Scrublands in ABC RN’s Top 100
Scrublands has been voted into ABC Radio National’s Top 100 books of all time!! More than 280,000 votes were cast – with the broadcast over
19/10/2026
Power & money, justice & love...
Travis Somerland is man accustomed to danger – but nothing can prepare him the for the peril, the intrigue or the ruthlessness that await him at Montechino. Or the murders.
Montechino: part palace and part fortress, the secluded estate of the uber-wealthy Claptons – modern-day robber barons for whom business is arithmetic, not morality.
Now Travis finds himself entangled in the ultimate power struggle, generations in the making, as the Claptons prepare for their largest stock-market heist yet. Can he survive the financial maelstrom and bring some measure of justice to an unjust world?
Full Circle - Book Tour
Booking links in white
News South Wales – part 1
Friday 18th September – 12:30pm – Long Table Lunch with Michael Brissenden – Rick Stein at Bannisters – Mollymook, NSW
Friday 25th September – 10am – Meet the Author – Kincumber, NSW
Saturday 26th September – 3pm – In Conversation – Northern Beaches Readers Festival – Avalon, NSW
Monday 28th September – 5:30pm – Book Launch with BAD Sydney – The Women’s Club – Sydney, NSW
Tuesday 29th September – 11am – Literary Lunch – Bendooley Estate – Berrima, NSW
Tuesday 29th September – 6:45pm – In Conversation – Ryde Library – Sydney, NSW
Wednesday 30th September – 2pm – In Conversation – Ballina Library – NSW
Queensland
Wednesday 30th September – 6:30pm – Meet an Author – Broadbeach Library – Gold Coast, QLD
Thursday 1st October – 11am – Full Circle with Chris Hammer – Somerset Civic Centre – Esk, QLD
Thursday 1st October – 6:30pm – An Evening with Chris Hammer – The J Theatre – Noosa Heads, QLD
Friday 2nd October – 11:30am – Literary Lunch – Tranquil Park – Maleny, QLD
Saturday 3rd October – 10am – Author Talk – Gympie Library – Gympie, QLD
Sunday 4th October – 11am – Jane Caro & Chris Hammer – Island Storytellers Festival – Lamb Island, QLD
Tuesday 6th October – 6:30pm – Author Hour – Springfield Central Library – Springfield, QLD
Wednesday 7th October – 10am – Author Talk – Cleveland Library – Brisbane, QLD
Victoria – part 1
Thursday 8th October – 6pm – In Conversation – Sorrento Writers Festival – Sorrento Portsea RSL – VIC
Friday 9th October – 7:30pm – Keynote Speech – Dandenong Ranges Literary Festival – Belgrave, VIC
Saturday 10th October – 11am – Crime Panel – Dandenong Ranges Literary Festival – Belgrave, VIC
Sunday 11th October – 2pm – In Conversation – Clunes Railway Station – Clunes, VIC
Monday 12th October – 5:30pm – Chris Hammer: Full Circle – Bendigo Library – Bendigo, VIC
Tuesday 13th October – 6:30pm – In Conversation – Beaumaris Yacht Squadron – Beaumaris, VIC
South Australia
Wednesday 14th October – 1pm – In Conversation – Salisbury Community Hub – Adelaide, SA
Wednesday 14th October – 6:30pm – Author Talk – Burnside Library – Adelaide, SA
Thursday 15th October – 1:30pm – In Conversation – Laratinga Pavilion – Mount Barker, SA
Thursday 15th October – 6:30pm – Meet the Author: Full Circle – Marion Cultural Centre – Adelaide, SA
ACT
Friday 16th October – 5pm – The Library That Made Me – Canberra Writers Festival – ACT
Saturday 17th October – 5pm – Life & Crimes of Chris Hammer – Canberra Writers Festival – ACT
Sunday 18th October – 3:15pm – Climate Wars & Political Intrigue – Canberra Writers Festival – ACT
Victoria – part 2
Tuesday 20th October – 6:30pm – A Night of Crime – Eltham Performing Arts Centre – VIC
Thursday 22nd October – 6pm – In Conversation – The Goods Shed – Ballarat, VIC
Saturday 24th October – 1pm – Let’s Get Criminal – Queenscliffe Literary Festival – VIC
Sunday 25th October – 1pm – Small Town, Big Story – Queenscliffe Literary Festival – VIC
Tasmania
Tuesday 27th October – Author Event – Devonport Library – TAS
Tuesday 27th October – 5:30pm – In Conversation – Launceston Library – TAS
Wednesday 28th October – 5:30pm – In Conversation – Fullers Bookshop – Hobart, TAS
New South Wales – part 2
Thursday 29th October – 7:30pm – In Conversation – Manly Library – Sydney, NSW
Friday 30th October – noon – Dymocks Literary Lunch – Four Seasons Hotel – Sydney, NSW
Saturday 31st October – 10am – Jane Caro & Chris Hammer – Blue Mountains Writers Festival – NSW
Saturday 7th November – 11am – Author Talk – Tomaree Library – Salamander Bay, NSW
Saturday 7th November – 3:30pm – Author Event – Taree Library – Taree, NSW
Western Australia
Saturday 21st November – 5pm – Festival of Fiction – Edith Cowan University – Perth, WA
Sunday 22nd November – 1:15pm – Festival of Fiction – Edith Cowan University – Perth, WA
Monday 23rd November – 6:30pm – Author Talk – The National Hotel – Fremantle, WA
News
Shortlisted for hometown awards
I’m honoured, grateful and chuffed to learn that Legacy has been shortlisted for best fiction in the ACT Literary Awards. The Awards are run by
05/06/2026
New Australian publisher
Big news! I’m shifting to a new Australian/New Zeland publishine house: Summit Books, an imprint global publisher Simon & Schuster. This reunites me with my
29/05/2026
The Coast – new edition
My book The Coast is back in bookstores, with a new edition released by Melbourne University Press. The book was originally published in 2012. Now MUP
13/01/2026
Legacy longlisted for the Indies
I’m very happy about this – Legacy has been longlisted for the Indie Book Awards among some very fine novels indeed. I’m conscious of some
09/12/2025
Treasure & Dirt coming to TV!
iThe first of the Ivan and Nell books is being adapted for TV. The six-part series is currently in production and will screen on the
20/11/2025
Television & Streaming
Scrublands series one. A much-loved priest turns homicidal in a drought-stricken town – journalist Martin Scarsden invesigates.
Premiered November 2023. Featuring Luke Arnold as Martin, Bella Heathcote as Mandy and Jay Ryan as Byron Swift.
Streaming on Stan in Australia, BBC iPlayer in the UK and AMC+ and Sundance Now in North America, as well as other international markets.
Scublands series two. Martin returns to his old home town and is forced to confront the trauma of his youth. Luke Arnold and Bella Heathcote are back for second series filmed in the stunning coastal village of Augusta Western Australia.
Premiered in April 2025, again on Stan, followed by BBC terrestrial and iPlayer, and AMC+ and Sundance Now in North America. A third series Scrublands: Trust is now in post production.
A new six-part series filmed in the South Australian outback, with Liv Hewson as Nell Buchanan and Michael Dorman as Ivan Lucic.
An opal miner is murdered, a self-appointed mayor wields enormous power, a religious cult hides dark secrets.
ABC TV and iView in Australia, BBC1 and iPlayer in the UK in early 2027. North American and international territories TBA.
Books
The River (2010) and The Coast (2012) are Chris’ first two books – narrative non-fiction published by Melbourne University Press – click on the image to go to MUP.
Told in the first person, they tell the story of his travels through the drought-devastated Murray Darling Basin and down the east coast of Australia.
Through his travels and the people he meets, Chris explores issues including the environment, agriculture, climate change, indigenous heritage, colonial history, small town Australia and the importance of the bush and beach to the country’s contemporary identity.
Writing the books was a wonderful experience for Chris, teaching him so much about his craft. It also gave him the opportunity to research some of the locations that later appear in his crime fiction: the western Riverina (Scrublands); the NSW north coast (Silver); the Barmah-Millewa Forest (The Tilt); and the Paroo River (Legacy).
A new edition of The River was published in July 2025, and The Coast will be re-issued in 2026.
The multi-award winning Martin Scarsden series includes Scrublands (2018), Silver (2019) and Trust (2020), and now Legacy (2025). Click on the image to go to publishers Allen & Unwin.
The novels follow the ongoing exploits of damaged journalist Martin Scarsden as he comes to terms with his own past, even as he solves crimes in pursuit of newspaper scoops, and builds his relationship with Mandalay Blonde.
The novels have won praise for their sense of place, their intricate plots, their colourful characters and their emotional depth.
Published under the same titles in the UK by Wildfire Books – click on the image to go to Waterstones.
This prize-winning and best-selling series follows experienced homicide detective Ivan Lucic and his novice partner Nell Buchanan as they contend with personal challenges even as they catch killers.
Treasure & Dirt (2021), The Tilt (2022), The Seven (2023) and The Valley (2024) are all set in the dramatic landscapes of Australia, and can be read as a series or as stand-alone novels.
They typically weave together multiple timelines and points of view, presenting readers with a rich and immersive experience.
They are published in the UK and internationally as Opal Country, Dead Man’s Creek, Cover The Bones and The Broken River. Click on the image to go to Waterstones.
Maps
Click on a map to enlarge, download and print!!
Each book has a map: Riversend (Scrublands); Port Silver (Silver); Sydney (Trust); and Port Paroo (Legacy) from the Martin Scarsden/Mandalay Blonde books.
Finnigans Gap (Treasure & Dirt/Opal Country); Tulong (The Tilt/Dead Man’s Creek); Yuwonderie (The Seven/Cover The Bones); and The Valley (The Valley/The Broken River)
They’re created by the amazing Aleksander J Potočnik. Enjoy!
chris hammer
Chris Hammer is a leading Australian crime fiction novelist, author of the internationally bestselling Martin Scarsden series: Scrublands, Silver, Trust, and now Legacy.
Chris’s other award-winning series features homicide detectives Nell Buchanan and Ivan Lucic: Treasure & Dirt/ Opal Country; The Tilt/Dead Man’s Creek; The Seven/Cover The Bones; and The Valley/The Broken River.
Chris has described Full Circle as a standalone that may evolve into the first book in a new series.
Scrublands was an instant bestseller upon publication in 2018, topping the Australian fiction charts.
It was shortlisted for major writing awards in Australia, the UK and the United States. In the UK it was named the Sunday Times Crime Novel of the Year 2019 and won the prestigious UK Crime Writers’ Association John Creasey New Blood Dagger Award.
Scrublands, Silver and Trust all feature troubled journalist Martin Scarsden and his partner Mandalay Blonde, while the next four novels follow homicide detectives Ivan Lucic and Nell Buchanan.
Chris’s books are well known for their atmospheric Australian settings, a range of colourful characters, intricate plots, descriptive language and emotional depth.
Before turning to fiction, Chris was a journalist for more than thirty years. He reported from more than 30 countries on six continents for SBS TV. In Canberra, roles included chief political correspondent for The Bulletin, senior writer for The Age and Online Political Editor for The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald.
Chris has written two non-fiction books The River (2010) – winner of the ACT Book of the Year – and The Coast (2012), published by Melbourne University Press. A new edition of The River was published in 2025 and The Coast will be re-issued in 2026.
He has a bachelor’s degree in Journalism from Charles Sturt University and a master’s degree in International Relations from the Australian National University. He lives in Canberra, Australia.
Contacts
Chris can be contacted directly via his facebook author page
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Australia
- Agent – Grace at a4 Literary
- Publicity – Laura at Benson PR
- Speaking engagements – Booked Out
