ROOM FOR A STRANGER

ROOM FOR A STRANGER is a moving and complex portrayal of an improbable friendship. It is about difference and compassion, and how the most ordinary moments can illuminate our lives in unexpected ways.

Since her sister died, Meg has been on her own. She doesn't mind, not really—not with Atticus, her African grey parrot, to keep her company—but when her house is broken into by a knife-wielding intruder, she decides it might be good to have some company after all. Andy has left his family in Hong Kong to pursue university studies in Melbourne, but now that his father has lost his job, his parents' savings are barely enough to cover his tuition. If Andy wants to graduate, he'll have to give up his student flat and find a homeshare. But living with an elderly Australian woman is harder than he expected

Melanie Cheng's collection of stories, AUSTRALIA DAY, won the Victorian Premier's Literary Award for Fiction, after having previously won the same award in the Unpublished Manuscript category. It has been shortlisted for the Readings Prize for New Australian Fiction and longlisted for a number of awards including the Indie Book Award for Debut Fiction.