Collegian Jordan Prosser: debut novel

University of Queensland Press has acquired the worldwide rights to Big Time, the debut novel of Radford collegian writer, filmmaker, and actor, Jordan Prosser (Class of 2006).

Big Time is set in a not-too-distant future Australia, where the Eastern states have become the world’s newest autocracy – a place where pop music is propaganda, science is the enemy, nationalism trumps all, and dissent or moral indecency are punishable by immediate and indefinite detention.

The novel opens as Julian Ferryman, bass player for The Acceptables, returns to Melbourne after a year abroad. He reconnects with his band as they prepare to record and tour their highly anticipated second album, and is given his first taste of a new designer drug, F, a powerful synthetic hallucinogen that gives users a glimpse of their own future. Rumour says, the more you take, the further you see – maybe even to the end of time.

“I’m beyond chuffed to be working with Aviva Tuffield and UQP on my first novel; it feels incredible to have their support behind this time-hopping, genre-bending project,” said Jordan. “Big Time spans multiple decades, features a sprawling, international cast of characters, and considers the responsibility of artists during times of great social unrest – should they be spearheading the revolution, or offering simple escapism? I also see this story as a lament for the end of your (my) 20s – it’s about having the scales fall from your eyes, seeing the world for what it truly is, then deciding what – and who – you’re determined to hold on to, as the band plays you off.”

Jordan has been very busy since graduating from Radford College in 2006. He went on to graduate from the Victorian College of the Arts and has won multiple international accolades with his short films and screenplays. Then in 2022, not only did he publish his debut novel, but he also won the Peter Carey Short Story Award for Eleuterio Cabrera’s Beautiful Game.

Big Time will be published in early 2024.