The Skeleton House - Interview with author Katherine Allum

Katherine Allum is an award-winning fiction author.

Her debut novel, The Skeleton House, won the 2023 Fogarty Literary Award and will be launched in a week’s time by Fremantle Press.

American-born, Katherine grew up in four different states, but has strongest ties to Portland, Oregon and regional southwest Nevada.

After spending several years in London, she now lives in Perth with her husband.

But it’s Nevarda that figures in The Skeleton House.

Meg’s life is woven into the fabric of St. Stephens. It’s a tapestry made of two precious children, a hidden truth, and a husband whose ideas of a perfect wife do not match her own.

When Meg puts her foot down on a third kid, gets a job, and is empowered by the same book group that was meant to keep her in her place, her marriage begins to disintegrate.

Set in a tiny Mormon community, this is a novel about resilience and courage – the fierceness of mother-love and the power that comes with never forgetting who you really are.

The praise for The Skeleton House is coming from everywhere. Books+Publishing recently said of it: ‘The Skeleton House is a story brimming with tension, desperation and heartbreak, told with a poetic assuredness. Allum is an exciting new literary voice.’

12 months ago, just after Katherine had won the 2023 Fogarty Literary Award, our Editor, Michael Barker was lucky enough to sit down with Katherine to talk about the then forthcoming book and her own backstory. In case you missed it, here’s our earlier podcast. It’s a lovely discussion.

And this week, just ahead of its launch, our Editor was again fortunate to catch up with Katherine Allum to hold, admire, discuss and make the podcast you’ll find below about the now published The Skeleton House.

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