Woo Woo
Title: Woo Woo
Author: Ella Baxter
Publisher: Allen & Unwin
Shortlist: Fiction
Sabine returned from the shops carrying a bag containing an effortless pair of Christian Wijnants fringed trousers and Ann Demeulemeeter Crinkle Nero boots. The sales assistant had agreed that the combination made Sabine look exactly like an artist. 'A conceptual artist?' Sabine asked, and the sales assistant said, 'Or an actual artist.'
Sabine is having a moment. Her new exhibition, Fuck You, Help Me, is opening soon and, as her gallerist says, 'Hell is an artist three days before their exhibition opens.' But it's not only this coming milestone that is causing Sabine to melt down.
She is being stalked. As exhibition day draws closer, so too does the man who has been watching her. As his approaches become more overt and threatening, Sabine's fear amplifies and transforms into something feral and primal. And then things start to get really strange.
Darkly funny, intense and unsettling, Woo Woo is an astonishing and unflinching dissection of creativity and obsession, love and passion, vengeance and rage. Nothing will prepare you for this literary firestorm from the author of the internationally acclaimed debut New Animal.
Judges’ report
About to reveal her latest provocative exhibition, artist Sabine is relishing her moment of being the toast of the visual art scene when a stalker starts menacing her. Her relationship with her partner comes under pressure, her gallerist just wants her to behave (in an artistic way, of course) and her livestream audience offers all manner of advice. Add visitations from the outrageous ghost of Carolee Schneeman to the mix, and Woo Woo comes on like an extreme art parade of a novel, taking off with magnificent zeal and rarely coming up for air. Exploring the unquenchable drive of an artist, the threat of male violence, and the oscillations of a strained marriage, Baxter’s new novel is feral, gripping and wickedly hilarious.
About the Author
Photo by Mischa Baka
Ella Baxter
VPLA book photography by Sarah Walker
The 2025 Victorian Premier’s Literary Awards are proudly supported by the Victorian Government through the Community Support Fund and Creative Victoria.