A shocking past at Grace's Table

A former nurse shortlisted for a Queensland state literary award is preparing to launch the book that stemmed from that 2011 manuscript.

Brisbane author Sally Piper is publishing Grace’s Table through University of Queensland Press, and it will be available from March 26.

Kristina Olsson, author of Boy and Lost, said it was a “fine novel” with engaging characters.

‘The characters of elderly Grace and her girlfriends will draw readers to Grace’s Table like bees to honey cake,” said Ms Olsson.

“These women don’t heed the rules for ageing quietly, and they pull us into their past and present with their wisecracking talk, acerbic wit and the quiet wisdom of their lives.

“But the younger characters in Grace’s difficult family; street-smart and funny; nearly upstage them over a long lunch in which food is a character itself, filling this fine novel with the after-taste of roast garlicky lamb, sponge cake straight from a country fair, tomatoes fresh from the vine.”

The book is set around a dinner table with 12 visitors, as the protagonist Grace turns 70.

Her friends and family arrive for lunch and memories are rekindled, but not all of them are welcome.

As the meal is served, it becomes clear that events of the past have left their mark on everyone at the table in vastly different ways.

Grace is reminded that age is no guarantee of wisdom and there is much still to learn from the young at heart.

As the family finally confront a shocking event in their past, Grace is forced to face her own shortcomings as a parent and wife and left to contemplate the ways in which grief and regret have resonated through her life.

Author Sally Piper is a former nurse and lived in the UK for nine years before returning to Brisbane to complete a Postgraduate Diploma and Masters’ Degree in Creative Writing at Queensland University of Technology, where Ms Olsson was her supervisor.

She had a story selected in the first One Book Many Brisbanes anthology in 2006.

She has had short stories, poetry and non-fiction articles published in Australia and the UK, appearing in writing journals, literary magazines and The Weekend Australian.

She lives in Brisbane with her husband and two sons.

Media, to request a review or arrange an interview: Meredene Hill, UQP Marketing and Publicity Manager. Ph: +61 7 3346 7932 | M: +61 401 575 143