
Songs from the Firefront
Tim Winton(Author)
Macmillan (Publisher)
Will be published approx. on 5. November 2026
Book
Paperback/Softback
256 pages
978-1-0374-1947-8 (ISBN)
Description
How do we keep going in a burning world? Songs from the Firefront is a vital and moving memoir in essays from Tim Winton, twice Booker Prize-shortlisted author of Cloudstreet and The Riders.
A memoir in essays, Songs from the Firefront is a book about the sacred fragility of existence. Deeply personal, brimming with anger and humour and love - for family, for the beautiful, brutal Australian landscape - Tim Winton's writing invites you into the world of one of our greatest living writers.
Here he admits to stupidity alone in a vast canyon, paddleboards out to sea to visit the local dugong population, and tells of the horror and sadness of watching as his neighbourhood is lost to bush fires. He tells the story of how he became friends with Helen Garner, the travelling that allowed him to write Cloudstreet, and about the act of unconditional love a father might agree to after his beloved daughter has delivered her child.
From memories of his own childhood to what he sees in his grandchildren's future, Songs from the Firefront is a profound book about the world we live in and what we can hope to pass on. It's a call for solidarity and a testament to the deep joys and sorrows of family life.
Praise for Tim Winton:
'Winton is just one of the best' - Independent
'Winton is a masterful storyteller with an enormous heart' - Mariella Frostrup
'He is a novelist, a great one, because against all evidence and odds, he reminds us what it is to be human, and reminds us to be proud of our humanity . . . Winton is a one-man band of genius' - Los Angeles Times
'Tim Winton is the real thing: a writer who can photograph a thought and pluck out the beat of a soul on a washing line' - Scotland on Sunday
'To read Winton is to be reminded not just of the possibilities of fiction but of the human heart' - The Times
A memoir in essays, Songs from the Firefront is a book about the sacred fragility of existence. Deeply personal, brimming with anger and humour and love - for family, for the beautiful, brutal Australian landscape - Tim Winton's writing invites you into the world of one of our greatest living writers.
Here he admits to stupidity alone in a vast canyon, paddleboards out to sea to visit the local dugong population, and tells of the horror and sadness of watching as his neighbourhood is lost to bush fires. He tells the story of how he became friends with Helen Garner, the travelling that allowed him to write Cloudstreet, and about the act of unconditional love a father might agree to after his beloved daughter has delivered her child.
From memories of his own childhood to what he sees in his grandchildren's future, Songs from the Firefront is a profound book about the world we live in and what we can hope to pass on. It's a call for solidarity and a testament to the deep joys and sorrows of family life.
Praise for Tim Winton:
'Winton is just one of the best' - Independent
'Winton is a masterful storyteller with an enormous heart' - Mariella Frostrup
'He is a novelist, a great one, because against all evidence and odds, he reminds us what it is to be human, and reminds us to be proud of our humanity . . . Winton is a one-man band of genius' - Los Angeles Times
'Tim Winton is the real thing: a writer who can photograph a thought and pluck out the beat of a soul on a washing line' - Scotland on Sunday
'To read Winton is to be reminded not just of the possibilities of fiction but of the human heart' - The Times
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Pan Macmillan
Target group
Interest Age: From 18 years
Product notice
With flaps
Dimensions
Height: 216 mm
Width: 135 mm
ISBN-13
978-1-0374-1947-8 (9781037419478)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

Tim Winton
Songs from the Firefront
a deeply moving memoir in essays from the two-time Booker Prize nominee
E-Book
approx. 11/2026
Macmillan
€19.49
Not yet available
Person
Tim Winton is widely considered one of the greatest living Australian writers. Since his first novel, An Open Swimmer, won the Australian/Vogel Award in 1981, he has won the Miles Franklin Award four times (for Shallows, Cloudstreet, Dirt Music and Breath) and twice been shortlisted for the Booker Prize (for The Riders and Dirt Music). In 2023 he was appointed as an Officer of the Order of Australia for distinguished service to literature as an author and novelist, to conservation, and to environmental advocacy. He lives in Western Australia.