The Leap

‘Propulsive, confronting, compelling. A masterpiece.’ – Chris Hammer, author of The Valley
‘The Leap is a modern Wake in Fright. Confronting, tragic, brutal, compassionate and funny. A brilliant examination of the prejudice and violence that lies at the heart of this country. A novel that speaks truth about crimes past and present.’ – Michael Brissenden, author of Smoke
‘This novel is an explosion of truth-telling about Australia’s bloody past, taking us on a tumultuous outback crime adventure, sometimes hilarious and often outrageous.’ – Julie Janson, author of Benevolence
‘Paul Daley’s vivid rendering of an outback town ruled by fear, alcohol and barely suppressed violence, damned by a malevolent and unspoken past, is unforgettable. It will disturb your nights.’ – Tony Wright, journalist
‘Paul Daley shatters the great Australian silence with a penetrating story that reveals the truth and trauma of Country. From his elegant and excavating pen comes another important and revelatory work.’ – Nick Bryant, journalist and author of The Forever War
A Wake in Fright for the 21st century. Savage, hilarious and ultimately profound, The Leap hurtles into Australia’s heart of darkness with exhilarating results.’ – James Bradley, author of Landfall
‘Unflinching, razor-edged and raw. Another tour de force by Paul Daley.’ – Joanna Jenkins, author of The Bluff
‘Paul Daley continues his ongoing examination of the frontier’s lasting effects, repainting Wake in Fright’s Bundanyabba hellmouth with a twenty-first century understanding of dispossession and racial division. Here are the drinking culture, the unconcealed bloodlust and the deluded squattocracy, all seen through the baffled eyes of a post-empire Briton. Only a writer of Daley’s quality could bring empathy and nuance to the canon of Australian bush noir.’ – Jock Serong, author of Cherrywood

Paul Daley is an author, journalist, essayist, and short story writer. His books have been shortlisted for the Prime Minister’s History Prize and ACT Book of the Year. He has won two Walkley Awards and the National Press Club Award for Excellence in Press Gallery Journalism.

His essays have appeared in Meanjin and Griffith Review. He writes ‘Postcolonial’, a column for The Guardian about Australian national identity, history, and Indigenous culture. His literary novel Jesustown was published to great acclaim in 2022.

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