. His commissioned essay about his family life and childhood in the Blue Mountains was published in the Australasian Issue of the Chicago Quarterly Review (2020). In 2020 the Tuggeranong Arts Centre in the ACT commissioned Nigel to write about his father, the visual artist Jack Featherstone, to accompany a major exhibition and short film of the latter’s work; the essay was published in 2021 as an ephemeral, multi-media digital essay titled ‘The Gift of a Father’ and designed by Australian visual artist Katy Mutton. The text for this essay is available on request.

7.

In 2014 the Hume Conservatorium commissioned Nigel to write the libretto for an original song cycle, with the music composed by James Humberstone from the Sydney Conservatorium of Music. This work, titled The Weight of Light, was developed by The Street Theatre in Canberra and had its world premiere in the national capital in March 2018; it was also performed at the Sydney Conservatorium (July 2018) and the Hume Conservatorium (March 2018). ‘An enthralling visual and aural experience’ (Australian Arts Review), ‘A stunning piece of work–bravo’ (Sydney Voice Project), and ‘A gem of a piece’ (Canberra Times). The work received a 2018 Canberra Critics Circle Award.

8.

In May 2020, Nigel’s first full-length play (with spoken-word songs), The Story of the Oars, underwent extensive creative development at Canberra’s Street Theatre through its First Seen program and was professionally table-read in December 2021, also through The Street. Thanks to generous support from Create NSW, and ongoing support from The Street Theatre, this project continues to be developed throughout 2023 and into 2024.

9.

In 2013 Nigel was a writer-in-residence at UNSW Canberra, which provides the campus for the Australian Defence Force Academy. He has also held residencies at Varuna (Blue Mountains, NSW), Bundanon (Shoalhaven River, NSW), and the Cataract Gorge Gatekeeper’s Cottage (Launceston, Tasmania). Along with novelists Robyn Cadwallader and Julie Keys, Nigel was awarded the inaugural 2020 Write North Residency, an initiative of the Byron Writers Festival.

10.

Nigel is the founder of Hell Herons, a spoken-word/music collective, collaborating with award-winning poets Melinda Smith, Stuart Barnes, and CJ Bowerbird. Thanks to funding from artsACT, the collective will be releasing its debut album in 2024.

11.

At the 2022 ACT Arts Awards, held at the Canberra Museum of Gallery, Nigel was named the ACT Artist of the Year.

12.

Nigel has received generous funding from artsACT, Create NSW, and Creative Australia (formerly the Australia Council for the Arts).

13.

A queer man, Nigel lives with unceded Gundangara Country, otherwise known as the Southern Tablelands of New South Wales, and spends considerable time in Canberra–unceded Ngunnawal Country.

14.

He is represented by Gaby Naher, Left Bank Literary, Sydney.

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Photograph above by David Lindesay (2022). Photograph on main page, titled ‘Here I am in pieces and whole’, by Nigel Featherstone (2021).