The Erudite Pen

27/11/2025

As 2025 winds down for me today, I’m taking a moment to catch my breath and look back on what can only be described as a whirlwind of a year.

From Sydney and Melbourne business trips, interstate author catch-ups and publishing industry meet-ups, to deep-dive edits, APA advocacy, typesetting marathons and the occasional comma or hyphen–induced meltdown 😅 this one-woman publishing powerhouse has certainly earned her Christmas break.

One of the privileges of the year was being part of the industry advocacy group submissions to the federal government to challenge the proposed text and data mining exception highlighted in the Productivity Commission’s report. Protecting our authors’ rights is vital and it was heartening to stand alongside colleagues who care as deeply as I do.

To all my incredible authors, thank you for trusting me with your stories. Whether I published your book or guided you through the editing process, it has been a genuine honour to help bring your work to life. 💖

And what a year of achievements we’ve celebrated together…
🏆 Two gold awards
🌟 Visionary Award for Chapter Books
📚 Biography of the Year
🌟 Multiple #1 hot new releases and #1 bestsellers
🥇 Numerous professional 5-star book reviews

Here’s just a snapshot of what we’ve created:
🎖️ Brendan Bateman – Drummoyne’s Great War Volumes I, II and III
📚 Rod Besley Author – Vanquish Your Enemy
💌 Alana Grainger – Love Letters to the Soul
🖤 R Slater – Dark Masquerade: Book 1 in the Order of the Steel Rose
🌀 D.C. Scully – Beware the Abyss: Book 1 in The Cursed Crystals
🔥 Kimberley Anne – Black Lace: Book 3 in the Make You Mine Romances
💜Renee Hayes Author - Petals & Teeth standalone novel
🐴 Leisa Fail - Author – Stormy Normy Goes Reining: Book 3 in The Adventures of Stormy Normy
🚁 Lionel Smith – The Brave and the Reckless
🦇 Wendy Pym - Author – Raven and the Witch: Book 1 in Bloodlines of Destiny
🔍 Georgia Woolf – psychological suspense (developmental edit)
⏳ Anna Wiewirskyj – The Dreaming
🌟 Heather Farmer Author – Shadows of Doubt
💪 Angus Cunningham – surviving childhood cancer memoir
🏝️ John and Barbara Singe – The Islands Between: Stories from the Torres Strait Islands

Plus a few secret 2026 projects quietly brewing… 👀✨

Thank you, my authors, for every submission, every edit and every brave creative step. Here’s to another huge year of stories, imagination and independent publishing magic.

A heartfelt thank you to the Australian team for your ongoing support. Chris Munnery, Tessa Spring, Madeline Bush and the whole customer service team, it was wonderful meeting you all in person.

And finally, to my brilliant cover designer JudithSDesign&Creativity, who has delivered one standout cover after another this year. Judith, you are exceptional and such a joy to work with.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from your managing editor,
Dr Juliette Lachemeier 🎄📚✨

The Erudite Pen provides professional editing, writing, research and desktop publishing services. It specialises in business, academic, educational, ESL, health science and metaphysical related fields, delivering expert accredited support in diverse editing, writing and publishing endeavours.

26/11/2025

📖 Author Spotlight: Angus Cunningham

You may remember seeing Angus Cunningham on back in 2015. At just 12 years old, after his second battle with , his courage and optimism inspired people across Australia.

Now, ten years later, Angus is 22 and ready to tell his own story. His memoir, Twice Before Twelve: A Journey Through Childhood Cancer, is raw, compelling and filled with hope.

It honours the love of family, the loyalty of friends and the generosity of a community that walked beside him through the darkest of times. 💛

Angus is a survivor, storyteller and passionate advocate for children and families affected by . Alongside writing, he’s completed a Bachelor of Business and a Bachelor of Creative Intelligence and Innovation at UTS, while continuing to raise awareness through . He’s spoken at for , fundraised tirelessly, and remains a proud fan.

📖 Coming 27 February 2026: Twice Before Twelve is a powerful true story that captured the attention of A Current Affair, rallied the support of Rare Cancers Australia and inspired an extraordinary outpouring of kindness from across the country.

Angus shares why he is so deeply grateful for his friends, his family and his local community, whose strength and generosity carried him through the hardest fights of his young life.

25/11/2025

A heartfelt thank you to everyone who picked up Heather Farmer’s Shadows of Doubt on and just before release day. You took it straight to the #1 Hot New Release for Australian drama on Amazon, and we couldn’t be more grateful.

Your early support means the world to Heather and to all of us who believe in this powerful, beautifully crafted story. Thank you for championing Australian literary fiction and helping this remarkable novel find its readers.

Heather Farmer Author

25/11/2025

Another big congratulations to Leisa Fail! 🌟

Stormy Normy Finds His Forever Home, Book 1 in The Adventures of Stormy Normy, has just been named an EQUUS Winnie Award winner in the Literary Corral section, all the way over in Maryland, USA, in the International YA category. What an extraordinary achievement.

And to top it off, this comes hot on the heels of Book 2 taking out the Big Bang Visionary Award for Chapter Books last week. Stormy Normy really is taking the world by storm, charming readers near and far with his heart, grit and big dreams. 🐴✨

So proud of Leisa Fail - Author and this wonderful series. Here’s to even more adventures, more readers and more well-deserved accolades.

https://www.facebook.com/EquusFilmFestival
https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=1242637087899544&set=pcb.1242650701231516

20/11/2025

Another huge congratulations to Leisa Fail - Author, whose heartwarming Adventures of Stormy Normy won the Visionary Ward for chapter books 🤩🥳🥳🐴

Huge news!!! 🎉
Stormy Normy and the Tom Quilty Gold Cup has officially landed on the 2025 Big Bang Notable Book List and won the Visionary Award for Chapter Books!
Stormy Normy—the horse, the myth, the legend… and now an award-winning superstar! 🐴🌟

🔗 https://thestorytellersshelfpodcast.com/big-bang-notable.../

19/11/2025

Huge congratulations to my author, award-winning journalist Kirsty Nancarrow, whose powerful book Himalayan Dreams: The Story of Som Tamang has just been named Biography of the Year in the international Best Indie Book Awards — coming hot on the heels of its recent Gold Award win. 🎉🎉

This remarkable biography shares Som Tamang’s unwavering mission to eradicate child marriage and the s*x trafficking of girls in rural Nepal, while expanding access to education and creating real job opportunities for young women. Kirsty’s sensitive, courageous storytelling is helping this vital message reach readers around the world.

An extraordinary achievement for an extraordinary book. So proud to see Himalayan Dreams receive the recognition it deserves. 🌟📚

Kirsty Nancarrow - Media Trainer/Keynote Speaker/MC/Author

17/11/2025

🌿 OUT NOW! 🌿

Evocative Australian literary fiction that isn’t afraid to confront uncomfortable realities with beauty and truth.

Heather Farmer’s compelling new novel, Shadows of Doubt, brings intrigue and emotional depth to every page.

Set in rural northern New South Wales in the 1990s, it follows fifteen-year-old Jodie as she navigates , and haunting memories. Tender yet unflinching, the story explores desire, shame, secrets and the fragile courage it takes to set them free.

Heather takes ordinary domestic settings and exposes their tensions, fractures and suppressed truths, crafting a story that lingers long after reading. Shadows of Doubt will appeal to readers drawn to emotionally charged, character-driven fiction full of psychological suspense and the lingering weight of memory 🖤💔

Perfect for fans of Charlotte Wood’s exploration of desire and secrecy, Helen Garner’s unflinching eye on human lives and Kate Grenville’s storytelling lyricism.

📖 Shadows of Doubt — available now wherever good books are sold.
✨ Suitable for adults, new adults and mature young adults (15+).
📍 Heather Farmer is a Cairns-based poet and author whose body of work spans fiction, poetry and memoir, including the prize-shortlisted The Longest Decade.

Amazon worldwide: https://shorturl.at/Aqord
BookLoop Books Australia: https://shorturl.at/d2lYX
Fishpond Books Australia: https://shorturl.at/VjXEU

Plus many more!

Heather Farmer Author

. Fifteen-year-old Jodie lives in a body that to her is both a burden and a battleground; she is hearing impaired, asthmatic and painfully aware of every extra curve. Isolated on a beautiful rural property in Northern NSW in the 1990s, her world is small; she is hemmed in by her mother's ...

15/11/2025

Signed copies of all three Tom Jackson Legal Thriller books available today. It's been wonderful working with Rod Besley Author these past couple of years on his action-packed thrillers 😊📚🖋

Come say hi to lawyer-turned-author, Rod Besley. He will be signing copies of his enthralling legal thrillers today until 2pm. 📚

13/11/2025

Meet author Rod Besley, the legal virtuoso behind the Tom Jackson legal thrillers!