Samantha Trayhurn lives and writes on Biripi Country, on the mid‑north coast of New South Wales. She holds a Doctorate in Creative Writing from Western Sydney University. Her work explores the liminal spaces where nature, bodies, and ideas intersect. Her first novel, My Father is a Curlew, placed 3rd in the 2023 Hawkeye Publishing Manuscript Development Prize and was released in 2025 with Interactive Publications. Samantha’s writing has appeared in journals including Overland, Westerly, and eTropic. When she isn’t writing, she can be found surfing, roller‑skating, or collecting inspiration from coastlines and quiet rooms.
The Sound of the Waves is set to be released in 2027.
What inspired you to be a writer?
I think I was born a writer. As a child, I was drawn to books more than toys, and I could read novels before I even started school. I remember being five-years-old, tucking myself away in a corner on a rainy day with a pencil and a notepad. When my mum asked what I was doing, I told her I was writing a book. That instinct has never left me. It’s always felt like the most natural way for me to make sense of the world.
What prompted you to write 'The Sound of the Waves'?
A few years ago, I met an older woman who had never been to the coast, and I was able to share that experience with her. The mixture of fear and excitement she felt when seeing the vast ocean stretching out before her for the first time was incredibly profound.
Vera, the main character in my book, is not based on this woman, but that moment stayed with me and mingled with characters who had been brewing in my imagination for a long time. The relationship between Vera and Rina grew out of a desire to explore female bonds and the quiet strength that can exist in those cross-generational relationships.
I am always inspired by place, and the dry country passed through in the book is my ode to the beauty and sadness of our land. The story grew from the way creativity and landscape intertwine, shaping how we understand ourselves and our place in the world and how, at times, we are driven toward our destinies in strange and magical ways.
Do you have any more books in the pipeline?
Yes. I’ve recently been spending a lot of time in the mid-west region near Mudgee, and both the landscape and the history there have been creatively generative for me. The book I’m working on blends the modern day with the Gold Rush era, prompted by a series of strange, almost magical experiences connected to the statue of Louisa Lawson.
What is your professional background?
I’ve been writing freelance since my time at university, and I hold a doctorate in creative arts, which guided me toward writing and publishing my first novel, My Father is a Curlew. Alongside my writing life, I now own a business that distributes roller skates, and I also work at my local library. This combination of roles keeps me busy but also connected to creativity, community, and stories in many different forms.
Any advice you’d like to give to aspiring writers?
There’s so much good advice out there for aspiring writers: write every day, even when you don’t feel like it. Build strong routines. Keep a journal. Sadly, I don't follow most of it, but I think I might be a better writer if I did.
For me, writing is about seeing and being with the world; slowing down and allowing yourself to be inspired by even mundane things. If an idea sparks something in you, follow it, because you never know where it might lead. Trust your intuition. Get to know and love your characters. Listen to them, and let the story be told through you rather than trying to control it. When you allow writing to flow so that you don't even know what's coming next until the words hit the page and you are just as surprised and delighted as a reader, that’s when you know you are on the right path.
Who/what inspires you?
The rhythms of the ocean, birds in flight, walking in the bush, playing a game of chess with my partner and talking about the mysteries of life, spending time with my special girls and seeing the world through their eyes, driving down country roads for the first time… but even hanging clothes on the line and feeling a warm summer breeze can be inspiring. I think inspiration is almost everywhere. I love the mystery of never knowing what will find its way into a book.
What are your hobbies, interests and favourite books?
When I'm not writing, you will find me surfing, roller skating, running or playing tennis. I love to move my body. I think expressing energy in this way let's me come back to stillness and opens my mind when it's time to write.
When I have time to tuck away with a book, I am likely reading the latest literary fiction. Recent favourites include Orbital by Samantha Harvey and There are Rivers in the Sky by Elif Sharak. If it's on an awards shortlist, I try to read it.
My literary comfort food that I always come back to is anything by Haruki Murakami, Gabriel Garcia Marquez or Elena Ferrante.
How can readers contact you?
I love to communicate in all forms.
Email: samantha.trayhurn@gmail.com
Instagram: @sam.skatesss
Facebook: @sam.trayhurn
