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