Bathurst author Tracy Sorensen has received a prestigious fellowship to commence a project combining literature and science.
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Last week, Ms Sorensen was named as the 2019 Judy Harris Writer in Residence, awarding her a $100,000 grant to work on her second novel at the University of Sydney's Charles Perkins Centre.
The novel will follow Ms Sorensen's acclaimed debut novel, The Lucky Galah, which was longlisted for this year's Miles Franklin Award.
Ms Sorensen said her new novel will aim to personify the characteristics of organs affected by cancer.
"We've got all these organs in our bodies yet most of us lack the curiosity and knowledge around the science of what's going on inside," she said.
"With the last book told from a galah's point of view and this one set to personify organs, I'm aiming to deepen my interest in the agency of nature."
"Nature is an active participant in all walks of life, and when you shift the point of view from the person to the stomach, it tells a very different story."
The Lucky Galah saw Ms Sorensen take inspiration from her upbringing in the Western Australian coastal town of Carnarvon.
Ms Sorensen's new novel will also adopt a memoiristic influence through her own battle with cancer in 2014, which she successfully overcame.
"I contracted an incredibly rare form of ovarian cancer despite the fact that I'd had major risk-reducing surgeries due to my mutated BRCA1 gene," she said.
"The BRCA1 gene mutation required me to undergo a double mastectomy [removal of both breasts] and an oophorectomy [removal of ovaries] but unfortunately, I had a few stray cells in the abdomen that formed into tumours."
Ms Sorensen's gene mutation is shared with actress Angelina Jolie, who underwent the same surgeries.
While receiving cancer treatment, Ms Sorensen crafted crochet organs based on the shapes in her x-rays, which helped communicate her illness in a gentler fashion.
"It was a complete mess in a lot of ways, and the doctors had to determine how to effectively remove all the tumours without killing me," she said.
"As a writer, the greatest thing you can ever have is something interesting to write about and by the end of my cancer treatment, I was already in the process of determining how to characterise organs."
Throughout her residency, Ms Sorensen will have access to a host of valuable medical resources and staff to help fuel the scientific side to her novel.
Ms Sorensen said the opportunity has provided a staggering boost to her writing career.
"To be given that wage for a whole year is beyond a writer's wildest dreams," she said.
"I'm expecting the book to be complete by the end of next year, and it will be a quirky mix of storytelling and science."