Released on Wednesday 16 October
From larger-than-life adventures to vivid and poignant tales of the imagination, no one tells a story quite like Jimmy Barnes.
Highways and Byways: Tall tales and short stories from the long way round is a new collection of stories from the award-winning author and musician, set to be released on Wednesday, 16 October 2024, taking readers on another enthralling tour (complete with the odd detour) through the raucous, well-lived life of one of this country’s most successful and beloved artists.
Told with Jimmy’s signature verve and flair, and richly coloured by his distinctive voice and wit, Highways and Byways sees him sharing a 1970s Texas stage with a dream line-up of US musicians; flirting with disaster in a Hawaiian high-rise; discovering a life-changing cassette tape; unearthing shattering family secrets in Glasgow; encountering charismatic and not-so-endearing superstars, ghosts of the recent and distant past, superfan traffic cops and shady salesmen; and confronting his own mortality – while pondering the more amusing effects of hospital medication.
Jimmy Barnes added, “I started writing in 2016 to share my story, and to make sense of things, and I can hardly believe I’m now publishing my sixth book. I’m still writing, still loving it, and am very grateful to all the readers who’ve gone on this journey with me. There are places from the past in my memory that keep revealing themselves to me, and each time they do I learn something new, grow and become a better human. It’s like pieces of a puzzle that shine a light on the dark times in my life. Highways and Byways is my new collection of short stories and is filled with memories, imagination and adventures and I hope you enjoy travelling the roads with me”
Charming, personal and poignant, Highways and Byways is a collection that celebrates Jimmy’s Scottish heritage, family, friends, music and the adventure of a grand life.
Please click here to request further information, review copies, photos or interviews.
Highways and Byways: Tall tales and short stories from the long way roundwill be released by HarperCollins on 16 October 2024 – Format: CHB | RRP: $45.00 | ISBN: 9781460766729| eBook available | Audio edition: available early 2025.
jimmybarnes.com
Facebook: @jimmybarnesofficial | Twitter: @jimmybarnes
Instagram: @jimmybarnesofficial | YouTube: @jimmybarnes
harpercollins.com.au
About the author
Jimmy Barnes is a Scottish-born rock singer-songwriter who grew up in Adelaide. His career, both as a solo performer and as the lead vocalist of the legendary band Cold Chisel, has made him one of the most successful and distinctive artists in Australian music history. A prolific songwriter and performer, Jimmy has been a storyteller for more than forty years, sharing his life and passions with Australians of all ages at over ten thousand gigs throughout his adopted homeland. In the process, he has amassed more number-one albums in Australia than The Beatles: six with Cold Chisel and fifteen as a solo artist, including the iconic For the Working Class Man. Across his career Jimmy has sold over 12 million albums and he has been inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame twice. Jimmy’s childhood memoir, Working Class Boy, became a number-one bestseller and won the Australian Book Industry Award (ABIA) for Biography of the Year in 2017. His sequel, Working Class Man, won him a second ABIA for Biography of the Year in 2018.
