Author Trent Dalton to speak out against homelessness

Novelist Trent Dalton is about to embark on a national tour to raise awareness of homelessness. He was raised by a single Dad in public housing.

Novelist Trent Dalton has announced a nationwide speaking tour, beginning with a 2000-person launch event in his home state of Queensland, to tackle the problem of homelessness.

His tour will coincide with the release of his third novel, Lola In The Mirror (HarperCollins), which is about the desperate flight of a young person from a violent home. They end up living rough because that is just what so often happens in this (yes, ironically) lucky country.

Lola in the Mirror, the new novel by Trent Dalton.

Dalton, 44, researched the novel at Queensland homeless shelters, where he met many ­people who live on the margins.

His own story is one of being dragged into adulthood by his ­father, who raised three boys ­single-handedly in public housing with drugs, crime and prison time all part of the family history.

He gets the complexity of the problem. In an effort to find solutions, he has dedicated his tour to the homelessness charity Second Chance.

“I was raised in a brick public housing shoebox,” says Dalton. “My Dad was able to raise us paying less than $100 a week rent. I have no doubt we would have been homeless if it was 2023. You know, that terrifies me. There would have been no Boy Swallows Universe, no journalism, nothing. It’s pretty hard to come at anything from that.”

Boy Swallows Universe became a global phenomenon; ­Dalton is also a Walkley Award-winning magazine writer for The Australian.

The plight of those on the margins resonated with him because he has lived close to the bone. He is angry at recent statistics that show the homeless situation deteriorating: in the past four years, the number needing support in Dalton’s home state of Queensland has increased by 22 per cent.

“The solution appears simple: build more affordable homes. There’s no wishy-washy grey areas about this, it’s just a matter of engaging the people who could really help out – sometimes meaning the richest people in Australia,” he says.

He promises to talk during his tour about the Netflix adaptation of Boy Swallows Universe, due later this year (he has seen three episodes so far and “it’s blown my brain into small particles”).

Lola In The Mirror is published on October 4. For details of Dalton’s tour or to reserve a copy, go to www.harpercollins.com.au/trentdalton