Two literary lives defined by storytelling and secrets. As her mother Joan lies dying, Gabrielle Carey writes a letter to Joan's childhood friend, the reclusive novelist Randolph Stow. This letter sets in motion a literary pilgrimage that reveals long-buried family secrets. Like her mother, Stow had grown up in Western Australia. After early literary success and a Miles Franklin Award win in 1958 for his novel To the Islands, he left for England and a life of self-imposed exile. Living most of her life on the east coast, Gabrielle was also estranged from her family's west Australian roots, but never questioned why. A devoted fan of Stow's writing, she becomes fascinated by his connection with her extended family, but before she can meet him he dies. With only a few pieces of correspondence to guide her, Gabrielle embarks on a journey from the red-dirt landscape of Western Australia to the English seaside town of Harwich in a quest to understand her family's past and Stow's place in it. Moving Among Strangers is a celebration of one of Australia's most enigmatic and visionary writers. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Gabrielle Carey is the author of novels, biography, autobiography, essays, articles and short stories. She teaches writing at the University of Technology, Sydney, where her infatuation with Randolph Stow is happily tolerated. Her most recent book was the memoir, The Waiting Room (2009). KEY POINTS From the co-author of the cult classic Puberty Blues. Ideal for Christmas literary gift market. Will be packaged in a handsome hardback edition like David Brooks' The Conversation (Nov 2012). Market comparison: Pico Iyer's The Man Within my Head: Graham Greene and my family. Published in November to tie in with Randolph Stow's birth month. UQP is resubscribing Stow's novels Tourmaline and To the Islands (Miles Franklin winner, 1958) to coincide with publication of this new book. For West Australian readers, Gabrielle's family and Randolph Stow all hailed from there. (Her mother was a member of the Ferguson family who own Houghtons winery; her father was from an important pastoral family near Geraldton)