In Conversation with Arianne James

Arianne James, author of Daughters of the Tide will be in conversation with Angela Slatter to discuss all things gothic, folklore and eerie historical fantasy.

About Daughters of the Tide

Weaving historical fiction with folklore and Tasmanian gothic, this is a gorgeously atmospheric debut that explores memory and self, the resilience of women and a dangerous longing for the sea.

The Findlay family history has long been steeped in secrets, tragedy and dark rumours of madness. Generations of its women have been haunted by a dangerous luring melody and an insatiable longing for the sea.

It's 1923 and Isla Findlay lives with her parents on the edge of the ocean in Tasmania, in a rambling mansion full of whispers of this cursed legacy. When Isla discovers her estranged aunt is finally coming home, long repressed memories of the selkie stories of her childhood start to resurface, along with disturbing dreams of seals and an eerie song that Isla starts to hear even in her waking hours.

As the line between what's real and imagined starts to blur, Isla and her aunt and mother must reckon with long-held secrets and ghosts who have not been properly laid to rest. The closer they get to the truths of the past, the louder they hear the seductive call of the ocean. Does it sing of freedom, or only more tragedy?

A tale of madness and miracles, secrets and sins, myth and reality, and the tenacity and resilience of women in the face of impossible choices.

About Arianne James

Arianne is a writer of fiction and avid reader. She lives in Hobart on the beautiful island of lutruwita, Tasmania, surrounded by the ocean and an ever watchful mountain. Her stories have been published in The Hunter Writers Centre’s Grieve anthology, Swinburne University’s journals Backstory and Other Terrain, Corvid Queen magazine and Voices of the Southern Ocean. Arianne holds a Bachelor of Behavioural Science (2017) and First-Class Honours in Creative Writing (2019) from the University of Tasmania, and is a graduate of the Faber Writing Academy (2024). Her writing has taken her on residencies to Varuna, KSP Writers Centre, Patterdale House and Chateau d’Orquevaux. In 2020 she was shortlisted for the HNSA Elizabeth Jane Corbett mentorship, and in 2022 shortlisted for the Margaret Scott Young Writers Fellowship at the Tasmanian Literary Awards. She works for TasWriters as their Program Coordinator and hosts The Book Shelf on Edge Radio (99.3FM), where she interviews people from the Tasmanian literary community and beyond. Arianne’s debut novel, ‘Daughters of the Tide,’ was published by HQ/HarperCollins in May 2026.

About Angela Slater

Angela “A.G.” Slatter is a multi-award-winning author of novels, novellas and short stories, as well as a graphic novel collaboration with Mike Mignola, Castle Full of Blackbirds, set in the Hellboy Universe. Her most recent novels, set in the Sourdough Universe, are currently published by Titan:  All The Murmuring Bones, The Path of Thorns, The Briar Book of the Dead, The Crimson Road and A Forest Darkly. A contemporary horror novella, The Cold House, was published in 2025, and will be followed by Fitcher’s Bird in October 2026. The Sourdough Compendium, which gathers three mosaic collections – Sourdough and Other Stories, The Bitterwood Bible and Other Recountings, and The Tallow-Wife and Other Tales – will be published in June of 2026.