Tracy Farr

Tracy Farr (born 1962) is an Australian and New Zealand writer. Previously a research scientist, Farr has published three novels and several short stories. In 2014 she won the Sunday Star-Times Short Story Award.

Early life and scientific career Farr was born in Melbourne, but grew up in Perth where she attended school and university. She holds a bachelor's degree in science with honours in microbiology and a bachelor's degree in arts (English literature) from the University of Western Australia. Her particular area of focus was coralline algae.

Her second novel, The Hope Fault, was published in 2017 by Fremantle Press, by Gallic Books in 2018 in the US and UK, and by Parallelo45 Edizioni in 2018 in Italy under the title Dopo la pioggia. A review in The Sydney Morning Herald described it as about "the way we live our daily emotional lives and accommodate whatever happens to us, and [Farr] cleverly uses the solid ground of a particular house as a base for these explorations". It was selected as one of the 100 best books of 2017 by The New Zealand Listener, which described it as "quietly brilliant". In 2019 it was adapted for the stage by writer and director Andrew Hale and performed at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts.

Farr's third novel, Wonderland, won the 2024 NZSA Laura Solomon Cuba Press Prize. It was published by The Cuba Press in 2025. Wonderland is set on Te Motu Kairangi Miramar Peninsula in 1912, and features a fictional visit to New Zealand by scientist Marie Curie. The Laura Solomon Cuba Press Prize judges praised the novel for its "sheer originality and the lyricism of its writing".

Selected works The Life and Loves of Lena Gaunt (Fremantle Press, 2014) The Hope Fault (Fremantle Press, 2017) Wonderland (The Cuba Press, 2025)