CANCELLED Paul Dalgarno - Poly

In the tradition of Sally Rooney, Poly by Paul Dalgarno is a slanted-and-enchanted romantic comedy thriller about polyamory, polydactyly and personality disorders—a frank and honest account of contemporary relationships.

A searing and utterly engrossing debut, Poly is a raw, hilarious, and moving portrait of contemporary relationships in all their diversity, and an intimate exploration of the fragility of love and identity.

Paul appears in-conversation with a special guest to be announced soon.

This is a FREE event! You can also opt to pre-order a copy of Poly which we'll happily ship anywhere in Australia for free. 

This event takes place on Zoom. The Zoom meeting details form part of your ticket, emailed to you after registration.  

About the Book

Chris Flood—a married father of two with plummeting self-esteem and questionable guitar skills—suddenly finds himself in the depths of polyamory after years of a near-sexless marriage. His wife, Sarah—a lover of the arts, avid quoter of Rumi, and always oozing confidence—wants to rediscover her sexuality after years of deadening domesticity.

Their new life of polyamory features late nights, love affairs and rotating childcare duties. While Sarah enjoys flings with handsome men, Chris, much to his astonishment, falls for a polydactylous actor and musician, Biddy.

Then there’s Zac Batista. When Chris and Sarah welcome the Uruguayan child prodigy and successful twenty-two-year-old into their lives, they gratefully hand over school pick-up and babysitting duties. But as tensions grow between family and lovers, Chris begins to wonder if it’s just jealousy, or something more sinister brewing…

A searing and utterly engrossing debut, Poly is a raw, hilarious, and moving portrait of contemporary relationships in all their diversity, and an intimate exploration of the fragility of love and identity.

Written as a reality-check on the literature about polyamory, Paul Dalgarno explores key themes of love and trust in relationships, sex and marriage, jealousy, guilt, betrayal and the normality of a not-so-normal modern family. The book also touches on mental health and masculinity in crisis. Poly is an honest look at polyamory, from someone who is—Paul Dalgarno and his wife are in an open relationship.

Praise

‘A quintessential 21st Century love story, Poly will shake you up, madden you, have you in stitches and, most significantly, make you consider your own life more deeply. I couldn’t put this novel down.’  - Lee Kofman

‘No one uncovers our human frailties quite like Paul Dalgarno – part relentless investigative journalist, part poet of the bohemian suburbs. Poly is authentic, merciless and wincingly accurate; black humour at its best.’  - Jane Rawson

‘A fresh, witty take on modern masculinity and the lengths a man will go to for love. And sex. Lots and lots of sex.’  - Angela Savage 

About the Author

Paul Dalgano was born in Aberdeen, Scotland, and immigrated to Australia in 2010.

In Scotland, he was a senior features writer, columnist and Deputy Weekend Features Editor with The Herald and Sunday Herald newspapers. In Melbourne, he was a launch editor, Deputy Editor, Arts Editor and Science Editor of The Conversation website. Paul has written for many publications including Guardian Australia, Australian Book Review, Sunday Times Scotland and The Big Issue.

His memoir, And You May Find Yourself, was published in 2015 (Sleepers Publishing). In 2016, he was awarded a Varuna Residential Fellowship to work on his second book. When not writing, reading or parenting, Paul loves to cycle vast distances. Poly is his debut novel. He lives in Melbourne.