The launch of Avery McDougall’s debut young adult fiction novel ‘Invisibly Grace’ was an enjoyable and thought-provoking evening hosted by the Tamar Valley Writers Festival at Petrarch’s Bookshop, attended by headspace Launceston.

McDougall was presented in conversation with local literary fixture and Doctor of Creative Writing Cameron Hindrum. Their candid conversation was interspersed with laughter as well as discussion not just about the challenges of writing a novel, but of McDougall’s own complicated health journey. Hindrum spoke highly of main character Grace’s wit and authenticity, as well as the tone and pace of the story. McDougall shared that she wanted the book to not just serve as representation for young people in Grace’s health situation but also as an opportunity to develop empathy and understanding for others who meet people like Grace in their lives.

‘Invisibly Grace’ is the story of sixteen-year-old Grace Turing as she arrives at a new school determined to keep her chronic illness a secret to try and seem ‘normal’. The Examiner wrote about Avery McDougall’s desire to flout the traditional disability or ‘sicklit’ genre for young adult fiction by presenting a protagonist who both has a chronic condition without an ‘end’ and doesn’t serve as inspiration for able-bodied characters in their article on Saturday April 30.

‘Invisibly Grace’ is available from Forty South Publishing’s website, as well as Petrarch’s Bookshop and Fullers Bookshop Hobart. 

Signed copies are available at Petrarch’s Bookshop in Launceston.