Matt Rubinstein

Matt was born in 1974 in Sydney, and lived in Adelaide for 15 years before returning to Sydney in 1997. He practised law for five years and now writes full-time. He is currently working on a new novel, a feature film script and several short film projects.

The bright new light in Australian fiction, Matt Rubinstein’s first novel (in sonnet form) Solstice, was shortlisted for the 1993 Australian/Vogel award and published, to critical acclaim, in 1994 by Allen & Unwin. His adaptation of the book for the State Theatre Company of South Australia and Magpie Theatre was the hit of the 1996 Adelaide Festival, directed by Neill Gladwin and starring Kate Kendall and Nadine Garner with live jazz by Kate Ceberano and the Barney McAll trio. Matt has also written the screenplay for a short film, Punch, which screened in the 2007 Melbourne International Film Festival.

Matt’s second novel, Nomad, was published in 1997 by Hyland House and his third, Vellum, was runner-up for the 2001 Australian/Vogel award. It is now called A Little Rain on Thursday and was recently published by Text Publishing.

Website: http://mattrubinstein.com.au/

Books by Matt Rubinstein

• 

  Solstice

  Solstice is a novel in verse set over the twenty-four hours of the longest day of the year, in Adelaide. It is a story of love and exploration told in the sonnet form, one verse for each few minutes of the day. It shows how much can change in a day — the whole world, and at the same time nothing at all.

  Details

• Nomad

  Nomad is a novel about a couple of backpackers making their way around Europe, meeting and losing each other as they sort themselves out.

  Damon is Australian, trying to escape the career that has been mapped out for him back home. Stacy is American, trying to get over the tragedies of her own life.

  They live on trains and in youth hostels from Amsterdam north to Copenhagen and Hell, Norway; east to Berlin, Prague and St Petersburg; and south to Paris, Barcelona and Rome. They drink cheap vodka and smoke hash through Coke cans; they devour art, music and a lot of bread and cheese as they try to come to grips with the world and themselves.

  Details
• 

  A Little Rain on Thursday

  Jack lives in a world of words. His work is a search for the perfect translation, the phrase that will capture the poetry of an elusive idiom. His love for Beth is a thing of intimate word play and half-told stories.

  So when he finds a fragile manuscript in the crypt of an old Sydney church, he is immediately fascinated. The language is like nothing he has ever seen. The aura of mystery is intoxicating and dangerous. But are the manuscript's deepening secrets to be trusted? Are sinister forces gathering around him? Or does Jack's hunger for answers come from somewhere darker, more personal?

  A rich tapestry of ideas creates the backdrop for Matt Rubinstein's dazzling new novel. A Little Rain on Thursday is a gripping thriller, a tender, bittersweet love story - and a compelling depiction of a life spinning into chaos.

  Details