“When I first went to Okinawa in 2017, I was not prepared – as a westerner – for the reality of the political situation. I’d thought it would be a dream tropical island, “the Hawaii of Japan”, and a fascinating hybrid culture of Okinawans, Japanese and Americans. In fact it was a state-sanctioned bastion of colonial oppression, stuck in a time warp, hidden from the eyes of the world inside military exclusion zones and spin.” My piece on the knife edge of writing about another’s culture for The Irish Times

“When finished, the appreciative audience applauded and called out as one, ‘More! More! More!’ – a first in my experience at a literary event.” Lovely write-up of the launch party by Jackie Law, of Never Imitate

“Venetia Welby’s futuristic second novel, Dreamtime, has an altogether different atmosphere and resonance to her first, Mother of Darkness, set in London’s Soho. Both novels, however, feature central characters in crisis seeking to put themselves back together one way or another as they struggle with their instincts and the conscious/unconscious part of their personality. Both are super-charged and simmering narratives with a twist, which suck you right in. Dreamtime is an unusual novel that lingers in the mind ….”

“A prowling strangeness stalks through the latter half of the novel; it hums and jitters, leaving an electric taste in your mouth. The suggestion that the uncanny weather is giving license for this otherworldliness to creep in is neatly done, too. It’s a theme tackled elsewhere, in China Miéville’s weird fiction, for instance, and in Amita Ghosh’s The Great Derangement, but it’s a treat to see it handled with such gamine authority by Welby.”

Read an extract from Dreamtime in The London Magazine online

“Welby’s writing style is original and uncompromising … A story laced with shadows and beauty that reminds the reader how much we look away when to see becomes challenging.”

“Venetia’s Dreamtime blew me away and kept me hooked.” Loved chatting to Mary Woodbury at Dragonfly about cults, shapeshifters and the American occupation of Okinawa.

“& finally, pre-order a signed September treat from Salt Publishing: Venetia Welby's journey over poisoned oceans from Tucson to Okinawa, and through tangled family & transnational histories, in DREAMTIME.” Thrilled to be included in the excellent Burley Fisher’s recommended summer reading.

Hamilton-Emery commented: "As soon as I started reading the manuscript, I knew that I had to publish Venetia Welby’s Dreamtime, which absolutely deserves to be an Observer book of the year. It reads like a modern reimagining of a classic adventure novel, centred around themes such as the climate crisis, sexual abuse, migration, virtual reality and the US–China geopolitical rift. Utterly terrifying and unputdownable."

“Brilliantly complex, emotional, and frightening … The crazy, raw descriptions of Japan are just miraculously beautiful at times.” A wonderful first review by Mary Woodbury at dragonfly.eco.

“Literary fiction is in fine fettle if April’s publication schedule is anything to go by…” Dreamtime has been featured in The Bookseller’s fiction preview, by Alice O’Keefe

“If 2021 is as good as its novels, we’ve got a lot to look forward to.” Thrilled to see Dreamtime featured in Alex Preston’s look-ahead for the Observer New Review, in fantastic company. “A host of dazzling second novels in the offing … Venetia Welby’s exquisite and hallucinogenic Dreamtime (Quartet, April) is set in a near future in which we have lost the battle against climate change.”

Dreamtime has been included in dragonfly.eco’s excellent list of eco-fiction novels coming in 2021.

Delighted to have an excerpt from an earlier draft of Dreamtime in The London Magazine. Buy the Feb/March 2020 issue here or click title to read online.