Tanya Scott’s ‘Stillwater’ sells at auction

Allen & Unwin (A&U) has acquired ANZ rights to debut thriller Stillwater by Tanya Scott ‘after a fiercely contested auction’, in a two-book deal brokered by Tom Gilliatt at a4 Literary, with North American rights going to Grove Atlantic in a pre-empt. 

Set in Melbourne and country Victoria, Stillwater features Luke Harris, a young man who thinks he’s left a dark and dangerous past behind him and is putting himself through university, aiming for a law-abiding future. ‘But his past isn’t so easily forgotten, or forgiven,’ said the publisher. ‘It’s only a matter of time until Gus, the brutal crime boss he worked for as a teenager, tracks him down.’ 

After growing up in western Victoria, Scott trained as a doctor in Melbourne, where she lived and worked for many years, and she is now based on the Victorian Surf Coast. Scott said the ideas for Stillwater ‘have been simmering for a long time —how our choices define our character, the uncertain grey areas between right and wrong, how family is much more than blood’. ‘I can’t wait for readers to meet Luke and share his story,’ she added.

Publisher Cate Paterson said Stillwater was ‘perfect for readers of Lee Child, Chris Hammer and Jane Harper’: ‘There are many things I love about Tanya’s writing, but I was particularly drawn to the depth of characterisation in Stillwater, borne out of Tanya’s work in the mental health field with people of all ages struggling with psychological distress and family dysfunction. There is also humour, vivid action and even a bit of romance.’ 

A&U plans to publish Stillwater in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand in August 2025.