The Old Lie: An Interview with Claire G. Coleman

The Old Lie

**Claire G. Coleman, author of *Terra Nullius* and *The Old Lie*, is one of the most exciting new voices in fiction.**
A Wirlomin Noongar woman whose ancestral country is on the south coast of Western Australia, Coleman’s speculative fiction frames our history into narratives that shine a light on where we have come from just as much as they anticipate where we may be headed. Her latest novel *The Old Lie* features an intergalactic war that forces the reader to look a little more closely at our own home planet. In this interview, Coleman shares her inspiration to write and why recent events shouldn’t be all that surprising.

Genre fiction is having a moment, and you have been at the forefront of the sci-fi and speculative fiction revival in this country. The Old Lie and Terra Nullius are award-winning bestsellers. What draws you to these genres?

I have always been a fan of spec-fic and science fiction, from the beginning of my life as a reader. The first book I read by choice was Lord of the Rings and even though I understand now that LOTR is problematic I acknowledge it helped inspire me to become a writer.

Some people say that we are living in dystopian times. You have said that "apocalypses are more than the stuff of fiction." Do you think we should be surprised by current events?

Nothing in the recent or current events was completely unpredictable. Global warming and the damage it is doing to our society have been unpacked in speculative fiction for decades. Spec-fic has spoken about pandemics and the risk they pose to society as a whole. This has been a terrible year but not a surprising year.

The+Old+Lie+by+Claire+G.jpg — “
That’s why I write what I write, I am attempting to unpack the past and present of Australia while warning what will happen if we don’t alter our path.
”

The pandemic has everyone staying put. As someone who spends a lot of their life travelling for work, what is it like to be in one place for now?

Doing events and author talks has long been one of the aspects of the writer’s life that I have most enjoyed. Not the travel as such, though I do love travelling, hotels and airports are strange nether worlds that freak me out a little but I do enjoy talking to people about my work, about writing and about life and politics.

Luckily my relative success as a writer has left me in a better position than I was before I wrote Terra Nullius. I am not wealthy but I can afford to pay my rent and purchase groceries.

Have you read any good books in this time?

I have had a little more time for reading but not as much as I would have liked because, while touring and public appearances stopped, writing continues.

Lately, though, I have enjoyed finally having the opportunity to read The Tribe series by Ambelin Kwaymullina.

Your writing always says something poignant about the past, the present and the future. In the recent After Australia anthology you envision this country in 2050, and the future you present is stark but not completely unfamiliar. How do you think we can stop repeating the same mistakes of the past?

I think we can stop repeating the mistakes of the past but I am not sure we will. People in Australia are still denying the past of this country and are still pretending we are not a racist country. We need to accept and acknowledge the sort of country Australia is and the history of the colony. Perhaps then we can stop repeating the same mistakes.

That’s why I write what I write, I am attempting to unpack the past and present of Australia while warning what will happen if we don’t alter our path.

You recently explored the concept of the ‘monster’ for the 2020 Adelaide Biennial, turning the idea right on its head. Do you have any favourite monsters?

I am a huge fan of the Xenomorphs in the Alien franchise. Their powerful visual design combined with the alienness of their biology makes them interesting and leaves a lot of scope for stories. Frankenstein’s creature, seen as a monster by many, appeals to me but not as a monster but more as a sympathetic character.

And humans. When we get right down to it we are the monsters of our world.

What are you up to next?

Currently I am working on a play for Malthouse Theatre and editing my third novel. I am also working on the first draft of what I hope to be my fourth novel and doing commissions. There are always many commissions to finish.

You can find our reviews of The Old Lie and Terra Nullius on our Books We Love page.