We chat to the winner of The Australian/Vogel’s Award for Young Writers 2024.
We are thrilled to introduce Kristina Ross, the brilliant winner of The Australian/Vogel’s Award for Young Writers 2024.
Kristina's debut novel, First Year, has captured the hearts of readers and critics alike with its insightful and heartfelt exploration of the journey of a young actress navigating the tumultuous first year of her training at a prestigious Melbourne drama school.
In this exclusive interview, Kristina shares her inspiration, challenges, and personal experiences that shaped this remarkable coming-of-age story. Join us as we delve into the world of First Year and discover the voice behind one of the most compelling new talents in contemporary literature.
_________________________________________________________________________________
A&U: Congratulations on winning The Australian/Vogel’s Award for Young Writers! Can you share your initial reaction upon learning you had won the award?
KR: I burst into tears! Truthfully, I thought the time had passed for the recipient of The Australian/Vogel’s Award to be informed of their winning, and I had tried to put it out of my mind. It was early October; I had just got home from taking my boys to swim school and had sat down to write some emails when Annette Barlow’s name popped up in my inbox. It was a very vague introduction but something about it – signing an NDA, organising a time to speak when I was alone – slowly opened into an understanding that something monumental was about to happen. Within two hours, Annette called, and my life changed in an instant. I will never forget that conversation. How kind and calm and generous Annette was; how I was flooded with gratitude and relief; how I cried and laughed throughout the entire conversation and continued to for the rest of the afternoon. I still find myself welling up with tears at the thought of having won. It is an absolute dream come true.
A&U: What inspired you to write your novel, First Year?
KR: When I was a young actor in training there weren’t any stories set in Australian cities that truly articulated the beauty and the cost of choosing a creative life. If female actors were referenced in literature they were often described as vapid and their process was ignored, inflated or made a mockery of. Over the years, I’ve searched for a story set within an Australian drama school, realising as I did, what a great premise it would be for a novel.
I chose to pivot my creative life when I fell pregnant with my eldest child. I was being drawn more and more to telling stories behind the scenes, rather than ‘presenting’ them as an actor. At that time, female driven stories were finally holding some value with readers, and that, coupled with the feeling of being drawn back to my instincts through my first pregnancy, felt like permission. I was reminded of my first creative outlet as a child: to write, to tell stories. I followed that feeling, and by the time I was pregnant with my second child (there are only eighteen months between my boys), I began working on First Year, writing while my baby slept, between the hours of twelve pm and two pm every day, so that I had a first draft by the time my second child turned one.
A&U: How do you feel your background or life experiences influenced the themes and characters in your book?
KR: First Year is a work of fiction. However, I have a rare understanding of what happens within the walls of art institutions because I am a graduate of one. Though my experience at VCA differs greatly from the protagonist, Maeve, there are a few parallels. I was only seventeen when I was accepted into drama school; one of the youngest to ever train there. I was also an outsider, coming from Queensland. Melbourne was an intimidating city, buzzing with creativity, and I sought an education from it.
To write First Year, I took much inspiration from my training, from the plays I’ve seen and performed in and from the venues I frequented as a young actor. Being accepted into drama school, training and graduating from one, is a huge feat. It is extremely unique. Very few people understand what that feels like. The people who do, in my experience, carry their memories with them, baffled and awed by what they went through. I tried to reflect that in First Year, to let readers into the microcosm that is drama school.
A&U: Are there any specific themes or messages you hope readers take away from your book?
KR: I hope readers come away inspired. Yes, First Year examines the darker aspects of creativity and performance, but the characters in the novel have no choice other than to explore them – they are driven by the spark that makes them creative people. To me that’s a noble thing. And there are moments of illumination, when the characters are inspired by what they’ve experienced or witnessed. It’s those glimmers that make it worth it for them.
Many artists give up, unable to sustain their creative lives. I always say to my friends, ‘if it’s in you, then you must pursue it.’ That ‘it’ being their instinct, their yearning to create. Life is short. Few people will back you. You must back yourself and keep going.
A&U: What challenges did you face while writing and publishing your debut novel?
KR: I had limited time to write; raising two small children with a husband who often travels for work. But I somehow wrote every day, while my babies slept, and it kept me moored to my creative self during those early years of motherhood. First Year would not exist without my boys. They remind me every day to be nothing but my most authentic self.
I didn’t know anyone in publishing. My background is in acting, writing and producing theatre and content. I reached out to friends and acquaintances for advice, people who had published work themselves, about how to find a home for First Year. I approached agents, took on feedback and learned the difference between a ‘hard no’ and a ‘soft’ one. I absorbed as much as I could. I knocked on a lot of doors. Many remained closed. But I believed in the story and kept going with very little to sustain me other than my own self-belief. The Australian/Vogel’s Award was the last door. For it to open for me is beyond anything I can describe. I always knew that First Year needed to rest in the right hands, that I needed to find who they belonged to. For Annette Barlow to see the potential in my work, for her and the team at Allen & Unwin to allow me the opportunity to reach it, is absolutely life changing.
A&U: Were there any authors or works that influenced your writing style or storytelling approach?
KR: There is no one writer who has influenced me more than any other. I take inspiration from everywhere. From the books I’ve read, to the films I’ve seen and the conversations I’ve had with friends. I read everything and revisit my favourite works often. Even stories that seemingly have very little in common with First Year influenced me as I wrote it, and I found comfort in the voices of writers such as Ocean Vuong, Sarah Winman, James Baldwin, Michael Cunningham, Sylvia Plath, Sally Rooney, Elizabeth Strout, Helen Garner, Tara June Winch, Lisa Taddeo, Omar Musa, Patti Smith, Virginia Woolf, Trent Dalton and many, many others.
A&U: How do you balance the demands of writing with other aspects of your life?
KR: Now that my boys are a little older (three and five), it is harder to carve time for myself to write. They don’t sleep during the day anymore! However, I am extremely lucky to have a husband who is also a creative and who understands the importance of my work not only for how stories have the capacity to expand minds but for how intrinsically linked writing and creating is to my sense of self. It goes both ways. We work together to find a balance that serves us individually and as a family. We don’t always achieve it, but we try. And that’s half the battle.
A&U: What advice would you give to aspiring authors working on their first novel?
KR: Keep going. Trust your instincts. Persevere and remain resilient. Find the people who lift you up, ignore the naysayers, and strive to reach the potential sitting within you. Because if there is a little light glowing inside you to write, then you owe it to yourself to nurture it.
Something I love about producing is creating opportunities for other creatives to do what they love. I will endeavour to do the same for writers; to be an open door. I know first-hand how difficult it can be to constantly hear ‘no’. A little encouragement can go a long way to help someone achieve their dreams.
A&U: How has winning this award impacted your writing career and future projects?
KR: Winning The Australian/Vogel’s Award feels like the beginning of the rest of my career. It feels like affirmation of everything I’ve ever strived for creatively. And I’m extremely excited for the future, to begin working on a new novel and fleshing out ideas for expanding First Year in another medium.
First Year
by Kristina Ross
First Year is a deeply intelligent and insightful exploration of creativity and performance, marking the entry of an audacious new literary talent.