Non-fiction
A Brief History of Thought – Unfinished
Published in November 2023, A Brief History of Thought – Unfinished is a collection of John Bryson’s essays and poems, with drawings by leading architect and John’s friend, Richard Leplastrier AO
Read moreThe Novels
Evil Angels
A documentary novel of the ‘Dingo Baby Case,’ now a feature film starring Meryl Streep and Sam Neill, print volumes by Penguin Books and Hachette, Simon & Schuster, Bantam and Notable Trials Library USA. Film titled in the USA A Cry in the Dark.
Translations to:
- French, Le Chien du Desert Rouge, Actes Sud, Toulouse.
- German, Ein Schrei in der Dunkelheit, Bastei Lubbe.
- Japanese, 邪悪な天使, Shoten Tokyo.
- Chinese, 邪恶的天使, Crown Taiwan.
- Italian, Un Grido Nella Notte, Sperling & Kupfer.
- Portuguese, Um Grito No Escuro, Editora Record Brasil.
- Swedish, Ett Skrik I Morket, Bonniers Grafiska.
- Greek, Kpauyn oto Okotadi, Plaza.
The Conversation E-Magazine, March 5th 2014 asked, “If you had to argue for the merits of one Australian book, one piece of writing, what would it be?” Here is “The Case for John Bryson’s Evil Angels” by Professor Kieran Dolin, English and Cultural Studies, University of Western Australia.
Read moreTo the Death, Amic
A novel of boyhood in the Resistance to the Fascist dictatorship of the Spanish Civil War, first published by Penguin Books through Viking and Hamish Hamilton UK. Translation to Spanish, Hasta la Muerte, Amigo, Editorial Milenio, Spain.
Read moreFancygoods Over the Mountains
A novella of expatriates set in Papua New Guinea. First published by Antipodes Journal, Austin, Texas.
Read moreWhoring Around
A novella in six stories of a series first published by Penguin Books Ltd.
Read moreStories of a world where scruples are fair exchange for the currencies of fortune and inheritance, where the avarice of generations has carved indelible patterns into the lives of Bryson’s heroes and their progeny ....... leaving Humphrey sanctimoniously whoring his way through Asia
— Penguin Books
The Empirical Pieces, Reportage
Bryson has the skills of literary journalism, and abundant luck. (He) gives us essential truths about the way things work: the realpolitik of forces over our lives. This is the way the world goes.
In Rage, to Rebellion
A volume in three pieces
- Backstage at the Revolution, treating the African National Congress’ theatre troupe,
- Red Ragger, profile of a disgruntled communist, and
- The Elemental Physick of Wrath, on the ignition of anger.
A Long Weekend in Belfast
a novella sized piece covering the Ulster riots of 1986, fighting and intrigue between the Protestant brigades and the IRA.
Read moreIslanders, Far South
three feature pieces on southern fishing communities,
- The Oldest Abalone Diver in the Business,
- Pride of the Crayfish Fleet,
- Digging Holes in the Sea,
and a fourth voyage,
- Tasmania, a Lovesong.
Among the Very Foreign
four feature pieces from Kalimantan, Singapore, Taipei, Hong Kong, and one column piece from Samarinda.
- His Brow in Feathers, the Dyak Chieftain and His Equation for the Order of Time,
- Bugis Street Shoes,
- A Good Pirate Crew Can Swarm Sitting Down,
- Borneo Ferry,
- Parties All Over Town, which covered the Hong Kong Handover for News Limited.