Tree Palace

Tree Palace is a affectionate portrait of a family living on the edge of society.


Shane, Moira and Midge, along with young Zara and Rory, are trants - itinerants roaming the plains north-west of Melbourne in search of disused houses to sleep in, or to strip of heritage fittings when funds are low. When they find their Tree Palace outside Barleyville, things are looking up. At last, a place in which to settle down.


But Zara, fifteen, is pregnant and doesn't want a child. She'd rather a normal life with town boys, not trant life with a baby. Moira decides to step in: she'll look after her grandchild. Then Shane finds himself in trouble with the local cops.

Warmly told and witty, Craig Sherborne's second novel is a revelation, an affecting story of family and rural life.


Craig Sherborne's memoir Hoi Polloi (2005) was shortlisted for the Queensland Premier's and Victorian Premier's Literary Awards. The follow-up, Muck (2007), won the Queensland Premier's Literary Award for Non-fiction. Craig's first novel, The Amateur Science of Love, won the Melbourne Prize for Literature's Best Writing Award, and was shortlisted for a Victorian Premier's Literary Award and a NSW Premier's Literary Award. Craig has also written two volumes of poetry, Bullion (1995) and Necessary Evil (2005), and a verse drama, Look at Everything Twice for Me (1999). His writing has appeared in most of Australia's literary journals and anthologies. He lives in Melbourne.


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