The Night Tolkien Died
Random House, 1994
The first anthology of short stories to be acknowledged by the Children’s Book Council of Australia as an Honour book, The Night Tolkien Died presents a range of short fiction by an author who takes the genre seriously. While the characters deal with a variety of challenges, the style and voice of the stories change, to suit the theme.
Although this edition is out of print, six of these award-wining stories are included in the anthology Listening to Mondrian (Allen & Unwin, 2006).
Selected Reviews
“The Night Tolkien Died sets a new benchmark for young adult fiction.”
“These terrific, compressed, passionate, frank stories announce themselves as being about serious adolescence, about ideas, emotions, experiences, relationships — and not just for young people — the insights are for adults too.”
“Nadia Wheatley’s The Night Tolkien Died is a collection of twelve stories, as deeply considered, as finely composed and as uncompromising in content and politics as her readers have come to expect... Wheatley can never be accused of writing down to her audience.”
“Reading these stories is like climbing a succession of mountain peaks... Freedom is the recurring theme throughout the book... The possibility of freedom empowers Nadia’s characters.”
Awards
Honour Book, CBCA Book of the Year for Older Readers, 1995
Shortlisted, South Australia Ministry for the Arts Award, 1995