Debut Books
Write & Seek
Episode 14 | Katherine Larsen & Emily Tsokos Purtill
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Episode 14 | Katherine Larsen & Emily Tsokos Purtill

Author of Matia, published by UWA Publishing

Welcome to Write & Seek!

Meet my guest.

Emily Tsokos Purtill is a Western Australian writer of Greek heritage living in Perth/Boorloo on the lands of the Whadjuk Nyoongar people. She has also lived in the UK, Vancouver, Paris and New York. Her creative non fiction, short fiction, flash fiction and poetry has been awarded and published in anthologies and journals in Australia and the United States.

Her short fiction can be found in Westerly and Griffith Review. After being awarded for her short fiction as a young writer, including winning the Tim Winton Award for Outstanding Achievement and twice winning the Katharine Susannah Prichard Award for Young Writers, Emily pursued a career in law and has worked as a lawyer in Perth and in Paris. Emily returned to writing when she lived in New York in 2013/2014. Matia is Emily's debut novel.

Website: emilytsokospurtill.com

Instagram: instagram.com/emilytsokospurtill

Facebook: Emily Tsokos Purtill - Author

Book: uwap.uwa.edu.au/products/matia

Meet the debut book.

A woman in my village gave me four prophecies . . . they have all come true, so far.

Sia is a young Greek woman who has emigrated from Greece to Perth, Western Australia in 1945 for a better life. She carries with her four prophecies and four pieces of protective jewellery, matia, one for herself, her daughter, granddaughter, and great-granddaughter. With a dooming prophecy hanging over each woman’s head will their lives unfold as they want or are they chained to the fate that’s been destined for them?

Over four generations and three continents, linking back and forth over 125 years from Greece to Perth to New York and back to Greece, Emily Tsokos Purtill has weaved a story that is utterly captivating and deeply moving.

Matia by Emily Tsokos Purtill is available to purchase wherever you buy your books. Alternatively, check in with your local library. If they don’t have a copy yet, put in a request!

For more debut Australian books, check out The Australian Debut Author Book List, curated by yours truly!


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Write & Seek
Write & Seek is the podcast exploring how writers get writing done, and their journey to publication.