"This extraordinary debut from Laura Garden is so many things: a lyrical ode to Queensland and its people, an exploration of love in all its many forms, a double portrait of two women who only appear to be perfect opposites to one another, but in fact share a bond deeper than blood. Queenslander, like its protagonists Ronnie and Nev, never gives up its secrets easily, but the rewards along the way are well worth the journey. Lush and transportive, tender and fierce, this is a novel that lives on well after the last page."

—Hesse Phillips, author of Lightborne

"A moving story about queer family, identity, and belonging set on a sheep farm in Australia, Queenslander shows how people can atone for their past mistakes and discover who they're meant to be.”

—Milo Todd, nationally bestselling author of The Lilac People

"Queenslander is a sweeping epic set on a farm in the Australian Outback, vividly described, a story about family lost, found and fought hard for. At the center is the relationship between Nev, a farmer and former war photographer, and Ronnie, a younger woman with a violent past. The star of this book is the land and the landscape and includes delightful details like a house whose inhabitants adore watching sport in a living room where they also run an animal shelter for adorable Australian baby critters."

-Elizabeth De Veer, author of The Ocean in Winter

Bio:

Laura Garden raises sheep and is a flower grower. She studied conservation biology in Yungaburra, Queensland with the School for Field Studies, where she fell in love with Australia. Garden is passionate about sustainable agriculture, environmental justice, and conservation. She has won several writing competitions, including an award from Writer’s Digest’s Annual Writing Competition, as well as fellowships from Wesleyan University and Harvard University. She was longlisted for the Minds Shine Bright Prize in Melbourne. She runs the substack “Writing in Work Gloves.” She has a Masters from Harvard University and lives on a farm in Massachusetts.