The Anniversary

LONGLISTED FOR THE 2024 STELLA PRIZE

There were things that I wanted to say. Things I knew I couldn't say but needed to tell someone. And then the things I knew I should say. What they wanted to hear. There is never only one version.

Novelist JB Blackwood is on a cruise with her husband, Patrick, to celebrate their wedding anniversary. Her one-time professor, Patrick is much older than JB. A maverick when they met, he seemed somehow ageless, as all new gods appear in the eyes of those who worship them. He is a film director. A cult figure. But now his success is starting to wane and JB is on the cusp of winning a major literary prize. Her art, that has been forever overseen by Patrick, is starting to overshadow his.

For days they sail in the sun. They lie about drinking, reading, sleeping, having sex. There is nothing but dark water all around them.

Then a storm hits. When Patrick falls overboard, JB is left alone, as the search for Patrick's body, the circumstances of his death and the truth about their marriage begins.

'The Anniversary is an example of both deft literary craft and an engrossing read - a feat rarer than it should be' AUSTRALIAN BOOK REVIEW

'A surprisingly dark and complex novel. It is intelligent and literary in the best sense of the word: fluent in style, self-aware in its deployment of genre' WEEKEND AUSTRALIAN

'Compelling and dark, a psychological thriller that makes you want to peel back the layers ... For fans of Rachel Cusk or Siri Hustvedt' BOOKS+PUBLISHING

'A literary potboiler about love, obsession, professional rivalry between intimates and the dilemmas confronting a female artist. Riveting' SYDNEY MORNING HERALD

'Impossible to put down' DAILY MAIL

'The Anniversary is bejewelled with lovely moments and undeniably exquisite writing' THE SATURDAY AGE

'Stephanie Bishop's attention to detail reveals the minutiae of an intimate relationship, pitched against the backdrop of a life-changing traumatic event . . . The Anniversary unveils a riveting plot, which is gently and tenderly told, one that will surely be appreciated by a wide audience' ARTS HUB

'A tense and superb literary novel by one of Australia's most accomplished writers' READINGS, Best Australian Fiction of 2023

'Searing . . . Bishop probes the complexities of shared creative lives, the consequences of desire, the long reach of childhood trauma, and the sometimes casualty-strewn path carved out by ambition' THE CONVERSATION, Best Books of 2023