Novelwords 2: Kirsty Jagger chats about her debut novel 'Roseghetto'

Kirsty Jagger chats with Janet Tweedie about her debut novel, Roseghetto. Set in a run down experimental public housing estate, Roseghetto tells the story of Shayla, who finds her escape through reading. An unforgettable and moving coming of age story, an account of breaking the cycle of violence and poverty.

Kirsty Jagger is a journalist by trade. In 2019, she won the inaugural Heyman Mentorship Award, established by acclaimed Australian author Kathryn Heyman for a writer from a background of social or economic disadvantage. Roseghetto takes some inspiration from growing up in the housing commission estates of Sydney’s western suburbs. It is her first novel.

'Disturbing and moving, Roseghetto is a clear-eyed exploration of growing up under the unyielding threat of violence and economic powerlessness' Venero Armanno

'Courageous, deeply moving, an beautifully written....' Kathryn Heyman