Marija Peričić is an Australian novelist, born to German and Croatian parents. She has written three novels to date, and is working on her fourth. 2023’s Exquisite Corpse was shortlisted for the Davitt Award from the the Sisters in Crime association in Australia. Her first novel, 2018’s The Lost Pages, won the prestigious The Australian/Vogel’s literary award, as well as being shortlisted for the Readings Prize, and she was also named a Sydney Morning Herald Best Young novelist. She has been published in various journals and magazines such as Meanjin and The Big Issue Fiction Edition.
I’ve known Peričić for over a decade through the family of one of my dear friends. I never seem to a problem finding my new annual subjects - every year, as soon as I start looking for my new subject, he or she just appears. For instance, this year, as soon as I started wondering who to paint, Marija wandered into the Evelyn hotel. Problem solved.
Marija’s new novel, Foreign Country, will be released in June 2025, and will be launched in Readings bookshop in Carlton, Melbourne, Australia on June 13.
This work was selected entries for Hidden Faces of the Archibald 2025.
Background photograph copyright Brett Lukey
