Sarah-Jane Collins '18 is the author of Radiant Heat, a new novel set to be published by Berkley Books on January 23, 2024.
When a catastrophic wildfire suddenly rips through a woman’s hometown, she thinks she is lucky to have survived. Until she finds a dead woman in her driveway, clutching a piece of paper with her name on it. But why? As she searches for answers across Australia’s harsh landscape, she soon learns that the fire isn’t the only threat she’s facing.
Collins discusses some of the inspiration behind the novel in her author’s note: “As a girl, I used to dream of writing novels, but I worried it wasn’t a financially stable career path, so I became a newspaper journalist instead. I wish that was less of a bad joke. My first month in the newsroom, management made big cuts, and the layoffs continued for the five years I worked there. But my job in Naarm (Melbourne) put me in the path of some remarkable people, and covering the lives of Victorians was a privilege, and a constant surprise. It was this time, and these people, who inspired Radiant Heat.”
“Atmospheric and gut-wrenching, Radiant Heat crackles with electricity,” Melissa Larsen, author of Shutter (Berkley Books, 2021) said. “Collins has woven a masterful tale of grief and revenge and the vulnerability of our lives battling against the force of the elements, both within ourselves and outside.”
CJ Leede, author of Maeve Fly (Tor Publishing Group, 2023), adds: “Collins’ writing is as fierce as it is thoughtful. You’ll feel the blistering air in your lungs and the scorched earth beneath your feet. Radiant Heat will haunt you, long after the last page.”
Pre-order your copy of the book here.
Sarah-Jane Collins is a writer, editor, and journalist from Meanjin (Brisbane), Australia, who moved to New York by way of Gadigal land (Sydney), and Narrm (Melbourne). Her work has appeared in The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald, Meanjin, Overland, and others. She has an MFA in fiction from Columbia University. Her fiction has won the Overland Fair Australia Prize and been short-listed for other awards. Although New York is home now, she misses the beaches of Australia, but not the spiders.
