A razor-sharp evisceration of celebrity culture and literary fame, How I Became a Famous Novelist is a satirical novel masquerading as a tell-all memoir.

Sick of life as he knows it, Pete Tarslaw sets out to write a bestselling novel, armed with a formula for success cobbled together from previous bestsellers: he abandons truth, relies heavily on lyrical prose, creates a club with a mysterious mission, includes a murder and invokes “confusing sadness” at the end.

Once the sales rankings for his novel The Tornado Ashes Club start their meteoric rise - thanks to a Christian evangelist, a recovering teen starlet and Law and Order: Criminal Intent – Tarslaw’s inevitable decline looms, and his fall from grace will be nothing short of spectacular.

How I Became a Famous Novelist is the hilarious tale of how Pete Tarslaw’s “pile of garbage” became the most talked about, read, admired and reviled novel in America. It will change everything you think you know – about literature, appearance, truth, beauty, and those people out there who still care about books.

Praise:

“Funny as hell" – The Australian

“This guy is f---ing brilliant" – The Age

“Highly entertaining.” – The Advertiser

“A consistently hilarious and unrelentingly brilliant gem of a novel.” – The Courier Mail

“Sharp and consistently funny.” – The Sunday Territorian

"Laugh-out-loud funny.' – Sunday Herald Sun

Reviews & Interviews:

Steve Hely is interviewed about his novel and experiences writing for TV

Steve Hely reveals his five tips for aspiring writers

Read the New York Times review of How I Became a Famous Novelist

Read the Age review of How I Became a Famous Novelist

Buy the eBook:

Readings ebookstore

iBookstore