01
Books
COMING 2027
BELINDA NEWTON
BELINDA NEWTON
New Book
Coming 2027
Stories about identity, landscape, and the search for belonging — set in dramatic Australian landscapes.
View BooksComing 2027
Brown Skin Blue · 2009
"A COMPELLING STORY, POWERFULLY TOLD."
Barry Mundy has brown skin and blue sin and, at seventeen, those two colours define his life. When he gets a job at the Croc-Jumping cruises on the Adelaide River in the Northern Territory, he carries a list of names of the men who could be his father.
Shortlisted — WA Premier's Award 2009
Big River Little Fish · 2010
"MESMERISING YET AUSTERE PROSE."
From the moment he was born tail first — the moment of his mother's death — time has held Tom the wrong way round. But the thing about the Murray river rising, the thing that takes Tom by surprise, is not what that Mother Murray takes away, but who she brings back.
The Age 'Pick-of-the-Week'
One Long Thread · 2012
"RUBY IS ENDEARING AND GORGEOUS."
I had moths in my chest. A thousand of them drumming with their insistent wings, thumping inside my heart. It was the feeling of something struggling to get out, to fly free. Love is like that.
Magpies Magazine FeatureI've always been drawn to telling stories—whether through words, images, or the space where both meet. I work under three names, each one exploring a different aspect of my creative life.
Perhaps I had a subconscious inkling that I would weave many paths under many names, because I've always only ever signed books as Belinda. Almost everyone who knows me calls me Bee.
All but one of these are true...
From the very first subdued but loaded sentence, Jeffrey reels in her audience. The tone is bold, startling and brave... a powerful contribution to juvenile fiction.
— Australian Book Review on Brown Skin BlueWith mesmerising yet austere prose, strong characters, and a tangible sense of place, Jeffrey's novel is compelling Australian fiction.
— The Age 'Pick-of-the-Week' on Big River Little FishRuby is endearing and gorgeous and your heart breaks for her.
— Steph Bowe's Hey! Teenager of the Year on One Long ThreadWorkshops and author talks for primary and secondary students
Thoughts on writing, illustration, and the creative life.
It's been more than a decade since I last published a book. It's not that I wasn't writing — I was. But I couldn't seem to shape any one story to 'the end'.
Barry and I share the mystery of our cultural origins. I have dark skin, my son's skin is even darker, and I have only stories passed down about where our dark blood comes from.