Kim Wilkins is the author of more than 30 novels, and is published in more than 20 languages. She loves deep, dark, mythic, English things and is on a lifelong search for what Jimmy Page called “power, mystery, and the hammer of the gods”. She is also an Associate Professor of writing and publishing at the University of Queensland, and works in the Faculty research office forging links between humanities and other disciplines, including medicine and science. She is a libertarian socialist who owns far too many pets for the modest size of her house.
1. Tell us about your recent publications/projects?
My last published book was the third in a fantasy series, Queens of the Sea. I wrote all three books in the series so they could be read standalone, but obviously I encourage people to read all three. These books were my favourite thing I’ve written so far. Based on Anglo-Saxon history and literature, but with more chicks. It’s epic fantasy, which I probably won’t write again. I’m very proud of those books. They came from a deep place within me.I also write historical (non-fantasy) fiction for women, and I’m just embarking on another of those. That should be out around the middle of next year. My day job is quite complex and demanding, so I actually had a year off writing in 2019, to leave the field fallow and see what grew. I’m pretty excited about what I’ve got lined up for the next couple of years. I will be writing far slower than I have in the past. And doing it more for love than money, because really there’s no money and my husband is currently finishing medical school so within a year or so he’ll be able to keep me in the style to which I’d like to become accustomed, right?
2. What has been the best publishing experience of your career so far?
By far the best thing about this crazy industry is the people I’ve met. There’s no contest. It’s exciting to get your first contract. It’s exciting when you get a big overseas sale and buy yourself an Audi. It’s exciting when readers write to you and tell you they love your books. But it’s not enduring. The enduring love that I have found among members of this community (shout out particularly to Kate Forsyth, Sean Williams, Lisa Hannett, Kathleen Jennings) is such an amazing and life-enriching thing. If I never published another book, I’d still have all of those dear friends, plus all the others who I see at cons and online and in Snapshots.
3. Which recent Australian/NZ work would you recommend to international fans interested in expanding their Antipodean spec fic knowledge?
I’m going to cheat a little because technically she’s Canadian, but she’s just moved here. Helen Marshall’s The Migration is one of the best books I’ve ever read. Everyone should read it.
Australian SF Snapshot Project 