Backstory

Presenter Mel Cranenburgh winds up 4 years of presenting Backstory today, and joining her are two highly accomplished authors. First, Phillipa (Pip) McGuinness discusses her book 'Skin Deep', which deals with beauty, ageing, health, illness, and interrogating white fragility. Mel and Pip touch on writing about race, skin cancers, and the challenges of mixing history, journalism, interviews, and cultural studies into one book. And author Toni Jordan tells Mel about her book 'Dinner with the Schnabels', a big family drama-dy filled with wit and arch observations. They talk about setups and structure, simile and metaphor-filled character descriptions, world-building, and doing the wrong thing for the right reasons.Website: https://www.rrr.org.au/explore/podcasts/backstory

'Loveland' follows the story of May, who travels from Australia to Loveland, Nebraska to claim a house on a poisoned lake as a part of her grandmother's will. As she seeks to escape her controlling husband and repair the old house, the secrets of her grandmother's life are slowly uncovered and parallel May's own life in many ways. Author Robert Lukins and host Mel Cranenburgh discuss why small towns make a good backdrop for gothic subject matter, escapism, writing as "thinking on a page", and disconnection between generations in a family.Website: https://www.rrr.org.au/explore/podcasts/backstory

'Found, Wanting' is author Natasha Sholl's memoir about attempting to rebuild her life in the aftermath of her partner Rob's sudden death at the age of 27 years old and deal with cultural assumptions and expectations about the "right way" to grieve. Author Natasha Sholl and host Mel Cranenburgh explore writing about grief before and after experiencing it, objectivity in memoir, faith and ritual around morning, receiving feedback from others who are grieving, and hope.Website: https://www.rrr.org.au/explore/podcasts/backstory

Winner of the Victorian Premier's Literary Award for fiction, 'Smokehouse' is a collection of interlinked short stories all set in a small-town community in Southern Tasmania. Author Melissa Manning's book follows a fundamental point of change in each of its character's intersecting lives. Melissa Manning and host Mel Cranenburgh talk about creating a sense of place, leaving space in storytelling for readers to speculate on the future, and what characters do when they are "out of scene".Website: https://www.rrr.org.au/explore/podcasts/backstory

Author and award-winning poet Omar Sakr discusses his debut novel ‘Son of Sin'. This coming-of-age story follows a young queer Muslim boy as he contends with an intergenerational legacy of family ties and ruptures. The novel explores faith, the supernatural, silence, memory, and rumour. With presenter Mel Cranenburgh.Website: https://www.rrr.org.au/explore/podcasts/backstory

Vanessa Len chats to Mel about her debut novel ‘Only A Monster', a gripping young adult fantasy that is the first of a trilogy. It follows the tumultuous journey of a half-human, half-monster heroine who, after learning a secret that unravels her reality, must embrace the monster inside her. Out now through Allen & Unwin. With presenter Mel Cranenburgh.Website: https://www.rrr.org.au/explore/podcasts/backstory

‘Cold Enough For Snow' is Jessica Au's tightly crafted, award-winning second novel that wrestles with the tension that comes with words unspoken. As mother and daughter travel through Japan together, the unbridgeable emotional distance between them unravels; as everything is awakened in that which can't be said. Out now through Giramondo. With presenter Mel Cranenburgh.Website: https://www.rrr.org.au/explore/podcasts/backstory

Australian author Diana Reid delves into her debut novel ‘Love & Virtue'. The novel introduces Michaela and Eve, two fellow college students in Sydney who come to know the privilege, power and male-dominated culture that wreak havoc in such institutions. Amidst a social minefield, the two girls navigate consent, sex, feminism, class, love and envy. Out now through Ultimo Press. With presenter Elsie Lange.Website: https://www.rrr.org.au/explore/podcasts/backstory

Award-winning writer of ‘Burial Rites' and 'The Good People', Hannah Kent, gives thoughtful insight into her latest novel, ‘Devotion'. Her lush descriptions of nature, religion, land, ghosts and queerness intertwine with the power of love, as we hear from the unique perspectives of three women. With presenter Elsie Lange.Website: https://www.rrr.org.au/explore/podcasts/backstory

Walkley Award-winning author Delia Falconer chats about her fourth book, ‘Signs and Wonders, Dispatches from a time of beauty and loss'. Comprising thirteen essays, it delves deeply into the human impact on the climate crisis, whilst appreciating the beauty and wonders of our ever-changing landscape. With presenter Elsie Lange.Website: https://www.rrr.org.au/explore/podcasts/backstory

Stella Award-winning novelist, Emily Bitto delves into her new novel ‘Wild Abandon'. It follows Will, as he journeys to America in an attempt to mend his broken heart and hopefully find some peace and wisdom along the way. The trip takes surprising twists and turns, with hedonism, masculinity and capitalism all in the mix, softened by the innocence and tenderness of lion cubs. With presenter Elsie Lange.Website: https://www.rrr.org.au/explore/podcasts/backstory

In her latest book, two-time Miles Franklin award winner, Michelle de Kretser explores the ‘Scary Monsters' of racism and misogyny. It follows two distinct novellas based in different times and places, though linked by migrant experiences. Out now through Allen & Unwin. With presenter Mel Cranenburgh. Website: https://www.rrr.org.au/explore/podcasts/backstory

Award-winning author of nine books; poet, essayist, historian and activist, Tony Birch joins Mel for a special ‘In Conversation' event about his latest book, ‘Dark as Last Night'. It is a collection of short stories, encapsulating the complex layers of the human condition; especially aligned with finding resilience and strength in positions of adversity. With presenter Mel Cranenburgh.Website: https://www.rrr.org.au/explore/podcasts/backstory

In her seventh book, ‘The Three Burials of Lottie Kneen', Krissy Kneen introduces her late grandmother and family matriarch, Lotty Kneen. Her passing sparked Krissy's quest to uncover more about her family. Using prose, poetry and imagery, Krissy's journey takes on a paradoxical tapestry of themes like gruesome fairytales, serendipity and secrets. Out now through Text Publishing. With presenter Mel Cranenburgh.Website: https://www.rrr.org.au/explore/podcasts/backstory

In Jacquie Byron's debut novel ‘Happy Hour', we peer through the lens of 65-year old, newly-widowed Franny as she alternately revels in artistry and aloneness. Despite her escapist tendencies, her need for community evolves and she finds solace in new friendships. The book is out now through Allen & Unwin. With presenter Mel Cranenburgh.Website: https://www.rrr.org.au/explore/podcasts/backstory

Miles Allinson's second novel, ‘In Moonland' explores three timelines that draw on seeking answers to their past and grappling with a turbulent future. It's the follow-up to his highly acclaimed debut novel 'Fever of Animals'. Both novels are out through Scribe. With presenter Mel Cranenburgh.Website: https://www.rrr.org.au/explore/podcasts/backstory

Award-winning author Mark Brandi explores his new psychological thriller, ‘The Others'. Tensions rise in isolated rural Tasmania, as 11-year old Jacob's curiosity and desire to discover what lies beyond his restricted world, boils to the surface. Out now through Hachette. With presenter Mel Cranenburgh.Website: https://www.rrr.org.au/explore/podcasts/backstory

Artist, lawyer and women's health and safety activist, Amani Haydar, gives a confronting and powerful insight into her memoir, ‘The Mother Wound'. After losing her mother and grandmother, she divulges the brutal terrain in building resilience amidst family breakdowns and a sea of legal, Islamaphobic and misogynistic battles. Out now through Hachette. With presenter Mel Cranenburgh.Website: https://www.rrr.org.au/explore/podcasts/backstory

Introducing her debut novel, 'Small Joys of Real Life' Allee Richards talks us through the nuts and bolts of her writing. Set amongst pre-pandemic Melbourne, the novel explores how life can take us on unplanned journeys, which inevitably shape who we are. With presenter Mel Cranenburgh.Website: https://www.rrr.org.au/explore/podcasts/backstory

Award-winning novelist Michael Muhammad Ahmed provides insight into how he went about writing his new novel, ‘The Other Half of You'. Caught between his desire to reject oppressive traditions and live on his own terms, we peer into lead character Bani's lens as a young Lebanese Muslim Australian man. Out now through Hachette. With presenter Mel Cranenburgh.Website: https://www.rrr.org.au/explore/podcasts/backstory

In her third and latest novel ‘The Newcomer', Laura Elizabeth Woollett intertwines fiction and reality. Deriving elements from a real murder in 2002, she brings us into a fictional Fairfolk island filled with unanswered questions. Out now through Scribe. With presenter Mel Cranenburgh.Website: https://www.rrr.org.au/explore/podcasts/backstory

Award-winning author Larissa Behrendt takes a deep dive into her new novel, After Story. It follows a mother and daughter as they grapple with grief and loss, while reflecting on their cultural history through a literary tour. The book is out now through UQP. With presenter Mel Cranenburgh.Website: https://www.rrr.org.au/explore/podcasts/backstory

Award-winning author of ‘The Trauma Cleaner', Sarah Krasnostein, weaves us through her new book ‘The Believer'. From a death doula to a ghost hunter, to a woman facing death and another woman released from prison, we follow six peoples' stories and their encounters with love, death and faith. With presenter Mel Cranenburgh.Website: https://www.rrr.org.au/explore/podcasts/backstory

Journalist Rick Morton combines memoir with journalism in ‘My Year of Living Vulnerably: A Rediscovery of Love'. Whilst reflecting on childhood trauma and its resounding impact into adulthood, the book also explores loneliness and masculinity. The book is out via Fourth Estate. With presenter Mel Cranenburgh.Website: https://www.rrr.org.au/explore/podcasts/backstory

Author and editor Rebecca Starford walks us through the The Imitator, her new historical novel which weaves through pre, mid and post-war periods, through the lens of a MI5 wartime spy. Out now through Allen & Unwin. With presenter Mel Cranenburgh.Website: https://www.rrr.org.au/explore/programs/backstory

Now That I See You has won the 2021 Australian / Vogel Literary Award. Listen as the woman behind the words, Emma Batchelor, unravels this part-truth, part-fiction book; exploring the way her lens on life shifted enormously in the wake of her partners' transition and their relationship demise. With presenter Mel Cranenburgh.Website: https://www.rrr.org.au/explore/programs/backstory

Award winning author and journalist Susan Johnson goes into her epistolary novel ‘From Where I Fell’, which follows two women who find solace in one another after an accidental email unites them; and writer and critic Oliver Reeson discusses their Sydney Review of Books essay ‘Not Who But How’, which dissects Craig Sylvie’s book ‘Honeybee’ and it’s controversial impact. With presenter Mel Cranenburgh.Website: https://www.rrr.org.au/explore/programs/backstory

Australian writer, director and actor, Madeleine Ryan, chats about her debut novel ‘A Room Called Earth’. Taking the reader on a journey through the mind of a woman in the space of one evening, it questions and critiques our social world and unveils some hidden truths about it. Out now through Scribe.With presenter Mel Cranenburgh.Website: https://www.rrr.org.au/explore/programs/backstory

Writer and music and cultural critic Anwen Crawford talks about her new book ‘No Document’. The book-length essay weaves together narratives that explore grief, art and activism with themes of war, immigration and stolen land. Out now through Giramondo. With presenter Mel Cranenburgh.Website: https://www.rrr.org.au/explore/programs/backstory

Claire Thomas delves into her latest novel The Performance, following three women whose lives undergo revelations as they watch a play; and author and performance artist Fiona McGregor discusses her collection of essays, Buried Not Dead and the artistic lives that informed it.With presenter Mel Cranenburgh.Website: https://www.rrr.org.au/explore/programs/backstory.

Elizabeth Flux is Editor At Large for the Melbourne City of Literature Office and an award-winning author whose fiction and non-fiction has been widely published. In this long-form interview, she discusses her recent non-fiction piece ‘Doctored Results’, published in this year’s Autumn edition of Meanjin. The piece reflects on her experience as a student in Australia’s medical industry, the lack of mental health support and the pressure of success in this realm. Please note: This episode includes references to suicide and suicide ideation. Please call Lifeline on 13 11 14 or Switchboard Victoria on 1800 729 367 if this conversation brings up any issues for you.With Presenter Fi Wright filling in for Mel Cranenburgh. Website:  https://www.rrr.org.au/explore/programs/backstory

Zoya Patel is an award-winning author, editor, founder of a feminist literary organisation and Chair of the 2021 Stella Prize judging panel. Discussing emerging themes in the stories shortlisted for the Stella Prize, from investigative journalism to imaginary worlds, she praises the works of a diverse variety of female voices.With presenter Rashelle McHugh filling in for Mel Cranenburgh.

Award-winning novelist, poet, playwright, editor and critic Alison Croggon delves into her new book Monsters in a long-form interview with Mel. The book takes the form of both memoir and essay, confronting a painful conflict between sisters, and explores the ways in which colonial patriarchy has moulded our lives in a way that is inescapable. Out now through Scribe. With presenter Mel Cranenburgh.Website: https://www.rrr.org.au/explore/programs/backstory

Lorraine Peck talks about her debut novel, The Second Son, a gripping, action-packed crime thriller; and Christy Collins discusses her beautiful and thought-provoking debut, The Price of Two Sparrows. With presenter Rashelle McHugh filling in for Mel Cranenburgh.

Martin McKenzie-Murray has worked as a teacher, Age columnist, and adviser to the chief commissioner of Victoria Police. But it’s his work as a scriptwriter that inspired his debut work of fiction. The Scriptwriter skewers Australian bureaucracy and political lethargy, taking readers on a frantic, funny, and surreal journey through the corridors of power.With presenter Mel Cranenburgh. Website: https://www.rrr.org.au/explore/programs/backstory

Kavita Bedford, an Australian-Indian writer with a background in journalism, anthropology and literature, talks about her novel, Friends and Dark Places, a novel of love and loss, of constancy and change, and looking for connection in an estranged world. Out now through Text Publishing.With presenter Mel Cranenburgh. Website: https://www.rrr.org.au/explore/programs/backstory

Adam Thompson, an emerging Aboriginal (pakana) writer from Tasmania, joins Mel for a longform interview about Born Into This, his “engaging and thought-provoking” collection of short stories out now through the University of Queensland Press.With presenter Mel Cranenburgh. Website: https://www.rrr.org.au/explore/programs/backstory

Craig Munro discusses his new book, Literary Lion Tamers: Book Editors Who Made Publishing History; and Kate Torney, Chief Executive Officer of the State Library of Victoria, chats about the 165th anniversary of the venerated institution, its past, and its post-pandemic future.With presenter Mel Cranenburgh. Website: https://www.rrr.org.au/explore/programs/backstory

In this long-form interview, Helen Garner talks about her recently released book, One Day I'll Remember This: Diaries 1987-1995, the second volume of her diaries which sees her contemplating the ethics, difficulties and rewards of love and relationships.With presenter Mel Cranenburgh.Website: https://www.rrr.org.au/explore/programs/backstory

Ewa Ramsey is an emerging writer and her debut novel, The Morbids, has been described as ‘a lively and often very funny book, and one that is hopeful and heartfelt.’ She talks about the joys and pitfalls of submitting an unsolicited manuscript and the process of crafting her first book.With presenter Mel Cranenburgh. Website: https://www.rrr.org.au/explore/programs/backstory

Rochelle Smith, director of the Word for Word Non-Fiction Festival, talks about this year’s program Life, Changing and explores the relationship between literature and non-fiction writing; and Australian cultural historian, essayist and novelist, Maria Tumarkin, discusses her State of the (Writing) Nation oration delivered for The Wheeler Centre and available now on YouTube.With presenter Mel Cranenburgh. Website: https://www.rrr.org.au/explore/programs/backstory

Miles Franklin Award-winning novelist Sofie Laguna talks about her new novel Infinite Splendours, and performance poet Andi Stewart joins the show to talk about Word Travels’ Story Week, an online, week-long event that brings together writers from across Australia and the world for a celebration of both new and traditional forms of oral storytelling.With presenter Mel Cranenburgh.Website: https://www.rrr.org.au/explore/programs/backstory

Jane Harper, award-winning author of The Dry, has written a new novel, The Survivors. Described by one critic as “yet another perfectly balanced, finely honed, deliciously atmospheric thriller”, it is a stand-alone mystery set on the Tasmanian coast. She talks about the book, shares thoughts about writing crime, and reveals tips for crafting thrilling narratives.With presenter Mel Cranenburgh. Website: https://www.rrr.org.au/explore/programs/backstory

Author Robert Dessaix chats about his latest book, The Time of Our Lives: Growing Older Well, a reflective journey across the landscape of growing older and the importance of cultivating a rich inner life; and Nikki Anderson, Director of the Feminist Writers Festival, talks about the highlights of this year’s forthcoming event.With presenter Mel Cranenburgh. Website: https://www.rrr.org.au/explore/programs/backstory

Tegan Bennett Daylight discusses her new book, The Details: On Love, Death and Reading, a collection of essays that examines the connections we form with literature and, in turn, with each other; and Evelyn Araluen, poet, researcher and co-editor of Overland Literary Journal talks about the new issue, where multiple writers tackle questions about health and (un)wellness in the time of Covid.With presenter Mel Cranenburgh. Website: https://www.rrr.org.au/explore/programs/backstory

Yarra Plenty Regional Library librarian Patrick Jovaras talks about coordinating this year’s YPRL Booklovers Festival and making the In The Good Books podcast, and the challenges and joys of getting books into the hands of avid readers during the pandemic.With presenter Mel Cranenburgh. Website: https://www.rrr.org.au/explore/programs/backstory

Author Kate Mildenhall talks about her latest novel, The Mother Fault and her new project about writing, writers and books,The First Time Podcast, co-hosted by Katherine Collette. And writer Lia Hills chats about Put Out Your Poetry, a new initiative by Yarra Ranges Council which invites residents to share their unique experiences of COVID via haiku.With presenter Mel Cranenburgh. Website: https://www.rrr.org.au/explore/programs/backstory

Author Jock Serong talks about his latest novel, The Burning Island, the follow up to his critically acclaimed thriller Preservation; and novelist Laura Elizabeth Woollett chats about her essay ‘Award Rate’, her contribution to the Sydney Review of Books series, Writers At Work.With presenter Mel Cranenburgh. Website: https://www.rrr.org.au/explore/programs/backstory

Editor, Michael Mohammed Ahmad and contributor, Kaya Ortiz Lattimore, discuss After Australia, a new essay anthology that features twelve Indigenous writers and writers of colour exploring the world we are handing down to the next generation; and newly appointed Voiceworks editor Adalya Nash Hussein chats about the latest issue, ‘Butter’, and the unusual Covid style cooking-show literary-event digital hybrid launch that accompanied it’s publication. With presenter Mel Cranenburgh. Website: https://www.rrr.org.au/explore/programs/backstory

Victoria Hannan talks about her debut novel Kokomo, a story of estrangement from kin, friendship, love, self and country; and Jess Hill, author of the award winning See What You Made Me Do, discusses both her book and her role in this year’s Melbourne Writers Festival, which is running online now. With presenter Mel Cranenburgh.Website: https://www.rrr.org.au/explore/programs/backstory

Robbie Arnott joins Backstory to discuss his second novel, The Rain Heron, an allegorical, cautionary tale which has been described as “a journey into a perilous world where the horror of human greed collides with the eloquence of nature”; and Elizabeth Flux talks about 'This is not a Eulogy for Hong Kong', an essay in the latest issue of Kill Your Darlings, where she reflects on her rage, despair and helplessness while watching the crisis unfold in her homeland from afar.With presenter Mel Cranenburgh.Website: https://www.rrr.org.au/explore/programs/backstory