NEW SERIES - Ever wanted to get inside the mind of an adult fiction author? This new series spotlights author through a monologue format, where authors take a deep dive into how they wrote their novel, where ideas come from, their challenges and wins, their fears, personal experiences, what it's like working with their publisher, the editing process and more. First up Mark Mupotsa-Russell, author of The Hitwoman's Guide to Reducing Household Debt, takes us through the process of writing his seco...
Jun 27, 2025•38 min
Date With A Debut is a podcast hosted by writer Nick Wasiliev: shining a light on debut authors, their incredible books, and their journeys to publication. This week, I sit down with Geoff Parkes to discuss his debut novel, When the Deep, Dark Bush Swallows You Whole. WARNING: This book contains intense subject matter, including instances of abuse and violence. Reader discretion is advised. Enjoy the show? Drop us a review, it really helps out! You can also support Date with a Debut on Patreon: ...
Jun 22, 2025•1 hr
Michelle Mitchell and Dani Vee chat about her new book TWEENS. They talk about this time being the most rapid period of development for a child, the difference between concrete and formal thinkers and how we can improve our connections with our tweens. They also chat about screen time, building positive relationships, mental illness and how we're all just trying our best to be the positive adults our kids need Michelle Mitchell is a bestselling author and speaker, sought after for her compassion...
Jun 16, 2025•38 min
ANGE CRAWFORD 🎙️ New QWS Podcast Episode! 🌈✨ Season 4 Continues! In QWS S4E6, Troy Hunter (he/him) has a yarn with Ange Crawford (she/her) about her award-winning debut YA novel How To Be Normal, out now with Walker Books. Ange discusses some of the key elements of the novel, including friendships, family and queer love. But How To Be Normal also tackles darker themes like coercive control and anxiety. She also opens up about how her own autism influences and impacts her writing. There’s a gre...
Jun 14, 2025•40 min
Dani Vee and Gavin Aung Than chat about his new graphic novel Creature Clinic. They also chat about the differences between Australian and US publishers, the secrets of the industry, parenting, finding creative space and whether meditation really works.
Jun 07, 2025•32 min
Date With A Debut is a podcast hosted by writer Nick Wasiliev: shining a light on debut authors, their incredible books, and their journeys to publication. This week, I sit down with Curtis Campbell to discuss his debut novel, The House of Rural Realness. Enjoy the show? Drop us a review, it really helps out! You can also support Date with a Debut on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/nickwasiliev/membership Subscribe on Podbean to never miss an episode: https://www.podbean.com/site/podcatcher/i...
Jun 07, 2025•52 min
Dani Vee and Sarah Clifton chat about her new book The Remarkable Truths of Alfie Bains. They chat about the writing process, writing, feminisms and remarkable truths. Sarah WON an interview by bidding on the Authors and Artists for Palestine Fundraiser
May 30, 2025•33 min
Date With A Debut is a podcast hosted by writer Nick Wasiliev: shining a light on debut authors, their incredible books, and their journeys to publication. This week, I sit down with Leesa Ronald to discuss her debut novel, Special Delivery. Enjoy the show? Drop us a review, it really helps out! You can also support Date with a Debut on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/nickwasiliev/membership Subscribe on Podbean to never miss an episode: https://www.podbean.com/site/podcatcher/index/blog/3mRM...
May 29, 2025•45 min
Dani and Joel chat about his brand new book Heist: The Great Chocolate Caper, planning vs the benefits of spontaneous writing, word counts and trends. Joel also confesses something about his past that inspired the book - and it's shocking! They also chat about the importance of self-care when touring, the power of poetry in bringing out the vulnerability of students, particularly boys, unraveling the patriarchy and practising courageous vulnerability.
May 26, 2025•49 min
Date With A Debut is a podcast hosted by writer Nick Wasiliev: shining a light on debut authors, their incredible books, and their journeys to publication. This week, I sit down with Deborah Pike to discuss her debut novel, The Players. Enjoy the show? Drop us a review, it really helps out! You can also support Date with a Debut on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/nickwasiliev/membership Subscribe on Podbean to never miss an episode: https://www.podbean.com/site/podcatcher/index/blog/3mRME5IMo...
May 23, 2025•49 min
Dani Vee chats to Karys McEwan about her new book The Paperbark Tree Committee, putting together writing festivals and why libraries change lives.
May 16, 2025•28 min
Date With A Debut is a podcast hosted by writer Nick Wasiliev: shining a light on debut authors, their incredible books, and their journeys to publication. For the first episode, we travel to the 2025 Newcastle Writers Festival for a live episode with Zahid Gamieldien, Lisa Kenway and Natasha Rai on their books All The Missing Children, All You Took From Me, and An Onslaught of Light. WARNING: all three books contain intense subject matter, with An Onslaught of Light containing suicidal themes a...
May 13, 2025•1 hr 6 min
🎙️ New QWS Podcast Episode! 🌈✨ Season 4 Continues! In QWS S4E5, Troy Hunter (he/him) sits down with Gary Lonesborough (he/him), a proud gay Yuin man and YA writer, to chat about his three acclaimed novels The Boy from the Mish, We Didn’t Think It Through, and I’m Not Really Here. They dig into the history of each novel, including Gary’s path to publication, as well as the stories behind the stories. Gary gives hints about his new novel due in 2026 and why it is the favourite thing he has writt...
May 08, 2025•43 min
True crime fans will love this episode! TAKEOVER: Adam Wallace gets dark and serious in this episode chatting to Jeffrey Pfeifer, a professor of forensic psychology who has worked with police and prison services around the world. His books explore the stories of the men and women executed for their crimes in Canada and Australia, and two of his books have now been optioned as movie productions. His books are available at: www.academic-rp.com Jeffrey Pfeifer received his Ph.D. and M.Leg.St. (Ma...
May 07, 2025•35 min
Superstar Adrian Beck chats to Dani Vee about his new middle grade book VILLAIN. The switch board lit up like Taylor Swift at a Chiefs game (enjoy my footy reference ADRIAN!) and we heard from 7 special and not at all planted creative guests who asked questions that ranged from the ridiculous (Adam Wallace) to the profound ... um someone did ask something profound didn't they? Just as Adrian Bec-k thought he was out of woods, Dani asked him some hard hitting questions that left him speechless Th...
May 02, 2025•1 hr 3 min
Dani Vee and Chris Flynn chat about his new supernatural thriller novel Orpheus Nine. Described as Australia's Stephen King, Chris writes a satire about world problems through small town conversations. They explore doomsday culture and impact of a catastrophising media on mental health and desensitisation. They discuss why people are so worried about wrong or learning from their mistakes and what it is about the internet that makes people double down on their ideas. They also chat about the impa...
Apr 24, 2025•43 min
🎙️ New QWS Podcast Episode! 🌈✨Season 4 continues In QWS S4E4, Rob chats with writer and artist Catherine Johnstone (she/her) about her lyrical, hybrid memoir-in-progress and her contributions to the international anthology Stories of Place (Black Rose Writing). They talk coming out through art, the power of queer storytelling, and how creative nonfiction can blur and bend traditional forms—lyric essays, fragments, visual structure, and more. Catherine reflects on publishing with a global colle...
Apr 16, 2025•37 min
⭐️ NEW EPISODE WITH MAITHREE WIJESEKARA ⭐️ Dani and Maithree chat about why the fantasy genre resonates with readers and why Maithree was compelled to write a novel in the middle of her dentistry degree. They take a small segue into how best to look after your teeth, with some surprising tips and a unique way to drink coffee! They discuss Maithree’s incredible pathway to publication and how she entered the publishing industry. Maithree Wijesekara is an Australian-Sri Lankan writer based in Melbo...
Mar 29, 2025•24 min
⭐️ NEW EPISODE WITH SARAH FOSTER ⭐️ A very feminist chat, essential listening for men and women, by women of a certain rage! Dani and Sara have a fascinating chat about creating female characters that push back against stereotypes and tropes. They also chat about the renegotiation and complexity of mother/daughter relationships as you age, and the paradox of what we want for our daughters (freedom) versus the safety of women in the world. Sara delves in the toxic masculinity such as transactiona...
Mar 24, 2025•27 min
Episode 728 - Dani Vee and Ashleigh Barton celebrate the new book How to Sail to Somewhere. They chat about writing in the chaos of creativity and parenthood, and how they’re tackling the big parenting moments, while trying to remain inspired. The conversation turns to being present, never being perfect and interesting writing process that doesn’t involve writing! Ashleigh is a children’s author as has worked in publishing running publicity and marketing campaigns. Ashleigh had written six pictu...
Mar 17, 2025•35 min
🎙️ New QWS Podcast Episode! 🌈✨ Season 4 Continues! In QWS S4E3, our new co-host Troy Hunter (he/him) sits down with Lisa Tirreno (she/her), a bi fantasy and speculative fiction writer, to chat about her debut novel Prince of Fortune. They dive into Lisa’s inspirations, the evolving definitions of "romantic fantasy," and the intersection of queer storytelling and world-building. They also explore shifting ideas of masculinity, from the Regency era to today. Lisa shares insights on navigating th...
Mar 14, 2025•36 min
In this adults only chat with Dani Vee and Holden Sheppard they chat about the brilliant STAN series Invisible Boys, brilliant casting and writing the raw and realistic episode 8. They discuss unrealistic love scenes in rom coms and how damaging they are in creating unrealistic expectations. The chat turns to shedding shame and who you are supposed to be and choosing to live authentically. Holden chat about the Invisible Boys sequel and how it is the book he was always meant to write. Holden She...
Mar 07, 2025•36 min
It's a Kidlit takeover! Join Ky Garvey as she chats to Picture Book creatives Rory H Mather, Brent Wilson & Kirsten Ealand on their new picture books Laugh in the Bath from Little Book Press and The Big Backyard Plan from Affirm Press. The authors share what it's like to collaborate with their fellow publishing creatives including getting creative advice from their peers and what the relationship between Author and Illustrator can be like.
Feb 24, 2025•27 min
Dani Vee and Victoria Brownlee, author, writer and editor, covering food, travel and lifestyle across Australia and France, chat about their passion for food, celebrity obsession and toxic work places. They talk about writing fun books and the most stressful scene of the book that makes the book unputdownable! With Victoria having had various publishers, she chats about what she has learnt about publishing including the need to survive rejection and be brave to throw away words that aren’t worki...
Feb 16, 2025•30 min
Dani Vee and her brother-from-another-mother award winning author John Larkin chat about the best publishing story ever, the signing of The Bogan Book Club at a pub on title only! Dani makes a confession to her long-time friend, and John talks about combining commercial literary fiction, and the book he was destined to write. Both Dani & John have been open with their mental health experiences and share their journeys of mental health and wellness. They also discuss how their recent surgerie...
Feb 16, 2025•27 min
✨ New Episode Alert! ✨ QWS Podcast S4E2 – Curtis Campbell On this episode of QWS Podcast, Rob chats with writer, comedian, and theatre artist Curtis Campbell about his debut YA novel The House of Rural Realness (UQP). This razor-sharp, heartfelt, and hilarious book dives into queer community, drag, and self-acceptance—all with a healthy dose of drama! Curtis shares his pathway to publication story, writing tips, the power of humour in tackling heavy themes, and the importance of community—now mo...
Feb 16, 2025•33 min
In this episode Dani Vee chats to Tina Strachan about the maths ins storytelling and pantsing vs plotting when writing a manuscript. We chat about Tina’s unique writing processes including Save The Cat and Story Grid methods The conversation turns to self-care and listening to the connection between our brain and body, making space for creativity, and how writing communities shape us as writers. We also talk about Neeka and the Missing Key, published by HarperCollins, the first book of the Wilde...
Feb 16, 2025•31 min
🎙️ New QWS Podcast Episode! 🌈✨Season 4 - LETS GO! S4E1, Rob chats with award-winning poet and author Rae White (they/them) about their beautiful new picture book, All the Colours of the Rainbow (Lothian Children’s Books). We dive into the inspiration behind Jem’s story, the importance of gender diversity in children’s literature, and how stories like this empower young readers to embrace their identities. Plus, Rae shares insights on using All the Colours of the Rainbow as a discussion starter...
Feb 15, 2025•32 min
‘It’s never been so important to be a mother of boys. We have to shape how our boys view the world, particularly when it comes to women.’ The first episode of the Words & Nerds new season for 2025 has landed! Kell Woods and Dani Vee chat like old friends about the importance of parenting boys and teachable moments of positive masculinity. They also chat about finding a balance between mental health and creativity. Kell and Dani delve into fairytales and appropriating them for a new context w...
Feb 11, 2025•32 min
MOST LOVED THROWBACKS - Alison Daddo and Dani Vee
Feb 11, 2025•31 min
