Welcome!

I’m an American-born author who is lucky to call beautiful Boorloo/Perth, Western Australia home.

My debut novel The Skeleton House (Fremantle Press) won the $20,000 2023 Fogarty Literary Award and was shortlisted for the WA Premier’s Book Award in 2025.

My second novel titled Quiver is about to “go to market.” Follow me on Instagram or subscribe to my free Substack newsletter here for updates.

I also write and publish short work, dabble in watercolours, and use Substack to share my thoughts on reading, writing, and creativity.

Thanks for visiting.

PRAISE FOR THE SKELETON HOUSE

“The Skeleton House is a story brimming with tension, desperation and heartbreak, told with a poetic assuredness. Allum is an exciting new literary voice.” Books+Publishing

“Beautifully tense. Such a page-turner. Brilliant book and absolutely sinister.” ABC Perth

“The Skeleton House is nuanced and raw.” The Australian

“A gorgeous, relatable novel about motherhood and marriage. Keenly observed and beautifully written. I adored it.” Annie Hartnett, author of Unlikely Animals and Rabbit Cake

“It’s a brisk, well turned novel about a woman’s quest to seize belated agency over her fate.” Sydney Morning Herald/Age

“Reading The Skeleton House is like swallowing a seed that settles deep in your gut, quietly germinating until it twists and unfurls and nestles within you, long after you’ve consumed it. I can’t wait to see what’s next from Allum.” WritingWA

“The Skeleton House is an impressive debut. I look forward to seeing what this author writes next.” ANZ LitLovers