Mrs Eileen Rickaby, a semi-retired botanical illustrator and Orchid Society member with a penchant for Mozart, lives a quiet ordered life with Missy, her cat. Her tranquillity is disturbed when close friend and neighbour Irene brings home a twice-widowed younger man of dubious character, and introduces him as her future husband. Petty theft, vandalism and violence disrupt the peaceful retirement village. How can Mrs Rickaby protect her friend from this con-man lover? Mrs Rickaby’s Lullaby is an engaging novel of haunting lyricism and gentle humour, exploring the timeless themes of love, loss and widowhood, friendship and belonging.

Julie Thorndyke’s two collections of tanka poetry, Rick Rack and Carving Granite, were published by Ginninderra Press. Editor of Eucalypt: a tanka journal since 2017, she also writes fiction and other poetry forms. Waiting for the Night, Julie’s picture book for children, was published by Interactive Press. Mrs Rickaby’s Lullaby is her first novel.

wild /waild/ adj. 1. living in a state of nature, as animals that have not been tamed or domesticated. 2. growing or produced without cultivation or the care of humans, as plants, flowers, fruit, honey, etc… 3. uncultivated, uninhabited, or waste, as land. 4. a. native to Australia and New Zealand: wild violet; wild cat. b. escaped to the wild… 5. living in an uncivilised state. 6. of unrestrained violence, fury, intensity, etc… 7. characterised by or indicating violent excitement, as actions, the appearance, etc. 8. frantic; distracted, crazy, or mad… 9. violently excited: wild with rage, fear, or pain. 10. undisciplined, unruly, lawless, or turbulent… 11. unrestrained, untrammelled, or unbridled: wild gaiety; wild orgies. 12. disregardful of moral restraints as to pleasurable indulgence. 13. unrestrained by reason or prudence: wild schemes. 14. extravagant or fantastic: wild fancies. 15. disorderly or dishevelled: wild locks. 16. wide of the mark: a wild throw. 17. Colloquial intensely eager or enthusiastic. 18. Cards (of a card) having its value decided by the wishes of the players or the player who holds it. -adv. 19. in a wild manner; wildly. -n. 20. (often plural) an uncultivated, uninhabited, or desolate region or tract; a waste; a wilderness; a desert. -phr. 21. in the wild, in natural surroundings or habitat: animals in the wild. 22. run wild, a. to grow without cultivation or check. b. to behave in an unrestrained or uncontrolled manner… (From Macquarie ABC Dictionary)

Join 159 poets from across Australia in an exhilarating and often surprising foray into the many facets of ‘wild’ – human, animal, environmental and metaphorical.