Byron Writers Festival

Iconic Australian actor Bryan Brown became an international success in the early 80's with critical acclaim, appearing in more than 80 films. In this conversation Bryan Brown chats with Chris Hanley about his debut novel, Sweet Jimmy. Together they discuss the essence of a good story, the sense of adventure that was instilled in Bryan Brown growing up in Sydney's western suburbs, and how that experience shaped his career in the arts. An enjoyable discussion with one of Australia's best loved actors.

A powerful conversation with Bundjalung poet Evelyn Araluen about her Stella-award winning collection Dropbear, and more broadly her creative and academic practice. Evelyn's poetry, together with her work as a literary editor and academic, interrogates the history of Australian literature; the tropes that curate our idea of Australianness and the influence of language - both English and Bundjalung - on our relationship to the land. Earmarked with evocative readings and ceremoniously facilitated by Daniel Browning, this is a simply stunning session from the 2022 Byron Writers Festival.

Hannah Kent discusses her bestselling third novel Devotion with Susan Wyndham. In this candid conversation, Hannah (also the author of Burial Rites and The Good People) discusses the seeds of inspiration that lie at the heart of her work, her approach to research, writing and character building, and the motivation behind her decision to write a queer love story this time around.

Trent Dalton has captured the hearts of thousands of readers with his remarkable storytelling, but it is his live conversations that have most endeared him to festival audiences around the country. In this heart warming conversation with David Leser, Dalton takes us on his quest to understand love as a ‘sentimental writer' on the streets of Brisbane during the pandemic.

In this fascinating panel expertly chaired by Margaret Simons, Guardian Australia columnist Van Badham takes us on the journey behind her work where she joined some of the internet's most extreme communities to understand conspiracy cults from the inside; Ed Coper schools us on the communications sectors' dark underworld, aptly coined ‘Pink Slime'; and Tim Burrows shares his wealth of knowledge on media monopolies and where to from here. The session ends with some practical tips on how to reconnect with loved ones who have fallen down the rabbit hole.

An expansive and fascinating discussion on healing from a First Nations perspective. Authors and academics Judy Atkinson, Paul Callaghan and Marcia Langton ponder the questions of what does it mean to heal, and what healing looks like, for both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people. They share the impacts of intergenerational trauma, examples of traditional First Nations healing methods and explore the Aboriginal concept of healing; of being well in mind, body and spirit, caring for oneself, one's community and country.

Tackling this challenging topic with respect, breadth and depth of experience David Leser, Yves Rees, Mariam Veiszadeh together with Jess Hill consider patriarchy and how it affects us all. Through the lens of history, non-binary perspectives and cultures around the world, we are presented with hope and practical tools to become aware of patriarchy - external and internal, and the idea of change and how to achieve it. Smash the patriarchy? Let it ‘die out'? Or are there other ways to reform the system?

Authors and activists Dylin Hardcastle, Kathryn Heyman and Jess Hill explore their complicated relationship with anger and how it informs their creative practice, the personal and cultural cost of censoring anger and the reclaiming of controlled and organised anger as a catalyst for change. Powerful readings paired with shared personal experiences and deep dives in the writing process make for a truly memorable session that was cited by many as one of the highlights of the 2022 Festival.

Gabrielle Chan joins Bronwyn Adcock, Joëlle Gergis and Ed Coper to discuss the limits of modern science in a world where disaster mitigation and climate adaptation have become necessary for a sustainable future.

In this moving conversation Chloe Hooper and Tim Baker chat with Nikki Gemmell about the things we can draw on to live everyday life with awe, and how our mortality brings the fullness of life into sharp relief. Together they highlight the importance of conversations around mortality, and how to approach the subject as a community, to inspire robust discussion about how to live life to the fullest.

How can we approach our current moment with radical hope? In this powerful keynote address from the 2022 festival, storytellers, activists, philosophers and rappers each take to the stage with a response to this question, in doing so inspiring new ways to imagine our future. Featuring A.C. Grayling, Mia Thom, Damon Gameau, Anne-Marie Te Whiu and Luka Lesson.

Sarah Wilson sits down with filmmaker and activist Damon Gameau, the ‘electrify everything guy' Saul Griffith and environmentalist Tim Hollo to imagine a greener future for our world. In a discussion that traverses history, policy, community action and technology, we're presented with an array of possibilities that embody the 2022 festival theme of Radical Hope.

In this explorative conversation, authors Jessie Cole (Desire) and Nikki Gemmell (Dissolve) sit down with Zacharey Jane for an intimate and at times brutally honest chat about female desire in all its guises – from the purely physical to the more nuanced, deeper yearnings for personal growth, connection and fulfilment. Both Jessie and Nikki share how their writing practices have served to process lived experience and interrogate the impact of trauma, ultimately giving voice to the niggles of self-doubt that so-often pervade the female psyche.

Let us take you on a wild rollercoaster ride of love and other stories! Trent Dalton (Love Stories) , Nigel Featherstone (My Heart is a Little Wild Thing) and Hannah Kent (Devotion) - three incredible novelists in their own right – come together for this wonderful panel about the forever beguiling subject of love. We hear tales of heartbreak and jubilation, we shed tears of sorrow and laughter, we go on a journey so doggedly awkward that we cheer victoriously when love is finally, triumphantly found. Let your heart sing and enjoy this stand-out session from the 2022 Byron Writers Festival.

This conversation from the 2022 Byron Writers Festival takes a deep dive into stillness in the modern age. We hear from Paul Callaghan about what we can learn from Indigenous wisdom and ways of being, Indira Naidoo discusses how our relationship with the natural world can bring stillness and Christine Jackman provides us with ways of turning down the noise (and turning off our screens). Ultimately this is a conversation about how we can change the way we live; to learn from those that have come before us to find ways to achieve tranquility in the fast-paced future that awaits us.

Three novelists Emily Brugman (The Islands), Ashley Hay (Gum) and Christos Tsiolkas (7 ½) discuss their work and the synchronous exchange that occurs between writing and the natural world. Together they examine the fine line between inspiration and exaggeration, the role of intuition, the importance of space and silence and the care that must be taken when describing sensory experiences. Coupled with evocative readings from each of their novels, this conversation is a delightful journey into the inner workings of three very different, yet equally outstanding writers.

In this uplifting conversation Matthew Evans and Costa Georgiadis chat with Indira Naidoo about the joy and experience of gardening. They discuss the intimate connection of working with soil, and gardening as the ultimate act of optimism. With practical advice to connect with nature from many different entry points, this chat will leave you inspired and motivated to get your hands dirty and reap the many benefits for individuals and the planet.

In this lively conversation, authors Sarah Armstrong, Bronwyn Brancroft and Isobelle Carmody sit down with Tristan Bancks to discuss children's books, and what they can offer readers of all ages. Each speaker explores what draws them to read and write children's books, and the ingredients required to create quality children's literature, including the balance between lighter themes, such as hope, wonder and celebration, with the dark elements of storytelling.

Sarah Armstrong interviews Kathryn Heyman about her memoir Fury. They unpack questions around the writing process: What stories do we choose to tell and why? When is the right time to write about personal or traumatic events? Kathryn also talks about her early writing life, the books that inspired her, gender politics and the reverberations of the #metoo movement. About the book: At the age of twenty, after a traumatic sexual assault trial, Kathryn Heyman ran away from her life and became a deckhand on a fishing trawler in the Timor Sea. After one wild season on board the Ocean Thief, the only girl among tough working men, facing storms, treachery and harder physical labour than she had ever known, Heyman was transformed. A roadmap of recovery and transformation, this is the story of becoming heroic in a culture which doesn't see heroism in the shape of a girl.

Produced in collaboration with Griffith Review, Sarah Sentilles talks with Ashley Hay about her latest works. They discuss her essay, ‘Creation Stories', from Griffith Review 73: Hey, Utopia! as well as Sarah's new memoir Stranger Care. In this insightful discussion, Ashely and Sarah discuss many topics, including the collision between bureaucracy and love, the nature of creativity and the ability of art to change the way we see the world. About Stranger Care: The moving story of what one woman learned from fostering a newborn — about injustice, about making mistakes, about how to better love and protect people beyond our immediate kin. About Creation Stories: An essay about the world-making power of art. Published in Griffith Review 73: Hey Utopia.

Nicole Abadee talks with Kavita Bedford about her book Friends and Dark Shapes. They discuss the contours of contemporary life in the city, from insecure employment and housing, to second-generation identity, waves of migration, online dating and social alienation. About the book: A group of friends moves into a share house in Redfern. They are all on the cusp of thirty and big life changes. Friends & Dark Shapes is a novel of love and loss, of constancy and change. Most of all, it is about looking for connection in an estranged world.

In this Byron Writers Festival X BooksBooksBooks podcast collaboration, Pip Williams talks with Nicole Abadee about her novel, The Dictionary of Lost Words. They discuss the history of the Oxford English Dictionary, and how the exclusion of particular words inspired Williams' sweeping story of Esme as she sets about collecting the discarded vernacular of the English lexicon. About the Book: Set when the women's suffrage movement was at its height and the Great War loomed, The Dictionary of Lost Words reveals a lost narrative, hidden between the lines of a history written by men. It's a delightful, lyrical and deeply thought-provoking celebration of words, and the power of language to shape our experience of the world.

Chris Raja talks with Sunil Badami about his insightful and moving memoir, Into The Suburbs. They discuss the roles of truth and fiction in memoir, as well as family, migration, homelands and identity. About the book: Exploring topical issues of race, class and migration, Into the Suburbs is an affecting portrait of one family's search for home.

Sophie Hardcastle talks with Emily Brugman about their novel Below Deck. They discuss writing techniques and processes, as well as the characters and themes of the book, including sexual violence, trauma, nature and renewal. About the book: Below Deck is a heartbreakingly poetic and haunting story about the vagaries of consent, about who has the space to speak and who is believed.

Tristan Bancks, longtime Byron Writers Festival supporter and Room to Read ambassador, chairs a discussion with Sisonke Msimang, Jennie Orchard and Alice Pung about their contributions to the anthology The Gifts of Reading, including the books they all love to give. The Gifts of Reading is an anthology of essays about the joys of reading and of giving books, from some of the world's most beloved writers, inspired by Robert Macfarlane, curated by Jennie Orchard, and published on the 20th anniversary of the global literacy non-profit Room to Read.

Fiona Murphy kept her deafness a secret for over 25 years. After an accident to her hand, she discovered that sign language could change her life, and that Deaf culture could be part of her identity. In this podcast, Fiona talks with Caroline Baum about her memoir The Shape of Sound, and her journey from a position of shame to one of pride as she navigated the world of d/Deafness and disability. Blending memoir with observations on the health industry, The Shape of Sound is a story about the corrosive power of secrets, stigma and shame, and how deaf experiences and disability are shaped by economics, social policy, medicine and societal expectations. Transcript available here: http://byronwritersfestival.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/The-Shape-of-Sound-transcript_FM.pdf

Described as a spiky, sharp, intriguingly dark and tender book, full of pathos, fury and wit, Meg Mason's Sorrow and Bliss has received wide critical acclaim. In this podcast, Sarah Kanowski from Radio National's Conversations talks with Meg about her unforgettable characters, the interplay between humour and suffering, and about her gentle rendering of mental illness.

Join celebrated Australian storyteller Jock Serong and acclaimed writer Mirandi Riwoe for a lively discussion about Jock's new novel The Burning Island, recorded live at Lennox Cultural Centre, in collaboration with Lennox Arts Board (LAB). Irresistible prose, unforgettable characters and magnificent, epic storytelling: The Burning Island delivers everything readers have come to expect from Jock Serong. It may be his most moving, compelling novel yet.

Yuwaalaraay writer and founding member of Indigenous folk duo Stiff Gins, Nardi Simpson talks with Bundjalung writer, editor and Byron Writers Festival board member Grace Lucas-Pennington about her debut novel Song of the Crocodile. Full of music, Yuwaalaraay language and exquisite description, Song of the Crocodile is a lament to choice and change, and the unyielding land that sustains us all, if only we could listen to it. This debut novel is a captivating Australian saga from the winner of the 2018 black&write! fellowship. At the close of the conversation Nardi performs her original track 'Song of the Crocodile' on ukulele.

In this conversation, recorded live as part of Byron Writers Festival's out-of-season program, author and academic Jenny Hocking joins celebrated journalist Kerry O'Brien to discuss her revealing new book The Palace Letters: The Queen, the governor-general, and the plot to dismiss Gough Whitlam. In this ground breaking account, Hocking discloses the obstruction, intrigue and duplicity she faced during her 10-year campaign to expose the truth behind the dismissal.

In this Conversations from Byron podcast, Jock Serong speaks with Chris Hanley about his new book The Burning Island. They discuss creating in the time of Covid-19, while Jock walks us through some of his researching and writing habits. Delving into the book itself, Jock explains where the idea for the story originated and its relationship to his previous novel Preservation. They go on to discuss some of the numerous themes present in the novel, from seafaring to parent-child relationships and problems of addiction. About the book: Eliza Grayling, born in Sydney when the colony itself was still an infant, has lived there all her thirty-two years. Too tall, too stern—too old, now—for marriage, she looks out for her reclusive father, Joshua, and wonders about his past. There is a shadow there: an old enmity. When Joshua Grayling is offered the chance for a reckoning with his nemesis, Eliza is horrified. It involves a sea voyage with an uncertain, probably violent, outcome. Insanity for an elderly blind man, let alone a drunkard. Unable to dissuade her father from his mad fixation, Eliza begins to understand she may be forced to go with him. Then she sees the vessel they will be sailing on. And in that instant, the voyage of the Moonbird becomes Eliza's mission too. Irresistible prose, unforgettable characters and magnificent, epic storytelling: The Burning Island delivers everything readers have come to expect from Jock Serong. It may be his most moving, compelling novel yet.

In this Conversations from Byron podcast, Mirandi Riwoe speaks with Melanie Cheng about her experience of researching and writing about the Australian gold rush. They discuss Chinese-Australian history and its place within our broader colonial literature, and explore how stories like this one can help bring the once invisible and voiceless to the forefront of our imaginations. About the book: Family circumstances force siblings Ying and Lai Yue to flee their home in China to seek their fortunes in Australia. Life on the gold fields is hard, and they soon abandon the diggings and head to nearby Maytown. Once there, Lai Yue gets a job as a carrier on an overland expedition, while Ying finds work in a local store and strikes up a friendship with Meriem, a young white woman with her own troubled past. When a serious crime is committed, suspicion falls on all those who are considered outsiders. Evoking the rich, unfolding tapestry of Australian life in the late nineteenth century, Stone Sky Gold Mountain is a heartbreaking and universal story about the exiled and displaced, about those who encounter discrimination yet yearn for acceptance.

Nazeem Hussain is a grown man whose Mum won't let him go to Sri Lanka. At least, not without her by his side. But he's just had a kid, and he's started thinking ahead to the questions his son might ask him one day, like ‘why are we brown?' So Naz flies to Sri Lanka with the echoes of his Mum's protests in his ears. In his new Audible Original Podcast, Rogue Son, we follow comedian Nazeem Hussain as he journeys through his ancestral lands, considering what life would've been like had his parents not migrated to Australia. Naz tours Sri Lanka at a pivotal time for the country, politically and culturally. A new government is elected while Naz is in the air, so he lands in a strange atmosphere of confusion and change. In this Conversations from Byron podcast Nazeem talks with friend and fellow comedian Matt Okine about the making of the podcast. They discuss race, identity and the experience of returning to your place of heritage as a first generation migrant.

Kindred, Kirli Saunders' debut poetry collection, is a pleasure to lose yourself in. Kirli has a keen eye for observation, humour and big themes that surround Love, Connection & Loss in an engaging style, complemented by evocative and poignant imagery. Kindred talks to identity, culture, community and the role of Earth as healer. It has the ability to grab hold of the personal in the universal and reflect this back to the reader. In this Conversations from Byron podcast, Ellen van Neerven chats with Kirli Saunders about the moments that inspired Kindred, about her role in the Poetry in First Languages project, and about her own personal journey to reclaim language.

The Thea Astley Address, named in honour of one of Australia's most influential and distinctive novelists, has been presented annually at the Byron Writers Festival since 2005 - by some of Australia's best writers and most interesting minds. This year, we add to the prestigious list Professor Marcia Langton, one of our country's most important voices for Indigenous Australia. The 2020 Thea Astley Address, entitled Black Lives Matter, is supported by The Conversation and the Copyright Agency's Cultural Fund. In this powerful address, Marcia Langton explores how Black Lives Matter in Australia, through history, in the present and for our future. She takes us back to the death of Mulrunji, or Cameron Doomadgee, in custody on Palm Island in 2004, and the subsequent failure of the police and the criminal justice system to deliver justice for the deceased and his family. Langton tracks many similar cases, shining a light on the crisis in which we find ourselves as a nation, and demands the implementation of long-overdue recommendations from the 1987 - 1991 Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody.

S. Shakthidharan's award-winning play, Counting and Cracking, is a story about Australia as a land of refuge, about Sri Lanka's efforts to remain united, and about reconciliation within families, across countries and generations. Shakthi's latest play, The Jungle and The Sea, was due to open on the day of this interview, but has been put on hold due to Covid-19 restrictions. In this Conversations from Byron podcast, Shakthi talks with Sunil Badami about what makes an Australian story. They discuss multiculturalism throughout our nation's long history, and explore themes of family, identity and migration. Shakthi also tells us about his path to playwriting, his love of community arts practice, and the realities of making theatre in the time of Covid-19.

Jean Kittson's warm and witty practical guide is a one-stop shop for information on how to support your ageing loved ones: how to protect their health and wellbeing, keep them safe and secure, and enable them to be self-determining and independent for as long as possible. Compelled to discuss some of life's most confronting questions, Jean shares heartfelt, personal stories alongside expert advice. In this Conversations from Byron podcast, Jean talks with fellow author and comedian Mandy Nolan about what she learned throughout the writing of this book. Jean shares some of her own family's experiences, and talks us through the complex aged care system in Australia. Together, Mandy and Jean consider how we might re-frame the way we think about caring for our elderly parents.

Join some of Australia's finest writers for a collection of unexpected tales: reflections on lives well lived and battles fought, pride, prejudice, love and humour. The LGBTQI+ community has been sharing stories for centuries, creating their own histories, disrupting and reinventing conventional ideas about narrative, family, love and community. There's more to being queer than coming out and getting married. Fast becoming an institution around the country, Queerstories is a national LGBTQI+ storytelling project curated by Maeve Marsden. Over the past 5 years, more than 250 people have shared their stories at live Queerstories events around the country, and many of these readings are now available on the award-winning Queerstories podcast. This special Byron Writers Festival podcast edition brings together a beautiful mix of light, warm, thought-provoking and heartbreaking tales from an exceptional line-up of Queer storytellers, including Ellen Van Neerven, Sally Rugg, Michael Sun and Hayley Katzen.

On June 4, Federal Police raided the home of Walkley award-winning journalist Annika Smethurst, changing her life forever. Police claim they were investigating the publication of classified information, her employer called it a 'dangerous act of intimidation', Smethurst believes she was simply doing her job. Smethurst became the accidental poster woman for press freedom as politicians debated the merits of police searching through her underwear drawer. In On Secrets she discusses the impact this invasion has had on her life, and examines the importance of press freedom. In this Conversations from Byron podcast, Annika talks with Sunil Badami about her path to political reporting, and how she approaches questions of confidentiality, national security and truth-telling in her occupation. She tells us about the day her home was raided by the AFP, and how the experience impacted her personal and professional life, as well as its effect on journalism as a whole.

2038. On a remote island off the Pacific coast of British Columbia stands the Greenwood Arboreal Cathedral, one of the world's last forests. Wealthy tourists flock from all corners of the dust-choked globe to see the spectacle and remember what once was. But even as they breathe in the fresh air and pose for photographs amidst the greenery, guide Jake knows that the forest is dying, though her bosses won't admit it. 1908. Two passenger locomotives meet head-on. The only survivors are two young boys, who take refuge in a trapper's cabin in a forest on the edge of town. In twenty-six years, one of them, now a recluse, will find an abandoned baby — another child of Greenwood — setting off a series of events that will change the course of his life, and the lives of those around him. Structured like the rings of a tree, this remarkable novel moves from the future to the present to the past, and back again, to tell the story of one family and their enduring connection to the place that brought them together. In this Conversations from Byron podcast, Michael Christie speaks with Sophie Cunningham about the interconnectedness of people and nature, about families, relationships and love, and about his and Sophie's shared obsession with trees.

Tegan Bennett Daylight has led a life in books – as a writer, a teacher and a critic, but first and foremost as a reader. In this deeply insightful and intimate work, Daylight describes how her reading has nourished her life, and how life has informed her reading. In both, she shows us that it's the small points of connection – the details – that really matter: what we notice when someone close to us dies, when we give birth, when we make friends. In life's disasters and delights, the details are what we can share and compare and carry with us. In this Conversations from Byron podcast, Tegan talks with long-time friend and writing confidant Charlotte Wood about her love of books. They touch on the varied subjects of Tegan's essays, from her mother's influence on her reading life, to childhood and its aftermath (as in her celebrated essay ‘Vagina'), the authors who have shaped her, and the power of language to spark joy.

Narrated by a 13,000-year-old extinct mammoth, this is the (mostly) true story of how a collection of prehistoric creatures came to be on sale at a natural history auction in New York in 2007. By tracing how and when these fossils were unearthed, Mammoth leads us on a funny and fascinating journey from the Pleistocene epoch to nineteenth-century America and beyond, revealing how ideas about science and religion have shaped our world. With our planet on the brink of calamitous climate change, Mammoth scrutinises humanity's role in the destruction of the natural world while also offering a message of hope. In this Conversations from Byron podcast, Tony Birch talks with friend and author Chris Flynn about the writing of Mammoth. Their candid discussion touches on many subjects, including Chris' Irish upbringing, climate change, fossils, world leaders, and the role of humour in climate fiction.

Gabriel Fox, the young son of an old English house, arrives in a land both ancient and new. Drawn by the promise of his heart's desire, and compelled to distance himself from pain at home, Gabriel begins his quest into Van Diemen's Land. His guide, a Cannibal who is not all he seems, leads him north where Gabriel might free himself of his distracting burden and seek the woman he must find. As Gabriel traverses this wild country, he uncovers new truths buried within his own memory. In this Conversations from Byron podcast, winner of the 2020 Australian Vogel Literary Prize, K.M. Kruimink speaks with fellow Vogel shortlister Emily Brugman about the characters and themes of her novel, about the experience of winning the Vogel, and where her love of literature comes from.

Life in a troubled neighbourhood demands too much too young. But Sonny wouldn't really know. Watching the world from her bedroom window, she exists only in second-hand romance novels and falls for any fast-food employee who happens to spare her a glance. Everything changes with the return of Vince, a boy who became a legend after he was hauled away in handcuffs at fourteen. Sonny and Vince used to be childhood friends. But with all that happened in-between, childhood seems so long ago. It will take two years of juvie, an inebriated grandmother and a porn stash for them to meet again. In this Conversations from Byron podcast, Vivian talks with friend and Executive Director of Story Factory, Cath Keenan, about being published at 19, and how the stories she was told as a child inspired this novel.

Christos Tsiolkas' stunning new novel Damascus is a work of soaring ambition and achievement, of immense power and epic scope, taking as its subject nothing less than events surrounding the birth and establishment of the Christian church. Based around the gospels and letters of St Paul, and focusing on characters one and two generations on from the death of Christ, as well as Paul (Saul) himself, Damascus nevertheless explores the themes that have always obsessed Tsiolkas as a writer: class, religion, masculinity, patriarchy, colonisation, exile; the ways in which nations, societies, communities, families and individuals are united and divided - it's all here, the contemporary and urgent questions, perennial concerns made vivid and visceral. In Damascus, Tsiolkas has written a masterpiece of imagination and transformation: an historical novel of immense power and an unflinching dissection of doubt and faith, tyranny and revolution, and cruelty and sacrifice. Join Christos as he speaks candidly with fellow author and long-time friend Malcolm Knox about his own winding path to Damascus.

The lives of three women weave together across four centuries in the dazzling new book from Evie Wyld, winner of the Miles Franklin Award. Surging out of the sea, the Bass Rock has for centuries watched over the lives that pass under its shadow on the Scottish mainland. And across the centuries the fates of three women are linked: to this place, to each other. Each woman's choices are circumscribed, in ways big and small, by the men in their lives. But in sisterhood there is the hope of survival and new life. Intricately crafted and compulsively readable, The Bass Rock burns bright with anger and love. In this Conversations from Byron podcast, Evie speaks with Nicole Abadee about the creation of her three female protagonists, and about violence against women both in the book and in the world around us.

This debut collection of short stories by Yumna Kassab is remarkable for its minimalism. Set in the suburbs of Western Sydney, it portrays the lives of Lebanese immigrants, and their families. The stories revolve around their hopes and regrets, their feelings of isolation, and their nostalgia for what they might have lost or left behind. In particular, The House of Youssef is about relationships, and the customs which complicate them: children growing away from their parents, parents anxious about their children's futures, the intricacies of marriage, the breakable bonds of friendship. The stories are told with an extreme economy – some are only two pages long – and a spareness of detail which heightens their emotional intensity. In this Conversations from Byron podcast, Sunil Badami talks with Yumna about the writing of the book, its reception, about growing up in Western Sydney, and how our identity informs our writing.

When urban academic Hayley Katzen moves to a remote Australian cattle property to live with her farmer girlfriend, she hopes, at last, to find home. But this is no happy-ever-after tree change. Lecture halls, law reform and the arts are replaced with castrating calves, shovelling manure, fire-fighting and anti-gas blockades. In a place that attracts people who live by their own rules, Hayley must confront her limitations and preconceptions to forge her own identity. In this Conversations from Byron podcast, Hayley speaks with long-time friend Sarah Armstrong about learning to love the bush, about the craft of memoir writing, and about all of the things, the histories and experiences, the people and the landscapes, that ultimately lead us home.

James Bradley's new novel Ghost Species is a beautiful and deeply affecting exploration of connection and loss in an age of planetary trauma. Set against the backdrop of hastening climate catastrophe, a group of scientists are working to re-engineer the climate by resurrecting extinct species. The protagonist Kate becomes enmeshed in another, more clandestine program to recreate our long-lost relatives, the Neanderthals. But when the first of the children, a girl called Eve, is born, Kate finds herself torn between her growing love for Eve and her obligations to the project, and makes a decision that will alter her and Eve's lives forever. In this Conversations from Byron podcast, James speaks with Sophie Cunningham about the writing process and his hopes for the book. James delves into some of the central questions of Ghost Species: deep time, ethics and what it means to be human. They discuss grief in both a personal and global context, from climate grief, to pandemic grief and the very personal grief of losing a parent.

Journalist Jess Hill‘s now Stella Award-winning book 'See What You Made Me Do', calls for a radical rethink on how we see and deal with domestic abuse in Australia. She spoke to Margot Saville at the 2019 Byron Writers Festival about the three somewhat harrowing years she spent writing the book, and how it changed her perception of the issue.

Our fascination with fire goes back millennia and with changing climate conditions, fire will only take greater hold on our collective psyche. This important session brings together 'The Arsonist' author Chloe Hopper, fire historian Stephen Pyne and RFS veteran Peter Watt to discuss our evolving relationship with fire and how to better work WITH fire, rather than against it.