Australia lost the war. Now Tess must face spirits from the past, the new boy in town – and The Wall. Life couldn’t get much worse for sixteen-year-old Tess Jones. Her parents are dead. Her best friend hates her. She’s stuck living with her horrible Aunty Jo. She’s starving. And to top it off, there’s a strange new guy in town who brings bad news. But Tess’s problems didn’t start today. They started more than eighty years ago when Australia was split in two. The Axis control the north. The Allies cling to the south. In between them stands The Wall. When Tess starts getting advice from her dead parents and gains the courage to escape her life, she discovers an inner strength that was there all along. The Wall Within is a story of survival, friendship, and hidden power – where one girl’s discovery could unravel everything.
Laura Morris is a Sunshine Coast-based author and primary school teacher. Her writing has appeared in QLD Writer’s Centre’s Pen and Pixel magazine, and her short story Tarnished is published in the 2025 Sydney Hammond Memorial Short Story Competition Anthology. Her writing is used in her teaching and by her teaching peers to help implement the English curriculum. Her debut novel, The Wall Within, made the shortlist of QWC’s Publishable program in 2022 and the longlist of the Hawkeye Manuscript Development Prize for 2025. She’s the mother of two teens and is happily married to a man who is like MacGyver and can build anything. She owns a glossy Chocolate Labrador, Milo, who enjoys surprise treats and belly rubs. She loves writing, gardening, Gamefit Tennis and Pickleball.
Awards: 2025 Hawkeye Prize Longlist and 2022 QWC’s Publishable Shortlist.
Authentic, experience-driven narrative grounded in the author’s life growing up in Ipswich and witnessing the impacts of bullying and socioeconomic hardship.
Informed by 27 years of teaching experience across primary and lower secondary levels, offering deep insight into children’s behaviour, resilience, and lived realities.
Explores themes of bullying, disadvantage, and social isolation, drawn from both urban and regional Australian contexts.
Highlights the resilience of disadvantaged youth, inspired by real students who navigated neglect, poverty, and responsibility beyond their years.
Set against distinctly Australian backdrops (regional Queensland and the Sunshine Coast), adding strong local relevance.
Relatable and emotionally grounded protagonist (Tess), embodying strength, independence, and perseverance in the face of adversity.
