My first published book was a short, spooky novel for 9-14 year olds called The Stray Cat. It was illustrated by the talented artist, Shaun Tan. I’m proud to say it was quite a successful little book, selling almost 8,000 copies in Australia in its first print run. Not bad sales figures in a country where the average first book typically sells 2,000-4,000 copies and where anything over 15,000 is considered a best-seller. On top of local Australian sales, foreign editions were published in five other countries. The Stray Cat was was also runner-up for a 1997 Ditmar Award. Quite a respectable result for a first book that started life as a short story in a now long defunct amateur horror fiction magazine. Click here to read more about the genesis of The Stray Cat.
The Stray Cat (Australia)
- Author: Steven Paulsen
- Illustrator: Shaun Tan
- Paperback: 48 pages
- Publisher: Lothian Books an imprint of Hachette Livre Australia (1996)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0850917859
- ISBN-13: 978-0850917857
Misteri Kucing Tersesat (Indonesia)
- The Indonesian edition was a small format paperback.
- Author: Steven Paulsen
- Illustrator: Shaun Tan
- Paperback: 48 pages
- Publisher: PT Elex Media Komputindo (1997)
- Language: Bahasa Indonesian
- ISBN-10: 9796637510
Le Chat Errant (France)
For the French Edition, Hachette commissioned a new cover and for some inexplicable reason they dropped all the Shaun Tan illustrations!
- Author: Steven Paulsen
- Translator: Marianne Costa
- Illustrator: Alain Fretet
- Paperback: 41 pages
- Publisher: Hachette Jeunesse (1998)
- Language: French
- ISBN-10: 2012098312
- ISBN-13: 978-2012098312
The Stray Cat (UK)
- Author: Steven Paulsen
- Illustrator: Shaun Tan
- Paperback: 48 pages
- Publisher: Franklin Watts an imprint of Scholastic Library Publishing (1999)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0-7496-3523-1
- ISBN-13: 9780749635237
Die Streunende Katz (Germany)
The Germans produced a handsome hardcover edition.
- Author: Steven Paulsen
- Illustrator: Shaun Tan
- Hardback: 64 pages
- Publisher: G&G Kinder – und Jugendbuch (1999)
- Language: German
- ISBN-10: 3707400387
- ISBN-13: 978-3707400380
After Dark (Korea)
The Korean publication was titled After Dark and contained three stories: “The Half Dead” by Garry Disher, “The Stray Cat” by Steven Paulsen and “The Intruder” by Rowena Lindquist.
- Authors: Garry Disher, Steven Paulsen and Rowena Lindquist.
- Illustrators: Shaun Tan and Chris johnston
- Paperback: 158 pages
- Publisher: Bookhouse Co., Ltd. (2002)
- Language: Korean
- ISBN-10: 0850917859
- ISBN-13: 978-0850917857
The Stray Cat (CD Audio Book)
Listening Books provides a postal and internet based audio book library service for people with visual impairments, learning difficulties such as dyslexia and physical impairments that mean a person cannot easily hold a book or turn a page. I’m proud to support the good work of this excellent charity organisation.
- Author: Steven Paulsen
- Reader: Stephanie Beattie
- Publisher: Listening Books
- Duration: 40 mins
- Publishers id: 9244CD