The Anniversary

Written by Stephanie Bishop

Narrated by Fiona Hampton

For fans of Lisa Halliday and Susan Choi, The Anniversary is a simmering page-turner about an ascendant writer, the unresolved death of her husband, and what it takes to emerge on her own

Novelist J.B. Blackwood is on a cruise with her husband, Patrick, to celebrate their wedding anniversary. Her former professor, film director, and cult figure, Patrick is much older than J.B. When they met, he seemed somehow ageless, as all gods appear in the eyes of those who worship them. But now his success is starting to wane, and J.B. is on the cusp of winning a major literary prize. Her art has been forever overseen by him, now it may overshadow his.

For days they sail in the sun, nothing but dark water all around them. Then a storm hits, and Patrick falls from the ship. J.B. is left alone, as the search for what happened to Patrick-and the truth about their marriage-begins.

Propulsive and fiercely intelligent, The Anniversary is exquisitely written with a swift and addictive plot. It's a novel that asks: how legible, in the mind of the writer, is the line between reality and plot? How do we refuse the people we desire? And what is the cost, to ourselves, to others and to our art, if we don't?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Tantor Media, Inc
• Release date: Jul 18, 2023
• ISBN: 9798350839722

Stephanie Bishop

Stephanie Bishop was named one of The Sydney Morning Herald’s Best Young Australian Novelists for her debut novel, The Singing. She holds a PhD from Cambridge University and is currently a lecturer in Creative Writing at the University of New South Wales. The Other Side of the World was longlisted for the Stella Prize 2016 and shortlisted for the Indie Book Awards 2016, the Australian/Vogel Literary Award, and the Victorian Premier’s Literary Award. It won the Readings Prize for New Australian Fiction 2015, as well as the Australian Book Industry Award for Literary Fiction Book of the Year 2016.

Reviews for The Anniversary

[julie weeks · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

The book was long and dry. I probably would not have finished it except the narrator's voice was great. I felt it was too long and left so much unresolved.

[Leslye Mahoney · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

For the most part really enjoyed just think that she really shortened the most important part or chapters with the trial. It could have bern presented with more detail not sure I would havecagreed with that verdict based on the little she gave as her side of the event and the ending. There was so much detail before chapter of trial and it was ended with me thinking what just happened? Like the writer just got tired of the story line. Buy i enjoyed listening to it. I was really so caught up in the story waiting to see where it went just perplexed how that would have concluded that way.