First Name Second Name - Paperback

by Steve Minon (Author)

A haunting journey through family secrets, racial identity, and the search for belonging in Australia.

Stephen Bolin's deathbed wish is ignored, setting his corpse on a supernatural journey back to his birthplace in Far North Queensland. What compels him, and what awaits him there?

As a jiangshi, Stephen revisits his family's turbulent past: his Chinese great-grandfather's life on the goldfields, his Scottish grandparents' migration, and his own coming-of-age. This original and satirical novel explores four generations reckoning with identity. Will Stephen find peace, or will his family's secrets consume him?

• Perfect for readers of Australian literary fiction and family sagas
• Explores themes of race, sexuality, and cultural heritage
• Winner of the Queensland Literary Awards Glendower Award

Author Biography

Steve MinOn was an internationally awarded advertising copywriter and a restaurateur before becoming a writer of fiction. He grew up in North Queensland and he now lives in Meanjin/Brisbane. Steve has written often about outsiders and his family's mixed-race ancestral history, and his articles and short stories have been published in SBS Voices, Mamamia and various anthologies. He won the Glendower Award for an Emerging Queensland Writer in the 2023 Queensland Literary Awards for First Name Second Name.