Made to Measure
Fingerprint Editions wins rights to NZ author Philippa Swan’s latest novel
Fingerprint Editions is delighted to announce the acquisition of Made to Measure – the poignantly funny and deeply philosophical new novel from author Philippa Swan.
Meet Walt
Walt Colson, late thirties and lifelong participant in a longitudinal study. Walt Colson whose life is a catalogue of missed opportunities, failed ventures, and quiet disappointments.
Walt who loses everything – his job, his partner, and even his stepdaughter before turning his life around.
Humour, Humanity, and Hard Questions
Told with trademark wit and full of wisdom, Swan’s novel is at once a satire of our obsession with free will and a touching exploration of resilience, love, and the messiness of being human.
Meet Philippa Swan
Swan originally trained as a landscape architect before earning accolades for her sharp, humorous storytelling in lifestyle magazines and short stories. Her first book, Life (and Death) in a Small City Garden, delved into urban gardening with honesty and wit.
Her debut novel, The Night of All Souls, which imagined author Edith Wharton navigating the modern world, was praised by the Sydney Morning Herald for its intelligence and flair.
With Made to Measure, Swan takes her curiosity in a new direction — one seeded years ago when she became fascinated by a long-running Longitudinal Study and asked herself, ‘How do we shape our lives? Can we?’
Today, when she's not writing, Swan grows heritage garlic which she supplies to a local restaurant.
That same blend of grounded realism and whimsical curiosity defines her literary voice.
Why You Should Read Made to Measure
For readers who love a novel that makes them laugh while also sneaking in a few existential questions, Made to Measure is a must. It offers a timely reflection on how we live, how we fail, and whether it's ever too late to try again — even when your whole life has been measured to say you shouldn't.
Uplifting, hilarious, and quietly profound. Walt Colson might be a statistical disaster — but he’s unforgettable.
Due to be published August 2025