Sydney Noir

The Akashic ‘Noir’ crime series began in 2004 with Brooklyn Noir. The book earned so much attention and acclaim that it has now expanded to include over 50 titles in locales criss-crossing the globe. The incorporation of familiar, well-known locations with excellent writing and plotting is a winning combination that readers can’t resist. Those who have stepped into the ring to edit the collections run the gamut from little-known talents to big names like Joyce Carol Oates and Dennis Lehane.

In 2018, Brio will co-publish the first-ever Australian title in the series, Sydney Noir, featuring fourteen brand-new stories from some of our very best writers: Mandy Sayer, John Dale, Mark Dapin, Kirsten Tranter, Eleanor Limprecht, Leigh Redhead, Robert Drewe, Julie Koh, Peter Polites, Tom Gilling, Gabrielle Lord, Philip McLaren, P.M. Newton and Peter Doyle. The stories deal with men and women who work in finance or serve in Liquorland, drive cabs or beat-up utes. They might be architects or struggling students, athletes or Aboriginal liaison officers, retired coppers or contract labourers, patternmakers or photographers, philosophy lecturers or drug dealers. Some are desperate for revenge or money and fame; others are simply caught up in circumstances beyond their control or in a sexual relationship gone wrong.

The reader is taken from Kings Cross to La Perouse, from Balmain to Parramatta, Redfern to Maroubra, Clovelly to Bankstown, Sydney Harbour to Edgecliff, Newtown to Ashfield, and Lavender Bay to Mosman. There are no safe spaces in this collection. What Sydney Noir does best is to provide a window onto the street. Sit back and enjoy the view.

About the Author

John Dale is the author of the true-crime biography Huckstepp, the novels Dark Angel, The Dogs Are Barking, Leaving Suzie Pye and Detective Work, a novella Plenty, and the memoir Wild Life, an investigation into the fatal shooting of his grandfather in 1940s Tasmania. John's essays, reviews and non-fiction have appeared in a wide variety of journals and newspapers. He teaches writing at UTS and lives in Sydney.