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Rachel Watts

Writer, tutor and facilitator

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 * Home
 * Writing
   * Author biography
   * Survival
 * Blog
 * Supporters
 * Hire me
 * Contact
   * Mailing list sign up!

 * Home
 * Writing
   * Author biography
   * Survival
 * Blog
 * Supporters
 * Hire me
 * Contact
   * Mailing list sign up!


HOME

ABOUT RACHEL WATTS

I’m a former journalist and now a writer of both fiction and creative
non-fiction living on Whadjuk Noongar Country, also known as Perth, Western
Australia. I started my writing career in local newspapers, and first turned to
fiction in 2014. I have a special interest in writing about loss, the
environment and mental health. My work has been published in Westerly, Island,
Kill Your Darlings and Tincture Journal among others. I review books for the
Westerly Editor’s Desk and also here on my blog.

As well as writing, I enjoy working as a writing tutor for young people, a
community builder and facilitating workshops on writing craft. I have a young
dog who is learning how to behave, and I love to spend time outdoors watching
birds and growing vegetables.

Below is a little about my latest writing achievements and you can stay in touch
via Twitter or Facebook.


ARTS U-15K GRANT RECIPIENT

AWARDED FOR THE COMPLETION OF A CLIMATE-FICTION NOVEL

Rachel Watts was awarded a grant by the Department of Local Government, Sport
and the Arts for the completion of a climate-fiction novel for young adults.

A companion text to her novella Survival, the work in progress follows two young
people, Dee and Stillness, who live in different eras, but who each face the
loss of the things they hold dear. In desperate times, they both come to realise
that ultimately, our safety and well-being are related to the relationships we
build, and the strength of the community we create.

> ‘You’ll always be living in the world you create. So make it a good one.’

The grant from the WA State Government will support the completion of the work
in progress, over six months.


PENGUIN LITERARY PRIZE 2020

RACHEL WATTS – SHORTLISTED FOR IN THE MORNING I RISE

Rachel Watts’ literary fiction manuscript In the Morning I Rise (formerly The
Light of the Mind) has been shortlisted for the Penguin Literary Prize.

The PRH Literary Prize, launched in 2017, was established to find, nurture and
develop new Australian authors of literary fiction. Six unpublished manuscripts
were shortlisted from among 400 entries.

Well done to all the authors who entered, and special congratulations to Sophie
Overett who won for her manuscript The Rabbits.


THE RICHELL PRIZE FOR EMERGING WRITERS

RACHEL WATTS – LONGLISTED FOR THE LIGHT OF THE MIND

Rachel Watts’ literary fiction manuscript The Light of the Mind has been
longlisted for the Richell Prize for Emerging Writers. This is the fourth year
of the prize, run by Hachette Australia, along with the Richell family, and in
partnership with The Guardian Australia and The Emerging Writers’ Festival. The
prize is open to writers of adult fiction and adult narrative non-fiction who
have not had a full length work commercially published. A stunning 660 entries
have been whittled down to a longlist of 19 manuscripts.

Congratulations to everyone who entered and special congratulations to the
winning author Ruth McIver.


SURVIVAL

IN STORES NOW!



Ignorance is cheap. And then it costs you everything.

Perth author Rachel Watts’ latest release delivers a devastating vision of a
post-climate change world in which governments have collapsed and corporations
rule with an iron fist. In this world two young women from different backgrounds
find themselves unexpectedly aligned in their pursuit for the truth.

> “I loved the idea of this book from the start because it had so many of the
> best hallmarks of a genre I love. But there is no hint of the formulaic here.
> Watts’ streetscapes are completely original and her voice, steely and edgy, is
> her own.”
> 
> Emma Young, Damage Catastrophic

The world has suffered economic collapse and multiple environmental crises. In a
flooded city, Ava Murasaki is searching for her activist sister Sophia.
Meanwhile, Valerie Newlin lives in the secure complex of the Scylla Corporation,
the world’s only remaining multinational. There, she finds evidence of something
horrifying in the Corporation medical research data. Set in a searingly real
near-future, Survival is a story of what people will face for those they love.

Survival is accompanied by four of Watts’ previously published dystopian and
post-apocalyptic stories.

> “Survival is a wild ride (in squid infested waters) told through evocative,
> sparse prose and a terrifying window into an all too realistic future. I love
> the addition of bonus short stories at the end – just when you think the ride
> is over you get to go again.”
> 
> 
> Shayde Kelly, Goodreads review.


GET A FREE TEASER CHAPTER BY SIGNING UP TO THE MAILING LIST NOW!

Buy your copy of Survival at these retailers:

Crow Books,  Just Add Passion, Planet Books, Rabble Books & Games

Amazon US | Amazon Au | AbeBooks | Angus & Robertson Bookland | Barnes & Noble

Better Read Than Dead | Booktopia | Kobo | Indigo | Foyles | Browns Books for
Students

> “Rachel Watts has brought beautiful imagery to a post apocalyptic time. She
> has pieced together such an effortless world with characters who fit right in.
> From the moment I read the prologue, I knew I’d have to keep reading until I
> had closure. Survival kept me turning the page until the very end.”
> 
> Katrina Ayala, Goodreads review

OTHER WORKS:

DARK MAGIC: WITCHES, HACKERS AND ROBOTS (ANTHOLOGY BY OWL HOLLOW PRESS).

Available at: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | iBooks

ESSAYS AND SHORT FICTION:

Online at Slink Chunk Press, Lost Online and buy it at Westerly Magazine,
Tincture Journal, Kill Your Darlings, Island and Dark Moon Digest.

I live and work on Whadjuk Noongar boodja. I pay my respects to their elders and
ancestors. This always was and always will be Aboriginal land.

© Rachel Watts 2021
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