The Confidence Woman

A fresh and darkly funny debut novel about blurred online identities and striving for success (or just security) in a rigged system. Perfect for anyone who's ever enjoyed a good scammer story.


SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2025 READINGS NEW AUSTRALIAN FICTION PRIZE 



'The wicked Australian lovechild of Sally Rooney and Aubrey Plaza.' Chris Flynn, author of Mammoth


I was active and agile. I was a champion. I was a witch. I was a winner. 


Christina is a single mother living in the Melbourne suburbs, but to her online clients she is the esteemed Dr Ruth Carlisle, an 'executive coach and mindset expert, specialising in high-performing individuals'. 


Dr Ruth gains her clients' trust through her coaching business, discovering their secrets and deepest fears. Through this elaborate scam, she's saving money for the ultimate unobtainable Australian dream: a home deposit. But when she blunders, and her worlds begin to collide, suddenly everything is at stake.


The Confidence Woman is a novel about more than one kind of confidence game. It explores and hilariously skewers contemporary cults of self-optimisation, while also creating a moving and too-real portrait of what it's like to strive for success (or just security) in a rigged system.