Iris

Sergeant Lillian Armfield leans forward. What about Black Ada's, Webber? I know you two went there. What sort of people go there? Iris smiles. The sort of people you coppers like to bash.

In late 1932, Iris Webber arrives in Sydney looking for work but the city is still in the grip of the Depression, and there are few jobs for women at the best of times. She makes her way as best she can: a scam here, a shoplift there, busking with an accordion. And she knows how to use a gun.

When Iris meets young sex worker Maisie Matthews, everything changes. But what options are there in a world where even on the margins, queer desire is harshly punished? The only way forward is paved with violence.

Whip smart, resolute, a woman far ahead of her time, Iris navigates these mean streets with a growing awareness not just of herself, but also of the system enclosing her: narrow, corrupt, brutally prejudiced. Yet there is still joy to be had, sometimes even transcendence.

From acclaimed best-selling author of Indelible Ink comes another great novel of the city. Peeling back the layers of history, McGregor weaves a teeming social portrait of schemers, gamblers, goodtime girls, gangsters and sly-groggers. Based on actual events, narrated in gritty lyrical prose, Iris is a dazzling literary achievement from one of Australia's most exciting writers. Iris's voice will hypnotise you.

SHORTLISTED FOR THE MILES FRANKLIN LITERARY AWARD 2023
SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2023 NSW PREMIER'S LITERARY AWARDS CHRISTINA STEAD PRIZE FOR FICTION
SHORTLISTED FOR THE ALS GOLD MEDAL 2023
SHORTLISTED FOR THE ARA HISTORICAL NOVEL PRIZE ADULT CATEGORY 2023
SHORTLISTED FOR THE VOSS LITERARY PRIZE 2023
LONGLISTED FOR THE STELLA PRIZE 2023
LONGLISTED FOR THE ABDA BOOK DESIGN AWARDS 2023 BEST DESIGNED LITERARY FICTION COVER
LONGLISTED FOR THE BOOKPEOPLE ADULT FICTION BOOK OF THE YEAR 2023

PRAISE FOR IRIS

'The story of Iris had to be told, and Fiona Kelly McGregor has produced the roughest but most invaluable diamond.' Tony Birch

'There's a magical conjuring up here, a dream-building of people, place and things. Iris is to me not just a great urban novel, but maybe the best Australian city novel ever.' Peter Doyle

'Visceral and immediate and relevant. It's a stunner.' Hannah Kent

'A vivid, arresting voice ... Utterly gripping. Love it.' Lucy Treloar

'A brawling, picaresque book by one of our foremost cartographers of settler Sydney.' Declan Fry, The Sydney Morning Herald

'Vivid and panoramic.' The Times / The Conversation

'Intimate and exuberant.' Gemma Nisbet, The West Australian

'Exceptional ... This book had me in its clutches for an unusually long time. I didn't want to let it - or Iris - go.' Alison Huber, Readings Bookshop

'An exhilarating squeezebox of a novel.' Felicity Plunkett, The Australian Book Review

'McGregor's Iris is a bold example of literary craft that demonstrates a profound historical understanding of place and time. The experience of Iris - a woman defiant in the face of injustice, and fierce, despite hardship - in a time of economic pain, social uncertainty, and looming war, remains starkly relevant today.' Stella Prize Judges

'Iris's charisma is a constant presence across the novel, carried almost entirely by her distinctive voice, the most striking and compelling feature of this work.' Fiona Wright