ALT Title: The former novelist By Kirsten Krauth Contending with the truth about award-winning author Craig Silvey, a friend who pleaded guilty to possessing and distributing child-exploitation material I’m on holiday on the Gold Coast when I get the news. I’m in an apartment with a magical view over the Broadwater, having a rare sleep-in and trying to detox from social media. Clearly I’m failing, because the first thing I see when I open Instagram is a picture of my mate, Craig Silvey, with the heading: “Acclaimed Australian author Craig Silvey charged with child exploitation offences.”

ALT I read the details in disbelief. By this stage, he has been arrested at his home in Fremantle for allegedly distributing child-exploitation material. The magistrate granted bail and said “imprisonment is a likely outcome”, but Craig has not yet been convicted. I immediately contact a number of colleagues and friends who also know him, thinking there must be some kind of mistake. Perhaps he is working undercover? Perhaps he is researching and writing in character, from a paedophile’s perspective, and has infiltrated a child-exploitation ring on the dark web?