Ventura Press acquires D. A. Fletcher’s debut novel
27 February, 2026
Sydney-based publisher Ventura Press has acquired world rights to Unspoken, a gripping political crime novel by D. A. Fletcher.
Fletcher has spent nearly twenty years working at the heart of Australian politics – across the Senate, the House of Representatives and the Tasmanian House of Assembly – following careers in teaching and corporate finance. She advised a former President of the Senate, was a campaign strategist and team leader for backbenchers, headed media and communications for a shadow minister and held senior executive roles within a major political party – positions that gave her a front-row seat to power and policy.
Fletcher speaks of journalist Steve Lewis (co-author of The Marmalade files) and how he observed that there are countless stories to be told against the Australian political backdrop.
She agrees with Lewis, noting that ‘to date, none have been written by a political staffer, the insider in the thick of it - day in, day out - who understands the minds of politicians and knows exactly how power operates.’
Fletcher says that ‘Unspoken fills that gap.’
‘I couldn’t be more thrilled to be working with Ventura Press to bring my work into the world. I knew I was placing something precious in steady hands, and I wouldn’t have done it unless I knew my voice would be treated with care and respect.’
Publisher Jane Curry says ‘this gripping political thriller, written by a former adviser, is an absolute page turner. I can only hope it is fiction as the plot twists are sinister and terrifying.’
Unspoken follows political adviser Francis McGuire, charged with overseeing the launch of the opposition’s flagship health policy until a disastrous rollout sees her publicly blamed and cast out by the very party she served. Fleeing the fallout to a remote Western Australian town, she finds herself pulled into a web of corruption, power plays, and a murder that reaches to the top of government.
Ventura Press plans to release Unspoken in May 2026.
ENDS