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North Melbourne Books talks to Hilary Rogers
One day twelve-year-old Clara Bloom turns up to school only to find that there are no boys present. The male teachers are absent too. What could be going on? It appears a mysterious illness has afflicted all the men and boys in the city of Melbourne. No one can figure out why. When Clara realises that her father, who has gone on a fishing trip to regional Victoria, is at risk of catching the mysterious virus, she takes to the road with some girl friends to sort things out. How did you come up with the idea for the story?
When I was working as a publisher, I found myself tiring of the dystopian manuscripts that were streaming across my desk. Dystopian fiction can be utterly compelling and a fantastic way to explore issues that are relevant to young teenagers, but reading one existentially depressing idea after another does get you down after a while.
I hated scary books and films when I was a kid (frankly, I still do) – and I know lots of kids who are the same. I started to wonder what utopian fiction might look like. What would the perfect world for a kid be like? And where would the drama come from in such a world? There are countless stories where the adults are absent or killed off, so I didn’t feel drawn to rehashing that scenario. But, I wondered, what if we got rid of the boys and men? It made me think of all the amazing things women had done in times of crises, particularly when men were all off at war. Of course, a world without boys and men isn’t actually a utopia – nor is it a viable or sustainable idea! – but that’s what is so interesting about it. As soon as I started thinking about it, I was hooked.
Clara has an interesting backstory. Her parents are breaking up and – while she loves them both - she’s also quite angry about it. How did you create her character, or is she based on anyone you know?
Clara isn’t based on anyone I know, but she has a smattering of many people I know – including myself. I have vivid memories of being a kid. I’m not anxious like Clara, but I know a lot of highly anxious kids and I well remember the classic childhood feeling of having no control over your world.
In terms of Clara’s parents splitting up, this is something many kids experience, and I like it because it means Clara is going through a mini-version of what the whole city will go through: her dad is suddenly not there. Just as she is struggling to come to terms with him leaving, the virus hits Melbourne and every woman and girl has to get used to life without the boys and men. Every mother is suddenly a single mum. Every girl loses her dad or her brother.
There’s lot of adventure and laughs as the girls try to evade the police and break through road blockades. It’s a real page-turner of a story. What was the writing process like?
Fingers crossed kids agree with you! For me the writing process is a fabulous shambles. I have days when everything falls into place, the words tumble out and time flies – there’s nothing as good as a good day of writing. But I also have days when nothing seems to work and I’m suddenly enthused about the washing or googling what to do with celeriac. The saving grace for me is that I am always
working on a few projects at a time – including books I’m co-writing with my writing partner Josh Lefers. This means I rarely have time to get too weird or worried about how the writing is going.
Girltopia is your first novel, although you’ve worked in publishing for many years. Has it long been an ambition to write a book yourself?
Strangely, no. I’ve always loved my work as editor and publisher, and I’ve never felt that was less interesting or less creative than writing. But I do think working in-house in publishing has given me invaluable insight into the whole crazy business of book-making. A successful book is so much more than just a great story, and the team required is so much bigger than an author and editor. It needs just the right cover, title, text design, price, marketing material, distribution – and mystifyingly, it also needs a generous sprinkle of pixie dust. But of course, no-one knows where to get the pixie dust. It can’t be bought! Sometimes a project just has a certain magic to it; others have all the right parts but somehow fall flat. I think knowing all this probably helps and hinders in equal parts!
What books are you enjoying reading at the moment?
I recently read Less (Andrew Sean Greer) and The Female Persuasion (Meg Wolitzer) – both of which I loved. And I’ve just started the new Barbara Kingsolver, Unsheltered – it’s off to a fairly traumatic start, and is too early to call.
Girltopia, by Hilary Rogers. Published by Scholastic. RRP: $14.99
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