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The scale of history can be overwhelming. Fiction allows us to focus on the individual. Our panel of Australian Jewish authors has recently published four acclaimed novels all with Jewish protagonists. A life in middle-class Vienna upended by the Great War; a woman leading an extraordinary spy ring in Palestine; a self-effacing Japanese diplomat saving Jews in the next war; a thriller set during the Cold War in the Soviet Union.
Supported by Golda’s Girls – in memory of Golda Isaac
Diane Armstrong is a child Holocaust survivor from Poland who arrived in Australia with her parents in 1948. She is an award-winning journalist and best-selling author. Her first book, Mosaic, was short-listed for several major Australian literary awards. The Voyage of their Life was short-listed for the NSW Premier’s Award. Her first novel, Winter Journey, was short-listed for the Commonwealth Literary Award. Since then she has written five historical novels, all set during World War II. Her recent novel, The Wild Date Palm, is based on the true story of a Jewish family in Ottoman Palestine during World War 1.
Julia Levitina grew up in Moscow with her Ukrainian Jewish mother and grandmother, who were both Holocaust survivors. She studied design and worked as a theatre designer before immigrating to Australia in 1991 with two children and $200 to her name. Julia completed a Masters of Theatre Design at University of Technology, Sydney. While teaching set and costume design, she wrote short stories. The Girl from Moscow, released in February 2024 is her first novel. It was shortlisted for the ASA/HQ Commercial Fiction Prize for unpublished manuscripts. She lives in Sydney’s east with her husband and their toy poodle, Honey.
Linda Royal was born in Sydney. Her family received life-saving transit visas from Chiune Sugihara in 1940, allowing them to escape the Holocaust – and find a permanent, safe home in Australia in 1941. The remainder of her family, numbering in the hundreds, were murdered. Her debut novel, The Star on the Grave, historical fiction inspired by the true story of her family’s rescue is therefore a labour of love to which she is now devoting her life. Linda initially wrote it as a film script, which is in development thanks to grants from Screen Australia and NSW.