The Most Famous Boy in Town

Set in Charlotte Bay, a masculine town with a feminine name, the 50,000-word novella unfolds in the week before the local Aussie Rules grand final, where Lucas Walker is expected to lead the Hawks to victory. After a beach party, Lucas's sixteen-year-old brother Ryan wakes to find a humpback whale on the foreshore. As the rescue mission unfolds, blurry recollections of his brother's assault on a girl begin to weigh on his conscience. What exactly did he see, and how will he make sense of it when so many around him worship the star player?

'What hope for a whale, a girl, a town? Bel Schenk's crisp prose and richly drawn characters make for a brilliant portrayal of a coastal community, where footy rules and secrets fester.' - Susan McCreery, All The Unloved

'In The Most Famous Boy in Town, Bel Schenk gives us a moody, multiple portrait of life in an Australian coastal town that is immediately recognisable while also being a site of deep damage and the struggle for hope. What can we and can't we see? This beautifully crafted work of fiction is written with a poet's luminous language and lively eye for detail - informed, moving and completely absorbing.' - Nicholas Jose, The Idealist