‘Loved it!! Chock-full of magic!!’ Guillermo Del Toro
‘A passionate, clever and inspiring tale about how we choose which family to love.’ Darren Aronofsky
‘A joyful, surprising, marvelous book.’ Kelly Link
‘A many-splendoured thing.’ Dave McKean
‘Some truths are so enormous, so beautiful, so elusive they can be told only through myth.’ John Hendrix, New York Times
‘Perfect fuel for a voracious imagination.’ Caitlin O'Kane, Observer, UK
HOMETOWN is a 144-page illustrated story about a girl forced to question her identity by the arrival of an unexpected visitor, and my first long-form graphic novel since The Arrival (2006). It will be published in English and other languages in late September 2026, through Allen & Unwin (Australia), Levine Querido (US) and Walker Studio / Walker Books (UK). Below are some preliminary sketches and paintings I’ve been developing since 2017, with more artwork and commentary to follow closer to the release date - stay tuned! Hometown will also be published in Italian, Spanish, Swedish, Danish, German, Dutch, Chinese, Japanese, Korean and French. Enquiries welcome via Sophie Byrne at Highly Spirited.
‘Mother’, final book illustration for Hometown, watercolour, coloured pencil and pen, 28 x 35cm, 2024
Early sketches for ‘Hometown’, pen, A4, 2018
‘Form library: nymphs’, one of many sketchbook pages playing with organic forms inspired by microscopic life.
One of my earliest concept sketches for ‘Hometown’, with a much younger protagonist, pen, 10 x 15cm, 2017
‘Friends’, preliminary sketch for Hometown, pencil, 15 x 10cm, 2022
‘Anguish’, preliminary line drawing, ink pen on paper, 2024
‘Father’, preliminary sketch, pencil, 15 x 20cm, 2023
‘Neighbourhood’, preliminary sketch for a title page, pencil, A4, 2022
‘Solitude’, final illustration, watercolour, coloured pencil and pen, 28 x 35cm, 2024
Reviews and Inteviews
New York Times Review
‘Hometown wraps the mundane things we all experience in a strange and wondrous veneer.’
Foreword Interview
‘I think being a new parent has had a big influence in the creation of Hometown, as I can already see decisions that our children will have to make as they grow up, choices that must be their own, that cannot be dictated by others.’
School Library Journal / Fuse 8 - Video Interview
‘A fiery, feminist tale of a girl figuring out her place in the world.’
Publisher’s Weekly Interview
‘The thought that really struck a chord was why people believe things that are basically unbelievable.’
Geekdad
‘Maybe it’s about figuring things out for ourselves instead of being told where we belong.’
Kirkus
‘Art isn’t about exotic subjects, and real science fiction isn’t about exotic interplanetary worlds. It’s about what’s right in front of you.’
Book Q&As with Deborah Kalb
‘How do you see this new book relating to your book The Arrival, which was first published 20 years ago?’
Growing Readers Podcast
‘It’s very much a story about a bad first date.’