One of the books of the year emerged from the inaugural Hedberg Writer-in-Residence program, but author Robbie Arnott gained so much more from the experience.
Arnott used the precious time to write his third novel, Limberlost, which this year was shortlisted for the Miles Franklin Literary Award and won the Age Book of the Year for fiction.
Based on the life of Arnott’s grandfather, it tells the story of teenager Ned on his family’s Tasmanian orchard during World War II.
The University’s Hedberg residency was integral to the creation of the book, Arnott says.
“It was amazing,” he said. “I got three months just to focus on writing a book. It was essentially a full-time job just to work on a book.”
It was a rewarding return to the University for Arnott, who moved from Launceston to Hobart in 2008 to hedge his bets with a Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Business.
“I knew I loved novels and I wanted to know what made them work and why they elicited such a strong response in me, so I came to learn about that,” he said.
“Just being immersed in literature and language and words, and for that to be treated seriously, made me realise it would be okay to devote a lot of my time to this.”
As part of his residency, Arnott conducted workshops with the University’s writing students. They were equally rewarding for him, he says.
“While I might have been able to help with some technical things, in terms of emotional resonance I learned a lot from some of the students,” he said.
“Some writers visited us when I was studying, and I found that really helpful.
“It’s really nice to think that I could be part of that cycle of gaining a lot from those people, going away and doing my own thing and then giving back.”
Find out more about studying a double degree.
Written by David Beniuk for Alumni Magazine Issue 54, 2023.
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Top of page: Robbie Arnott (left) with Dr Emmett Stinson, Head of the School of Humanities | Photo: Peter W Allen