The last Phryne Fisher novel, publishing in November 2025.
From Allen & Unwin, publishers of Kerry Greenwood (1954-2025):
Allen & Unwin is grieving the loss of Kerry Greenwood who died on 26 March 2025 after a courageous battle with ill health.
Kerry was incredibly accomplished in so many different areas. She had two burning ambitions in life: to be a legal aid solicitor and defend the poor and voiceless; and to be a famous author. As a duty solicitor she was outrageously successful. As an author, even more so. Some of her earnings were spent on riotous living, but Kerry gave a lot of it away without fanfare to those who really needed it: fellow authors down on their luck, impecunious neighbours and, above all, to charities.
Kerry was a costumier, a cook, an embroiderer and a seamstress who made most of her own clothes, as well as a chorister and a very wise and exceptionally kind woman. Passionate about history, literature, cats and Egypt—indeed, curious about almost everything—Kerry will be sincerely missed by her family, friends, colleagues and readers.
Allen & Unwin began publishing Kerry’s much-loved Phryne Fisher series in 1997. There have since been twenty-two Phryne novels and two short story collections, and a new Phryne Fisher novel, Murder in the Cathedral, will be published later this year. Kerry’s other fabulous heroine, Corinna Chapman, baker, lover, detective, has appeared in seven novels.
Her books have been successfully published internationally: in the UK, North America, Canada, and translated into French, Italian, Korean, Russian, Slovenian, Danish, Japanese and Polish among other languages.
Over 700,000 copies of Kerry’s books have been sold across Australia and New Zealand and a further 700,000 copies in overseas sales.
Phryne Fisher stepped off the pages and onto the screen when EveryCloud Productions brought Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries to television. Three seasons were produced and aired in 2012, 2013 and 2015, and the show went on to be broadcast in over 100 countries and territories. Two seasons of a 1960s spin-off, Ms Fisher’s Modern Murder Mysteries, were aired in 2019 and 2021. And after conquering books and television, Kerry’s Phryne Fisher arrived in the cinema when Miss Fisher and the Crypt of Tears was released by EveryCloud Productions in 2020.
In the 2020 Australia Day Honours, Kerry was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) for services to literature.
Kerry was wildly talented, enormous fun, extremely intelligent, always generous and eternally encouraging. Her success has been a true pleasure to witness.
Vale Kerry.
Dana sez–I have been a fan of Kerry Greenwood’s work from the moment the Poisoned Pen Press began publishing her in North America. I will forever regret not having met her, and I still want to go to Melbourne to see the building that inspired Insula in the Corinna Chapman series. Vale, yes, but she will live forever in the books she leaves behind, so rather “Celebro, Kerry!” and thank you for all the great reads.
#thiswritinglife Chatter allen & unwin Corrinna Chapman kerry greenwood phryne fisher