Dr Sean Williams, Senior Lecturer in Creative Writing at Flinders University, is celebrating the launch this month of Honour Among Ghosts, a novel that stands as a ‘sidequel’ to his previous novel, Her Perilous Mansion, which was nominated for both the Aurealis award and the NSW Premier’s Literary award – and was an Honour Book of the Children’s Book Council of Australia.
Both of these books are based on research Dr Williams conducted in Ireland and use fantasy to raise contemporary political issues with young readers (aged 10 and higher). Dr Williams describes Honour Among Ghosts as being about inequality and injustice.
This fantasy is “full of mystery, twists and skulduggery” says publisher Allen & Unwin, with the title adding to its growing list of 16 books for this age group, along with seven young adult books.
The new book will be launched at Dymocks Rundle Mall store at 3.30pm on Friday 2 September.
In all, Dr Williams has produced more than 50 novels and 120 stories, including works set in the internationally bestselling Star Wars and Doctor Who franchises.
Born in Whyalla, he has lived most of his life in Adelaide, working with Adelaide Writers Week, Writers SA, Arts SA and Adelaide Fringe, and has won an SA Great Award for his services to literature.
Dr Williams is also a composer and will release a new album of ambient music under his musical persona ‘theAdelaidean’ on November 11. For more details about this and his other music releases, visit Dr Williams’ music website: https://www.theadelaidean.com
“Adelaide is my home and entirely wrapped up in my identity,” he says. “You can pretty much base everything internationally from here. I feel no need to move anywhere else.”
While his home may be Adelaide, Dr Williams is heading back to Antarctica next year as part of the Australian Antarctica Division 2023 program.
Along with his colleague Dr Alessandro Antonello from Flinders University’s College of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences, Dr Williams offers insights in the latest Griffith Review, including a reference to the search for 380 million-year-old fossil plants in Antarctica by Strategic Professor John Long, from Flinders Palaeontology.