Her Fidelity

A very funny confessional novel set in one of the only Australian independent record stores still functioning, if barely. This is High Fidelity with a female gaze.

Kathy has worked at beloved Brisbane indie record store Dusty's Records for half her life. She arrived as a teenager high on her dad's supply of Led Zeppelin, stayed through her twenties and suddenly thirty is on the horizon and she's still there, measuring her self-worth by her knowledge of the Velvet Underground's back catalogue.

Lately, though, cracks have been appearing in Kathy's comfortable indie bubble. Her friends – feisty Mel, the only other woman employed at Dusty's, and straight-laced Alex, whom Kathy has known since preschool – are growing up and moving on, while she's stuck in a cycle of record store, pub, repeat, with the rest of the Dusty's music bros. But how do you move forward when you're stuck in a groove? And what happens when you realise that you've been working so hard to be part of the boys' club that you never stopped to wonder if you should be creating a club of your own?

Her Fidelity is a feminist coming-of-age story for anyone who has ever felt that a song understood them more than their own family, for anyone who has ever felt like the culture they love might not love them back, and for anyone who has ever turned to Stevie Nicks for advice while ignoring the sensible people around them.

About the author 
Katharine Pollock worked in independent record stores in Brisbane and Sydney for many years. She holds a PhD in Humanities and Communication Arts from Western Sydney University's Writing and Society Research Centre. She was a Writer in Residence at Varuna, The Writers' House in 2020, and Visiting Writer at the National Young Writers' Festival in 2019. In 2021 she won the Queensland Writers Centre's GenreCon short story competition and had another short story published in ZineWest. Her work has also been published in Kill Your Darlings, Funny Ha Ha and Lip.You can find her online at @thatrecordstoregirl.

Her Fidelity
Katherina Pollock 
Penguin Books Australia
ISBN: 9780143779087
RRP: $32.99

Interview with Katharine Pollock

Question: What originally inspired the idea of Her Fidelity?

Katharine Pollock: I originally wrote Her Fidelity as part of my PhD thesis, in which I examined women using confessional writing to address their experiences in music culture. However, a vague germination of the idea actually arose years earlier. I've worked for over a decade in record shops and felt compelled to write a fictional version of what it's really like as a woman in that space.


Question: What did you learn, about yourself, whilst writing Her Fidelity?

Katharine Pollock: I learned that I have a unique voice (my writing voice I mean, although my singing voice is unique...ly atonal). The response to Her Fidelity has proven that I have something worth sharing, and that's been hugely rewarding. I also learned that there is still an appetite for women's stories, including my own (fictional) story, which especially in this current climate is a beacon of light.


Question: Are the characters based on anyone you know, in real life?

Katharine Pollock: I drew from my experiences in a broad sense, and there are aspects of real-to-life behaviours reflected in there, but the novel is fictional.


Question: Is there a message you hope readers take from Her Fidelity?

Katharine Pollock: Everyone deserves to be heard, validated, and empowered. No spaces should be gatekept. Pop music is valid. Sorry, that was three messages!


Question: What research did you do, prior to writing Her Fidelity?

Katharine Pollock: I read many music memoirs and novels, and watched music biopics and documentaries. I engaged with lot of classic and contemporary feminist theory for my PhD, but the novel itself didn't directly involve much research.


Question: What is the best thing about creating a character like Kathy?

Katharine Pollock: Kathy is flawed and, for a long time, stuck in a state of arrested development. She is also fiercely loyal, passionate, nerdy, and funny. I enjoyed creating a multidimensional character who is continually learning and growing, just like me and every woman I know. Plus she has #nofilter, which was quite uninhibiting (albeit by proxy)!

Question: What or who inspired your love of reading/writing?

Katharine Pollock: My parents are voracious readers and fostered that same love of books in me. My mum especially loves to read. I also had great English teachers in school, and wonderful lecturers in university. I've been lucky enough to work in multiple book shops granting me access to books and writers. I'm a pop culture sponge, and writing is a way for me to rinse the sponge out a bit before I absorb even more. I may have rinsed that metaphor dry, but you get the gist!


Question: What advice do you have for aspiring writers or artists?

Katharine Pollock: Keep going. Believe in yourself. I've had many missteps and rejections and my ability and backbone have both benefited! Find a writing community. Finally, read, watch, and listen widely.


Question: What's next, for you?

Katharine Pollock: I'm midway through my second novel and have a couple of smaller pieces percolating away. I'm lucky to have a reasonable work-writing-life balance, so I'm just going to keep doing what I'm doing for as long as I'm able!


Interview by Gwen van Montfort