In this wide-reaching and warm conversation, novelist and poet Jessica Mehta talks with novelist and poet Nina Murray, who reads some of her poems and talks about her latest poetry book Alcestis in the Underworld , the writing year in review, book titles, their relationship with Shakespeare, the appeal of the list poem and variety packs, on poetic themes, poetic sequencing and the critical importance of editing, on making sense of data, patterns and needs and how that relates to the poetic proce...
Jan 03, 2020•39 min
Multi-talented polymath Jenny Blackford reads from her new middle-grade novel The Girl in the Mirror and talks about her attraction to different genres, how the book came about, her attraction to sci-fi (and why she chose to entangle her protagonists), the book’s lovely illustrations (especially those redbacks), on her different fan streams, her large garden, her work-in-progress (and the name of the cat who will be in the book), and lots more! Find more of Jenny at her website: http://www.jenny...
Dec 20, 2019•29 min
The author of The Wolf Hour reads from and talks about her latest novel, its origins and her research, her characters, writing about Uganda, the micro world of her family and the macro world of global politics, on sibling tension and bonds, her work in progress, and lots more. Find out more about Sarah and The Wolf Hour at https://sarahmyles.com.au/
Oct 28, 2019•29 min
Peter Valentine reads from and talks about his new book World Heritage Sites of Australia. In this wide-ranging discussion, we talk about the book and how it came about, why he’s pleased it took the more popular and less academic form of a coffee table book, the critical importance of protecting and celebrating our most important ecological areas, his plans for a second part, the need for community engagement, and lots more. You can find out more about World Heritage Sites of Australia at the Na...
Sep 18, 2019•33 min
Eliana Gray reads from and talks about their new poetry book Eager to Break. In this candid interview we talk about such things as writing about, through, and after trauma, on finding new forms of language, on writing about the body, on blurring and allowing for multitudes in pronouns, on self-acceptance, love, and healing, on eggs, and lots more. Eager to Break can be purchased here: https://www.girlsonkey.com/poetryportalshop/Eager-to-Break-Eliana-Gray-p127089532 Find them on Instagram: https:...
Jul 02, 2019•35 min
Richard James Allen reads from and talks about his new poetry book, The Short Story of You and I, exploring topics such as his book's themes and unique dialectical structure, the relationship between the poems and the reader, writing about love, the delicate motion between the metaphysical and the concrete, the relationship between poetry and quantum physics, complexity, the links between his many creativity practices, the relationship between the constructed self and character, and lots more. F...
Jun 24, 2019•31 min
Bram Presser drops by to read from The Book of Dirt and we chat about many things including the Holocaust, the origins of his novel, the research he’s done, on the interplay between fact and fiction, the motif of dirt and his many golems, Czech folklore, his works in progress, and lots more. Find out more about Bram at: https://brampresser.com/the-book-of-dirt/ We ran out of time before I could ask Bram whether his Jewish punk rock band Yidcore would be getting back together, but it turns out th...
May 06, 2019•37 min
Anne Casey drops by to read from and talk about her debut poetry collection Where the Lost Things Go, including the poem that started it all (fifth most read item in The Irish Times “In memoriam II: The draper” which actually made both of us cry, some of the many themes in the book: loss, anger, compassion, the migrant's guilt, poetry as activism, transcendence, and lots more. Find more about Anne at her website: http://www.anne-casey.com/...
Feb 11, 2019•33 min
Ali Whitelock reads from and talks about her latest poetry book And My Heart Crumples Like a Coke Can. We cover such topics as Ali's particular take-no-prisoners style, on being candid, how the book came together, on being a permanent migrant, her work-in-progress, and lots more. You can find Ali at her website: http://www.aliwhitelock.com
Jan 10, 2019•28 min
Poet Steve Armstrong joins us to read a number of poems from his new poetry book Broken Ground. We also talk about the healing power of poetry and the magic of nature, about his poetry practice, on writing the 'walking poem', themes, rhythms, on the subtle droll humour running through the book, the difference between writing poetry and using poetry as therapy, on the editing and structuring process of pulling the book together, and much more. Find Steve's book here: https://uwap.uwa.edu.au/produ...
Aug 06, 2018•31 min
Jill Jones joins us to read several poems from and talk about her latest poetry book Brink. We discuss some of the key themes in the book (what does it mean to be on the 'brink'), the changing face of eco-poetry (and why trees remain fertile subjects for poets), the way the book came together, its editing process, the relationship between fierceness, tenderness, and politics, on appropriation, collaboration, on ways of making meaning, and lots more. Jones' photo by Annette Willis 2007 Jill's web...
Jun 28, 2018•34 min
Poet Kathryn Fry reads a number of poems from her latest poetry collection Green Point Bearings and talks about the book's inspiration, how many of the poems came about and how the collection came together, her interest in the natural world, on mindfulness and the power of paying attention, on Ekphrasis and the paintings of Margaret Olly, the notion of 'grace from loss' and Wendy Whiteley's secret garden, on her mentorship with Brook Emery, what she's currently reading and inspired by, and much ...
Jun 18, 2018•33 min
Holly Ringland, author ofThe Lost Flowers of Alice Hart joins us to read a little from the book and talk about the wonderful language of flowers she invents for the book and how that came about, writing and trauma, her recently completed book tour, the impact of leaving Australia, Alice in Wonderland, Sturt's Desert Peas and Alice Springs, on the visceral nature of her book and its promotion, and lots more. Find more about Holly at her website: http://www.hollyringland.com/, Instagram: https://w...
May 18, 2018•33 min
Tracy Sorensen drops by Compulsive Reader Talks to read from and chat about her new book The Lucky Galah. The conversation is wide ranging but we talk about such things as her fabulous main character Lucky, about anthropomorphism and the relationship between the human and natural worlds, about 'hooking up' with author Charlotte Wood, about the Varuna writer retreat and retreats in general, about the Canarvon dish, magic realism, space travel, and lots more. Tracy Sorensen's website is: http://sq...
Mar 27, 2018•35 min
The wonderful Jennifer Maiden joins me at Macleans Booksellers in Hamilton NSW for a launch of her new book Appalachian Fall, including a Q&A, 3 poems, and audience questions. The talk, which is opened by a reading from the introduction by Quemar Press publisher Katharine Margot Toohey, is wide ranging and explores such things as how the book came about, its inspiration, the relationship between poetry and political rhetoric, the bisection between the personal and the political, on the use o...
Feb 14, 2018•52 min
Jessica Townsend, the author of Nevermoor: the Trials of Morrigan Crow drops by to read from and chat about her book, which has been had the biggest children’s debut in the Australian market since records began. We talk about the book's outrageous success, about target markets and how it's impossible to work to them, about magic, about the broader series (including some hints about what's coming in future books), about the upcoming 20th Century Fox film (and a first time reveal of the director!)...
Oct 24, 2017•34 min
Gerry Orz is an award winning actor, director, producer, youth activist, and author of the book Lucky or Not, Here I come, released this month. He drops by to read from Lucky or Not Here I Come and to discuss his inspiration for the book, some of the key themes, why he decided to broaden his already extensive list of accomplishments to include 'novelist', his characters and their relationships, the concept of lucky, about his writing process, the critical support of his family and school, about ...
Aug 16, 2017•31 min
Award-winning author Patti Miller reads from and talks about her new nonfiction book Writing True Stories. Patti reads from chapter one, and we discuss such things as how Patti became the "memoir whisperer", the rise and rise of the memoir in all of its multi-genred formats, on how we are all creating narrative as we make meaning of our lives (how everyone has a story), on the encouragement of exploration in her writing workshops, the excerpts and structure of the book, and much more. For more o...
Jul 24, 2017•33 min
The award-winning author of Goodbye, Cruel, reads from her new book and talks about how it came together, the structure, her linked suites, the influence of Dante, her attraction to Rabi'a Balkhi and Persian poetry in general, on writing about sensitive subjects like suicide, and much more. Find more about Melinda at her publisher's page: https://pittstreetpoetry.com/melinda-smith/ or on Facebook or Twitter.
Jun 19, 2017•39 min
Poet and novelist Jennifer Maiden drops by to read from her latest novel Play With Knives: Three: George and Clare and the Grey Hat Hacker, and to talk about all three novels in the Play With Knives series, about the joy of working her poetic and complex words and ideas through a thriller styled plot, about her characters George Jeffreys and Clare Collins, and the way they continue to appear through her poetry and fiction, about writing through current affairs like the Trump presidency and the f...
Feb 12, 2017•33 min
Nutritionist Dr Joanna McMillan talks about her new book Get Lean, Stay Lean, including how the book came together, why people are still struggling with nutritional and weightloss, outlines the Dr Joanna plate, her six steps to success and which one is the most unusual, about the importance of joy, her recipes, about how to sort through the fads (and which is the most dangerous), about eating sustainably - for oneself and for the planet, about the importance of "Hara Hachi Bu", and lots more. Fi...
Jan 08, 2017•30 min
Michele Seminara drops by to read from and talk about her poetry book Engraft and how it came together, the variety of forms and how she uses the page, about writing through Shakespeare, Kafka and other authors, about the tension between tradition and post-modernism, about the use of humour and play amidst dark themes, about Verity La which Michele is Managing Editor of, about her new book Scar to Scar, written with Robbie Coburn, and lots more. Michele's website: https://micheleseminara.wordpre...
Nov 29, 2016•33 min
Michelle Cahill reads "Aubade for Larkin" and talks about her new book Letter to Pessoa, including the book's genesis, its shifting genres (and genders), about literary connection and disconnection, about writing meta-fiction, and the intersections between writing practice and philosophical discourse, about Derrida, about “ambulatory praxis” or the simultaneity of multiple place and the migrant experience, her choice of authors to write letters to, about intertextuality and the canon, power stru...
Oct 27, 2016•36 min
Tim Elliott joins us to read from and talk about his memoir Farewell to the Father. He discusses how the initial article and book came about, the reasons for its powerful impact on readers, the themes that underlie the book including notions of failure, toxic masculinity, and the keeping of secrets, mental illness and the changing perception of it, about the difficulties (and joy) of writing memoir and rediscovering his father that way, the literary nature of the book (and some of the books that...
Aug 25, 2016•33 min
Joel Deane reads from and talks about his new poetry book Year of the Wasp. Joel discusses a number of the themes and motifs throughout the book and in individual poems, the way the book came together, the power of poetry in getting to the heart of who we are, metapoetics and the artistic process, about the intersection of poetry and trauma, about the way his work connects wtih visual art, the interaction of the personal and the political in his work, and much more.
Aug 01, 2016•33 min
Poet, performer, professor and new media artist Hazel Smith drops by to read from and talk about her latest book of poetry Word Migrants. Hazel is an incredible reader and her readings alone are worth listening to, but she also talks with me about the genesis of the book as a whole, and about each of the poems she reads, about the sonic/musical quality of her work, her key themes, particularly migration in all its many variants, and disappearances, about "uncreative" or conceptual poetry, and ab...
Jun 28, 2016•32 min
Author, novelist, journalist, broadcaster, columnist, advertising writer and social commentator Jane Caro, chats about her memoir Plain-Speaking Jane, about the power of plain speaking - not just in terms of being candid, but in terms of breaking silence and comunicating with different audiences (with a bit of Australian politics thrown in there too...), about the power of connections, about her anxiety and how she was able to move beyond it, why advertising is such an incubator for great writer...
Jun 06, 2016•30 min
In this special "on location" Sydney Writers Festival show, Vivian Gornick reads from and talks about the writing of her latest book The Odd Woman and the City, about the nature (and freedom) of “oddness”, about the joy and vitality of New York City, about the literary self vs the living self, the conversation between life and literature, about the nature of factual truth and memory, about self-doubt and the stretch into discomfort that is a writer's work, about sitzfleish and speilkas, about th...
May 23, 2016•25 min
Author and scultor Dimitrios Ikonomou reads from his new novel The Diary of Norman K, and chats with Justin Goodman about his book and its origins, his characters, on having an unreliable narrator on an unreliable journey, on meta-fiction, on the relationship between his sculptures and his writing, on the quantum nature of memory, on role models, on being an outsider, the line between reality and perception, the signified and the signifier, and lots more.
May 18, 2016•38 min
In this special Newcastle Writers Festival episode, Rebecca Starford, the author of Bad Behaviour, reads from and talks about her memoir and how it came about, her "characters" and why she needed to revisit them, about the complex and fuzzy lines between bullying and being bullied, about the importance of being honest about her own character in the story, on the way writing about her experiences has open doors for others to talk more openly about their own, on coming of age and coming out, the l...
Mar 15, 2016•32 min
