Louis Nowra – författare

Following a ferocious storm, Hannah and Becky find themselves lost in the dangerous Tasmanian bush. Recused and adopted by a pair of Tasmanian tigers, the girls must adapt to a new life in the wild, where every day is a brutal fight for survival.

Celebrated playwright, author and screenwriter Louis Nowra loves King Cross. A long-time resident, he makes us reimagine the most infamous and misunderstood place in Australia, a magnet for bohemianism, cosmopolitanism and organised crime. In a wildly energetic book that walks the streets, sits in bars, chats with the locals, and spends time in clubs and apartments where you wish the walls could talk, Nowra traverses the history and the future of his beloved neighbourhood. He burrows beneath the sensationalist Underbelly ‘sex and sin’ narrative, revealing stories and a cast of characters – some household names, others little-known – that not even a writer could conjure up. Kings Cross is a no-holds barred place where backpackers, prostitutes, strippers, chefs, mad men, poets, beggars, booksellers, doctors, gangsters, sailors, musicians, drug traffickers, eccentrics, judges and artists live side by side. Part flâneur, part historian and part eyewitness, Louis Nowra is the best possible guide to a place that is both real and a state of mind.

Told in his vivid and entertaining style, Louis Nowra writes Woolloomooloo’s biography, drink in hand, from the vantage point of the Old Fitzroy Hotel, the cosy, eccentric and wonderful pub on Dowling Street, Woolloomooloo. It’s a world of sex, sin, sly grog, sailors, razor gangs, larrikins, workers, artisans, fishermen, activists, drinkers, fashion designers, tradies, and artists. It’s also a story of courage, resilience, tolerance, compassion. And though the pub has a real theatre, it’s the cast of real-life characters that are the stars of this show. Woolloomooloo’s past wraps around its present. Louis – often accompanied by Coco the Chihuahua and other two-legged locals, often walks the streets, uncovering history – some official, some never revealed. He stumbles across pockets of beauty and charm, and the derelict and abandoned. Unforgettable – and unspellable – Woolloomooloo in this book is a place as fascinating as its name.

'I came to Sydney from Melbourne in 1978 and immediately fell in love with its history, the sandstone buildings, the gorgeous harbour, the bridge, the Opera House, its ad hoc streets and its denizens.'In Sydney, acclaimed playwright and author Louis Nowra – author of Kings Cross and Woolloomooloo – expands his gaze to explore the energy, beauty, vulgarity, dynamism and pulsating sense of selfimportance of his adopted city. This big, bustling portrait of Sydney is told through profiles of people, high and low, with a cast of criminals and premiers, ordinary folk, entertainers, artists, thieves and visionaries.Along with its people, Nowra surveys the city's architecture and its global identity. And as Sydney's history unfolds throughout the twentieth century and beyond, Nowra revels in its neon lighting, music, skyscrapers and sense of optimism.

In Sydney, acclaimed playwright and writer Louis Nowra – author of Kings Cross and Woolloomooloo – expands his gaze to explore the energy, beauty, vulgarity, dynamism and pulsating sense of self-importance of his adopted city. This big, bustling portrait of Sydney is told through a cast of criminals and premiers, ordinary folk, entertainers, artists, thieves and visionaries.Along with its people Nowra surveys the city's landscape, its architecture, and its global identity. And as Sydney's history unfolds throughout the twentieth century and beyond, Nowra revels in its neon lights, music, skyscrapers, sense of optimism and the many disparate elements that shape Sydneysiders' view of themselves.