''The Courier's New Bicycle'' (2011) is a novel by Australian author

Kim Westwood Kim Westwood is an Australian author born in Sydney and currently living in Canberra, the Australian Capital Territory. She has won the Aurealis Award twice, a Scarlet Stiletto Award and a Ditmar Award. She was shortlisted for six awards includi ...

. It was shortlisted for the 2012

Ned Kelly Awards The Ned Kelly Awards (named for bushranger Ned Kelly) are Australia's leading literary awards for crime writing in both the crime fiction and true crime genres. They were established in 1996 by the Crime Writers Association of Australia to reward ...

for Best First Crime Novel, and won the 2011

Aurealis Award The Aurealis Award for Excellence in Speculative Fiction is an annual literary award for Australian science fiction, fantasy and horror fiction. Only Australians are eligible for the award. History The Aurealis Award was established in 1995 by ...

and the 2012

Ditmar Award The Ditmar Award (formally the Australian SF ("Ditmar") Award; formerly the "Australian Science Fiction Achievement Award") has been awarded annually since 1969 at the Australian National Science Fiction Convention (the "Natcon") to recognise a ...

for Best Novel.

Plot summary

The novel is set in a Melbourne of the future, when the rate of human reproductive success has dropped markedly as a result of reactions to a hastily developed and widely distributed flu vaccine. A thriving black market in fertility treatments has arisen, facilitated by Salisbury Forth, the courier of the title.

Reviews

Niall Harrison on ''Strange Horizons'' noted that the novel is "perhaps more than anything else a story about identity, about the tension between who you say you are and who they say you are.""The Courier's New Bicycle by Kim Westwood" by Niall Harrison, ''Strange Horizons''
/ref>

Awards and nominations

* 2011 winner

Aurealis Awards The Aurealis Award for Excellence in Speculative Fiction is an annual literary award for Australian science fiction, fantasy and horror fiction. Only Australians are eligible for the award. History The Aurealis Award was established in 1995 b ...

for Excellence in Australian Speculative Fiction – Science Fiction Division – Best Novel * 2011 shortlisted

James Tiptree Jr. Award The Otherwise Award, formerly known as the James Tiptree Jr. Award, is an American annual literary prize for works of science fiction or fantasy that expand or explore one's understanding of gender. It was initiated in February 1991 by science f ...

– Best Novel * 2012 winner

Ditmar Awards The Ditmar Award (formally the Australian SF ("Ditmar") Award; formerly the "Australian Science Fiction Achievement Award") has been awarded annually since 1969 at the Australian National Science Fiction Convention (the "Natcon") to recognise a ...

– Best Novel * 2012 shortlisted

Davitt Award The Davitt Awards are literary awards which are presented annually by the Sisters in Crime Australia association. The awards are named in honour of Ellen Davitt (1812–1879) who wrote Australia's first mystery novel, ''Force and Fraud'' in 1865 ...

– Best Adult Crime Novel * 2012 shortlisted

for Crime Writing – Best First Novel

References

2011 Australian novels Australian science fiction novels Australian crime novels Voyager Books books {{2010s-crime-novel-stub