Inga Simpson’s Once We Were Wildlife: Stories is a tender, luminous collection of interconnected tales that explore love, longing and the wilderness – both within and around us.
In this compulsive compilation of eleven stories and one poem – set against scorched landscapes, wild oceans, and rocky terrain – Simpson follows people on the edge of desire, heartbreak and change.
In Poached – an ex-soldier finds himself between a poacher and a Bengal tiger. In The Wash – a woman’s reckless ocean swim reveals the instinct to survive and the end of a passionate love.
From the aching intensity of romantic love to the quiet devastations of motherhood and ageing, Simpson’s literary prowess keeps us riveted by the power of nature to shape human relationships and worlds.
Melancholic and joyful, masterful and inspiring, this is contemporary fiction at its finest by Australia’s foremost writer of the natural world, Inga Simpson.
Inga Simpsonbegan her career as a professional writer for government before gaining a PhD in creative writing. In 2011, she took part in the Queensland Writers Centre Manuscript Development Program and, as a result, Hachette Australia published her first novel, Mr Wigg, in 2013.
Nest, Inga’s second novel, was published in 2014 and was longlisted for the Miles Franklin Literary Award and the Stella Prize and shortlisted for the ALS Gold Medal. Her 2024 literary thriller The Thinning was longlisted for the 2025 Stella Prize and the 2025 Fiction Indie Book Award. Inga lives on the New South Wales south coast among trees.
Once We Were Wildlife: Stories is published by Hachette Australia and is available from all leading book sellers including QBD Books.
Image: Once We Were Wildlife: Stories – courtesy of Hachette Australia