By Tyler Wright
It took Sarah Firth eight years to publish her debut graphic novel Eventually Everything Connects, with a stint staying in the Dandenongs marking a point of relief in the process.
Comic artist, writer and graphic recorder, Firth said she was inspired by her “everyday thoughts and experiences” while creating the novel; a collection of eight visual essays covering topics from sex and philosophy to science and pop culture.
“A catalyst for me to really get moving with making it was the opportunity to pitch the book to the Comic Art Workshop in 2015,“ Firth said.
“It is a two week residency for ambitious long form comic and graphic novel projects. Where 14 or so amazing graphic novelists get together to workshop each other’s work.
“Finding this community really lit the fire in my belly to make this book.“
However, the publication was not an easy one for Firth, with rejections from publishing houses coming through “thick and fast“.
“While I started in 2015, it took quite some time to find both an agent to represent me, and a publisher who was brave enough to publish me,“ she said.
“For years I got rejections.
“The issue was not that the book was lousy, it was more that the book is too hybrid, unusual and daring, and I was told it was risky to publish.“
In 2021, the frustrated author took herself off to a retreat in the Dandenongs and resigned to the fact her novel would not be published.
“[I] bought myself a wood splitter and chopped firewood logs at a cabin for days, to let out my pent up frustration; that’s a normal thing to do, right?” Firth told Star Mail.
“I walked in the Dandenong Ranges National Park daily, and called friends who had given up on their graphic novels to commiserate.”
On the last day of her retreat, however, when Firth had resigned to let the book die, she received an excited call from her agent telling her that screenwriter and actor Nakkiah Lui had seen her pitch, “loved it“ and wanted it for her new imprint; Joan Press with Allen & Unwin.
“What a turn of events,” Firth said.
“The book is very much about trying to both embrace uncertainty and the everything-ness of these times.
“The joy and despair, the love and the pain, the complexity and the opportunities.“
Eventually Everything Connects was released on 3 October, with the rights recently being purchased by Pennsylvania-based company Graphic Mundi and a release date of spring 2024 in America.
So far, the novel has been featured in the must reads section of Qantas Magazine, reviews in The Big Issue, Readings Monthly and on Arts Hub.
It was also in the non fiction pick of the week in the Saturday Age, listed in “The Best Books of 2023” by The Conversation and was listed in Refinery 29’s “A Beginners Guide to the Best Graphic Novels, Ever“ alongside classics like Maus, The Complete Persepolis and Heartstopper.
“I’m so amazed at the positive feedback the book has had over the last two months,“ Firth said, following a book launch tour in cities including Adelaide, Canberra, Sydney and Melbourne at a sold out Science Gallery on 18 October.
“I made special moth outfits as bogong moths are a key recurring creature and symbol in the book by hand and did a magical dance/comedy performance with two friends to kick off the launch, and did the whole rest of the launch dressed as a moth,“ she said.
“It was very fun.“
She said she hopes readers feel an experience of “thinking together“ as “we journey through stories, thoughts and experiences in both human and more-than-human worlds“.
“My aim is for the book to be a breath of fresh air, to reinvigorate a sense of lateral thinking and curiosity, wholeheartedness and wonder at the strangeness of being alive.“
