To be asked to select a defining year is challenging. especially one that ties in with my most recent book Tell it To The Dog. I chose 1985 as this was when I first became involved in the HIV epidemic. Little was I to know that this would lead to 32 years (and counting) in international public health. That journey would take me to all corners of the globe and provide many insights and incidences to be recounted in Tell it To The Dog.
You can listen to the podcast on the Sunday Extra webpage at:

www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/sundayextra/2017-07-16/8697068




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My collaboration with Max Ferguson, "Lulu in New York and Other Tales", was successfully launched, first at the iconic Strand Books in Manhattan and the following week at Waterstones Piccadilly in London. A video of the Strand event is available on the bookshop's website and on YouTube. A short film of the Waterstones event will soon be uploaded to YouTube. The book is now available in bookstores, on Amazon, as well as directly from the publisher, Unicorn Press.

Nice review in the FineArt Connoisseur Magazine ahead of the New York launch:
http://fineartconnoisseur.com/2017/05/lulu-in-new-york/

Lulu in New York & Other Tales will be launched in New York at the iconic Strand Book Store on Wednesday 24th May 2017. This 86 year-old New York landmark houses 18 miles of new, used and rare books. The shop has featured in many movies including Six degrees of Separation, Julie and Julia, Remember Me, and the Woody Allen classic Hannah and her Sisters.  In 2016 The New York Times called The Strand "the undisputed king of the city's independent bookstores." One of the stories in the collection is based on Max Ferguson's painting of The Strand's owner, Fred Bass. I can't wait to be there.

2017/04/My new book Lulu in New York and Other Tales (Unicorn Press, UK; University of Chicago Press, USA: July 2017) is a collaboration with the American painter Max Ferguson (www.maxferguson.com) where I've written 60 short stories to 60 of his paintings, spanning the 1980s to the present day. The eponymous story is that of Louise Brooks, the silent film actress. This week the Louise Brooks Society, based in San Francisco, picked up on pre-launch publicity for the book and wrote a nice piece on its website:
http://louisebrookssociety.blogspot.com.au/2017/04/new-book-lulu-in-new-york-and-other.html
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My third novel "Tidetown" will be launched at 6.30pm on Thursday 5th November at Readings Bookstore, at St Kilda, Melbourne. It will be launched by Alex West, internationally renowned director and documentary film maker. 

My third novel "Tidetown" (a sequel to "In Search of the Blue Tiger") will be launched in Melbourne on Thursday, 1st October (details to follow). Here's the back of the book blurb:

Nestled on a windswept coastline, life in Tidetown is seemingly quiet and assured. But after a mysterious and mystical black-skinned slave is shipwrecked on its shores time-honoured traditions are unsettled. As events unravel the unfinished business of the barbaric Fishcutter murder comes back to haunt the townsfolk as the unforgettable twins, Perch and Carp, return.

In the wider world, rumours of wars, disease and corruption endanger the livelihood and the very existence of this sleepy town.  Will Mayor Bruin provide a vision for the future? Can the monks on the Island of Good Hope offer salvation in a time when faith is tested? Can Judge Omega keep evil at bay?

All the while, Oscar Flowers, free from his Tidetown childhood, is on his own adventurous quest in lands beyond the sea: a pilgrim’s progress striving for home and purpose, and in search of what it means to be a man.

In Robert Power’s masterful third novel, Mrs April, Brother Moses, Oscar and other much-loved characters that first appeared in the magical In Search of the Blue Tiger, reconnect in an unexpected  and mesmerising tale of adventure and spirit.

Praise for Robert Power

‘Psychologically astute, original and whimsical.’ Felicity Plunkett, Canberra Times ‘Dark and beautiful.’ Claire Kennedy, Herald Sun ‘Rich with observation and fine writing.’ Lucy Sussex., The Age ‘An assured storyteller … taut and compelling.’ Crusader Hillis, Australian Book Review