Irma and Karen chat about attending festivals as an interlocutor or as a panellist. Then Karen talks to Jock Serong about making the move from lawyer to novelist, why he dives into dark places, the fraught territory of navigating writing First Nations characters and history as a descendant of settler Australians, why he goes on writing excursions with his characters, a surreal green room experience with Ian Rankin, and an utterly disastrous panel event.
May 02, 2023•44 min•Season 3Ep. 30
Karen and Irma chat about the pros and cons of online writing courses. Then they chat to Marion Halligan about how Sylvia Plath inspired her to get started, what she bought with her first earnings, how writing is a kind of madness, the challenge of writing a memoir about her late daughter, good and bad editing experiences and what it was like being edited by her sister, why essays are her favourite form, the controversies while serving as Chair of the Australia Council Literature Board, why the ...
Apr 11, 2023•48 min•Season 3Ep. 29
Karen and Irma chat about writing residencies. Then they talk to bookseller and sales rep Deb Stevens about what goes on behind the scenes in the book trade, how books are sold into bookshops, if and when and how authors should contact their sales reps, preparing for your book’s release, how authors can work maximise promo of their books, the most wonderful authors Deb has worked with and the divas, and how a puppy rescued Jodi Picoult on tour.
Mar 21, 2023•44 min•Season 3Ep. 28
Irma and Karen chat about a new writing book, The Writer Laid Bare by Lee Kofman. Then Karen speaks with Inga Simpson about why choosing a character’s name to boost a word count ended up in a prize and her debut novel, how a childhood spent in nature influenced her writing, her determination not to let the second-book pressure derail her, the risks and challenges around telling stories involving Australia’s first peoples, how she measures success and the value of prizes, the politics of green ro...
Feb 28, 2023•52 min•Season 3Ep. 27
Irma and Karen chat about how organised (or disorganised!) they are with their writing. Then Irma chats to booksellers Katarina Pearson (Harry Hartog), Alison Page (Dymocks) and Peter Arnaudo (The Book Cow) about how to get friendly with booksellers – what to do (when and how) and what not to do, how long you can expect your book to stay on the shelves, how sales and returns work, the important role of sales reps and how they impact book selection, why relationships with local authors are key, w...
Feb 07, 2023•58 min•Season 3Ep. 26
In a special series direct from the Margaret River Readers and Writers Festival, Irma chats with Natasha Lester about how utter despair before an award ceremony preceded the best moment of her life, the lightbulb moment that changed the course of her career, the rewards of constructive sulking after rejection, how a fraught editing process almost destroyed her current book, how she manages three books at a time in different stages of writing, editing and promoting, the high of hitting the New Yo...
Aug 10, 2022•41 min•Season 2Ep. 14
In a special series direct from the Margaret River Readers and Writers Festival, Irma chats with Craig Silvey about the author school visit as a child that changed his life, the careful considerations around writing characters from marginalised communities, why he thinks writing to word counts is unhelpful, how writing is like an illness, the hardest manuscript he had to abandon, and the most frightening library display of his book. About Craig Craig Silvey is an author and screenwriter from Fre...
Jul 27, 2022•35 min•Season 2Ep. 13
In a special series direct from the Margaret River Readers and Writers Festival, Irma chats with siblings Rhett and Brooke Davis about what it’s like sharing the world of publishing with a sibling, their very different paths to becoming published authors, the downsides of a worldwide tour when your book is a smash hit, the childhood books that shaped them and are now echoed in their writing, how grief led to them both publishing novels, the pressure of writing a second novel when your debut has ...
Jul 13, 2022•46 min•Season 2Ep. 2
In a special series direct from the Margaret River Readers and Writers Festival, Irma talks to Claire G. Coleman about how poetry influences her non-fiction style, the downsides of book touring, how she deals with Twitter trolls, the complications of working with two publishers, her love-hate relationship with the editing process, and how she responds to criticisms that she’s ‘not blak enough’. About Claire Claire G. Coleman is a Noongar woman whose family have belonged to the south coast of Wes...
Jun 28, 2022•37 min•Season 2Ep. 1
Craig and Irma unpack the role Amazon plays in the book world. Then Irma chats with Ultimo Press publisher Robert Watkins about why diverse publishing is so important to him, how to nab an editorial job, the way that authors should own the publicity stage and be proud, what makes him want to publish a manuscript, what good sales mean in terms of hard numbers, the impact of Covid on the publishing landscape, and a case of mistaken identity in the green room. About Robert Publishing Director of Ul...
Jun 01, 2022•49 min•Season 2Ep. 10
Craig and Irma talk about books that have wowed them. Then Tony Birch chats to Irma about the sensitivity around fictionalising family, the importance of First Nations writing, who has the right to tell certain stories, the problems with teaching writing at university, the rejections that have really stung, the time his mum threatened a radio host, and the famous writers who have snubbed him in green rooms. About Tony Tony Birch is an author of three novels, four collections of short stories and...
May 04, 2022•55 min•Season 2Ep. 9
Irma and Graig talk about teaching writing in schools. Then Craig talks to Sulari Gentill about how she turned a hobby into a profession, why she can write anywhere but finds a quiet environment impossible, how she was snubbed at a major awards ceremony, the pros and cons of the profit share model of publishing, the ways in which writing about the past reveals patterns in contemporary times, and the time she accidentally hug-assaulted Tanya Plibersek at a writers festival. About Sulari Sri Lanka...
Apr 07, 2022•46 min•Season 2Ep. 8
Irma and Craig discuss inspirational quotes. Then Craig chats to writing couple Cat Sparks and Rob Hood about whether there’s competition in a relationship when you’re both writers, how your book can be a sausage in the sausage factory, how hard it is as an editor to get what you want from a slush pile (because authors don’t read the freaking guidelines!). Also, the benefits of being published by small presses and having a supportive writing community, what constitutes a good writing day versus ...
Mar 16, 2022•48 min•Season 2Ep. 7
Irma and Craig talk about the differences in typing and handwriting work. Then they both speak to Nigel Featherstone about how he always feels like an outsider, why it shits him that writing isn’t considered real work, how Tony Abbott was the unlikely inspiration for his novel Bodies of Men , the strange benefits of interviewing his characters, why he is an obsessive re-drafter, the experience of a writing nervous breakdown and the moment his agent thought he literally died on the phone to her. ...
Feb 22, 2022•50 min•Season 2Ep. 6
Irma and Craig talk about literary tourism. Then Craig talks with bestselling fantasy author Isobelle Carmody on the challenges of meeting fan expectations, why her writing income has suddenly dropped dramatically and how she adapted, whether genre labels are useful, the benefits of doing a creative PhD, and the repercussions of being an activist author. About Isobelle Isobelle Carmody is one of Australia’s most beloved and awarded authors of science fiction, fantasy, children's literature,...
Feb 02, 2022•50 min•Season 2Ep. 5
Craig and Irma talk about the dead authors they would most like to interview. Then Irma talks with Allison Tait (AL Tait) on why the first structural edit she received did her head in and how she now works through them, the most difficult book rejection she’s ever experienced, why children’s book authors don’t get the kudos they deserve, and a whole lot more. About Allison Allison Tait (or AL Tait) is the internationally published bestselling author of middle-grade adventure series The Mapmaker ...
Jan 11, 2022•53 min•Season 2Ep. 15
Craig and Irma discuss lesson learned from life on the road doing a book tour for Irma's novel The Breaking . Then Irma speaks with national living treasure Charlotte Wood about the terror of public exposure on releasing a book into the world, the discomfort of the first draft and why it’s important to ‘look for trouble’, how and when to get feedback on work-in-progress, how the pandemic has changed book publicity, why writers desperately need more financial support, why a book rejection wa...
Nov 30, 2021•52 min•Season 2Ep. 3
Irma and Craig discuss Covid-19 impacts on book sales. Then Craig chats with Mirandi Riwoe about combining fact and fiction in her historical novels, viewing the past through the lens of the present, why it's important to her to write Eurasian and Chinese characters, and the important difference between accuracy and authenticity. About Mirandi Mirandi Riwoe is the author of the novella The Fish Girl , which won Seizure’s Viva la Novella prize and was shortlisted for the Stella Prize and the...
Nov 09, 2021•43 min•Season 2Ep. 2
Irma and Craig talk about balancing the writing life with real life. Then they both chat with Jack Heath about what working as a full-time author looks like, feeling like a fraud even when you’ve published 36 books, the differences (and similarities) between writing and promoting both adult and kids’ books, what characterises an ideal publisher, the perils of social media and whether it’s actually necessary to sell books, his most embarrassing fan moment, creepy fan interactions, and a memorable...
Oct 19, 2021•47 min•Season 2Ep. 1
Craig and Irma talk about what you write on your immigration card and when you first feel like a ‘real’ writer. Then Irma talks to Nikki Gemmell about the trauma of being outed for The Bride Stripped Bare , the importance of re-drafting and harsh edits, how words can change the world, the creep of imposter syndrome even when you have published a ton of books, dealing with vicious criticism, and how a leather-bound volume of Jane Eyre changed Nikki’s life. About Nikki Nikki Gemmell is a bestselli...
Jul 28, 2021•51 min•Season 2Ep. 1
Craig and Irma talk about the good the bad and ugly sides of teaching writing. Then they both chat with Lisa Fuller about the state of publishing, how the industry can better support First Nations writers and editors, how the Pancake Parlour figured in her winning a major prize, and the many books her dog has eaten! About Lisa Lisa Fuller is a Wuilli Wuilli woman from Eidsvold, Queensland, and is also descended from Gooreng Gooreng and Wakka Wakka peoples. Ghost Bird is her debut YA novel, for w...
Jul 06, 2021•46 min•Season 1Ep. 10
Irma and Craig talk about writing groups and getting quality feedback on your work. Then Irma talks with Sofie Laguna, on finding the essence of your characters, the fraught space of awards, how kids have made her writing practice better, the cruel world of publishing, how she struggles with success, navigating good and bad reviews, why writing a screenplay can sharpen the book edit, and how reading is like having an author's dreams in your hands. About Sofie Sofie Laguna is the author of 2...
Jun 11, 2021•48 min•Season 1Ep. 9
Craig and Irma talk about the fraught experience of getting book endorsements. Then Craig chats with Eugen Bacon about issues around black writing, the joys and difficulties of life that trigger inspiration, the complexities of defining genre, the art of the short story, and why reading Toni Morrison is like eating the richest truffles. About Eugen Eugen Bacon is an African Australian author of several novels and fiction collections. She’s a British Fantasy Award winner, a Foreword Book of the Y...
Apr 14, 2021•50 min•Season 1Ep. 8
Craig and Irma talk about writing guides, in particular the new book by Georgia Richter and Deborah Hunn, How to be an Author . Then Craig chats with Valerie Parv about how she went from an advertising copywriter to sales of over 34 million books, whether genre elitism and genre prejudice exist, the crazy debacle that was dubbed Parvgate, the impact of COVID on reading and publishing, moving from romance into science fiction, and a funny make-up mix up in the green room with her husband. About V...
Mar 24, 2021•49 min•Season 1Ep. 7
Craig and Irma talk all things book launches. Then Irma chats with her publicist Brendan Fredericks about how to best work with your publicist, his friendship with Liz Gilbert and getting drunk with Germaine Greer, what not to do as an author on social media, his faux pas with Richard Ford, and his green room adventures with dogs. About Brendan Brendan Fredericks has worked in the book industry for nearly 20 years. He started as a bookseller and events manager with Angus & Robertson, working...
Mar 03, 2021•57 min•Season 1Ep. 6
Craig and Irma talk about rejection and how to cope with it. Then Craig talks to James Bradley about his path to becoming an award-winning author, how to write about important and urgent issues without becoming preachy, his love/hate relationship with social media and how to protect yourself as an author in the public arena, why genre shouldn’t define a book but can usefully shape it, hanging out with Julian Barnes in the green room. About James James Bradley is a novelist and critic. His novels...
Feb 04, 2021•48 min•Season 1Ep. 5
Irma and Craig talk about the challenges of public speaking and how to be Wonder Woman on stage. Then they chat with Karen Viggers about the painful process of editing her latest novel and trying to find its heart, how escaping a party of screaming girls led to discovering she was a bestseller in France, the reality behind the ‘glamorous’ whirlwind of an international publicity tour, the complexity and confusion around the foreign rights process, how Instagram culture is compromising book review...
Jan 19, 2021•55 min•Season 1Ep. 4
Craig and Irma talk about the ins and outs of writing gigs on cruise ships. Then they both chat with Chris Hammer about the unexpected international success of his debut crime novel, Scrublands, how the publisher you are with effects sales (and it’s not just big versus small), the value of awards (those that sell books and those that launch careers), forgetting your own character’s name during publicity, faux pas on meeting a super famous author, and what a walk-on part in his own movie might lo...
Jan 01, 2021•53 min•Season 1Ep. 3
Irma and Craig chat about the manuscripts that never make it to publication. Then Holden Sheppard chats with Irma about writing failures and the drive to succeed, the publicity whirlwind and inevitable comedown, self-doubt and second-novel syndrome, being snubbed by literary big shots in the green room and world domination goals! About Holden Holden Sheppard’s debut novel, Invisible Boys , won the Hungerford Award which led to publication and more awards, including the West Australian Premier’s ...
Dec 08, 2020•42 min•Season 1Ep. 2
Craig and Irma chat about why they’ve launched the podcast, the history of the green room and their own green room experiences. Then Anna Spargo-Ryan chats with Irma about how she grew up with her own publishing house (sort of!), the manuscripts that never made it to publication, how she accidentally pitched a book on Twitter that led to a heated auction, what said heated auction involved (hint: a lot of emotional paralysis on the couch), the worst rejection of her writing life and a whole lot m...
Nov 14, 2020•57 min•Season 1Ep. 1
