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News headlines // 7:15AM // Laura Sykes is a community organiser with Lock the Gate Alliance and part of the Beyond Gas Network. She has been involved with grassroots climate justice and youth organising for over a decade, and is passionate about building community led campaigns to fight for systemic change. Laura is on the show today to talk about some of the current campaigns and organising, including the demand for Labor MPs to apply the water trigger to Beetaloo fracking. Head to www.lockthegate.org.au for information on how you can join the fight to stop coal and gas. 7:30AM // Sarah and Emma from Free Kanaky Solidarity Naarm Collective: Sarah is a white settler from France living on Wurundjeri Country, and Emma is a white settler and unionist also living on Wurundjeri Country. They join us on the show to update us on the current situation in Kanaky; the new pro-France New Caledonian government, the implications for the people and struggle for independence, as well as Radio RATA. You can find current updates and ways to support by going to @freekanakysolidarity.naarm and @radio__rata on Instagram. 7:45AM // Jordy Silverstein is a Jewish social and cultural historian and senior research fellow at Melbourne Law School. She was one of the panelists at the inaugural symposium unifying antiracist research and action organised by the Indigenous-led Carumba Institute last month, which has since faced backlash in mainstream media. This culminated in a parliamentary inquiry into the event last Wednesday, raising serious concerns over political suppression and academic freedom. Jordy discusses the symposium itself, how and why it's been misrepresented, as well as potential weaponisation of the IHRA definition against university staff and students. 8:00AM // Emma Darragh is a writer, editor and academic, who grew up in Wollongong on Dharawal Country where she completed her PhD in creative writing in 2022. She joined us to speak about her debut novel, Thanks For Having Me, which was the winner of The Readings Prize for New Australian Fiction 2024, and writing taboos about motherhood. You can follow Emma on Instagram @emmaldarragh or check out her website at emmadarragh.com 8:15AM // Sarah Schwartz is a Legal Director in the Human Rights Law Centre's Democratic Freedoms team, which defends democratic rights and freedoms such as the right to protest, the rights of whistleblowers, and rights to participate in public affairs. Sarah discusses the Hate Crimes bill which has recently passed through Parliament and the implications of mandatory minimum sentencing. Songs:Summoning - Lisa Mitchell and Jess Hitchcock
This is a very special instalment of the podcast, as we have not one, not two nor three, but four interviews with four award winners – the 2024 winners of the four categories of The Reading Prize. First presented in 2014, The Readings Prize supports new and outstanding Australian voices across three separate categories of fiction: Children's, Young Adult and New Australian Fiction. The Readings Prize is unique in the Australian literary landscape as it's the only prize currently run by an independent bookshop and supporting emerging Australian voices. Winners of each category are awarded $5000 and the winner of the Gab Williams Prize, which is judged by the Readings Teen Advisory Board, wins $1000. To celebrate The Readings Prize in 2024 we have brought together short interviews with each of the winners and the respective Chair of Judges for your listening pleasure.
A new instalment of the Readings Kids Podcast. In this episode, Readings Prize and Readings Foundation coordinator Angela Crocombe – who is also senior buyer for Readings Kids – was joined by members of the Teen Advisory Board for a discussion with author Lili Wilkinson. Wilkinson is the award-winning author of nineteen books for young people, including The Erasure Initiative and A Hunger of Thorns. She has a PhD from the University of Melbourne, and is a passionate advocate for YA and the young people who read it, establishing the Inky Awards at the Centre for Youth Literature, State Library of Victoria. Her latest book is Deep is the Fen.
Welcome to The Re-Read: bonus episodes where we chat with previous Better Words guests and catch up on what's happened since they joined us on the pod. Lauren Draper is a Melbourne-based writer and marketing professional. She is a graduate of RMIT's Professional Writing and Editing program and now works in publishing - she loves nothing more than a story infused with magic, hijinks and a touch of nostalgia. Her debut novel, The Museum of Broken Things, was acquired after it was shortlisted in the 2020 Text Prize, and went on to be shortlisted for The Readings Prize and Indie Book Awards, and longlisted for the CBCA Book of the Year (Older Readers). She grew up in Western Australia, mostly on land but often in water. She now lives in Melbourne, where she can be found almost exclusively complaining about the weather.Listen to our previous chat with Lauren here.You can follow @laurendraperwrites on InstagramIn this interview, we chat about:Dead letter offices, abandoned buildings and the inspiration for Return to Sender Dual timelines and choosing to keep technology to a minimumLauren on skipping 'second book syndrome' by starting to write Return to Sender before the publication of her debut The effect of critical acclaim on Lauren as a writerDifferent covers in different markets and prepping for a US releaseBooks and other things mentioned:Feed by Mira Grant10 Things I Hate About You (film)Return to Sender is available now in Australia and from August 13 in the US and UK. Thank you to the publishers for providing copies of the book in preparation for the interview. Connect with us on Instagram: @betterwordspod
Kate Mildenhall and Robbie Arnott recorded this session 'Into the Wild' LIVE at Canberra Writers Festival in August 2023. Robbie's acclaimed debut, Flames, won a Sydney Morning Herald Best Young Novelist award and a Tasmanian Premier's Literary Prize, and was shortlisted for a Victorian Premier's Literary Award, a New South Wales Premier's Literary Award, a Queensland Literary Award, the Readings Prize for New Australian Fiction and the Not the Booker Prize. His follow-up, The Rain Heron, won the Age Book of the Year award, and was shortlisted for the Miles Franklin Literary Award, the ALS Gold Medal, the Voss Literary Prize and an Adelaide Festival Award. Limberlost is his third novel. It won the Age Book of the Year Award and the BookPeople Book of the Year Awards, and was shortlisted for the Miles Franklin Literary Award. Read the transcript for this interview here. Thanks to Canberra Writers Festival This recording took place at 2:30pm on Sunday 20 August at Kambri Cultural Centre (ANU), and thanks go to the phenomenal team at Canberra Writers Festival for sharing this audio with us. If you are interested in running festivals, judging prizes and writing reviews, we recommend this interview with Beejay Silcox, Judge of The Stella Prize and Artistic Director of Canberra Writers Festival. About The Garret: Writers and the publishing industry Follow The Garret on Twitter and Instagram, or follow our host Astrid Edwards on Twitter or Instagram.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Anna and Annie discuss the Readings Prize winner, Cold Enough for Snow by Jessica Au. Our book of the week is Real Bad Things by Kelly J. Ford. Set around the Arkansas River, this is a suspense thriller about Jane, who returns to her home town to face up to a murder that was committed years before. Described as Southern noir or Grit Lit, this was an Amazon Best Book of the Month and is recommended for Ozark fans. Coming up: The Trees by Percival Everett. Follow us! Email: booksonthegopodcast@gmail.com Instagram: @abailliekaras and @mr_annie Twitter: @abailliekaras and @mister_annie Facebook: Books On The Go Credits Artwork: Sascha Wilkosz
Anna and Annie discuss the 2022 Readings Prize for New Australian Fiction shortlist. Our book of the week is Bodies of Light by award-winning author Jennifer Down. This novel explores survival against the odds and is wonderfully engaging despite the subject-matter. Winner of the 2022 Miles Franklin Literary Award. Coming up: Cold Enough for Snow by Jessica Au and small books. Follow us! Instagram: @abailliekaras and @mr_annie Facebook: Books On The Go Litsy: @abailliekaras Twitter: @abailliekaras and @mister_annie Credits Artwork: Sascha Wilkosz
Born in Hobart, Tasmania, Sean Rabin has worked as a cook, script reader, copy-editor, freelance journalist and librarian. He has lived in Ireland, Italy, London and New York, and now resides in Sydney, Australia. His debut novel Wood Green (Giramondo) was shortlisted for The Victorian Premier's Literary Awards 2017 and The Readings Prize for New Australian Fiction 2016 and was also longlisted for the ALS Gold Medal. It was published in the UK by Dodo Ink in 2016.
In this episode, Hannah Kents takes us through the process behind writing her novel Devotion. We talked about how she writes her way into the voice of her characters, her love of writing landscape, her first draft process, the editing process and her writing practice. You'll find links to buy both paperback and ebook versions of Devotion here.ABOUT HANNAHHannah Kent's first novel, the international bestseller, Burial Rites (2013), was translated into over 30 languages and won the ABIA Literary Fiction Book of the Year, the Indie Awards Debut Fiction Book of the Year, and the Victorian Premier's People's Choice Award. It was shortlisted for the Women's Prize for Fiction and the Guardian First Book Award, the Stella Prize and the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award, amongst others. It is currently being adapted for film by Sony TriStar. Hannah's second novel, The Good People was published in 2016 (ANZ) and 2017 (UK and North America). It has been translated into 10 languages and was shortlisted for the Walter Scott Award for Historical Fiction, the Indie Books Award for Literary Fiction, the ABIA Literary Fiction Book of the Year and the Readings Prize for New Australian Fiction. It is currently being adapted for film by Aquarius Productions. Hannah's latest novel, Devotion, has recently been published in Australia, the UK and Ireland.Hannah's original feature film, Run Rabbit Run, will be directed by Daina Reid (The Handmaid's Tale) and produced by Carver and XYZ Films. It was launched at the Cannes 2020 virtual market where STX Entertainment took world rights. Hannah co-founded the Australian literary publication Kill Your Darlings, and is a Patron for World Vision Australia. She has written for The New York Times, The Saturday Paper, The Guardian, the Age, the Sydney Morning Herald, Meanjin, Qantas Magazine and LitHub.Hannah lives and works on Peramangk country near Adelaide, Australia.Find Hannah online at her website or on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.This podcast is recorded on the beautiful, unceded lands of the Garigal people of the Eora nation.Full show notes available at writersbookclubpodcast.com
In this Heart of Writing episode Pam chats to Eliza Henry Jones about the creative process, writing trauma, her life on her beautiful flower farm in the Yarra Valley, horse riding, motherhood...and more. Eliza is an author, freelance writer and PhD candidate based on a little flower farm on Wurundjeri land in the Yarra Valley. Her latest novel Salt and Skin will be published by Ultimo Press in August 2022. She is the author of In the Quiet(2015), Ache(2017) and the young adult novels P is for Pearl(2018) and How to Grow a Family Tree(2020). Her novels have been listed for numerous awards including the Readings Prize for New Australian Fiction, QLD Literary Awards, NSW Premier's Literary Awards, Indie Awards, ABIA Awards and CBCA Awards. Eliza is currently a PhD candidate at Deakin University, examining how historic sites of trauma manifest in the environment and through more-than-human bodies. Grab a cuppa and sit back and eavesdrop as Pam chats to Eliza about a diverse range of writing topics and finds out what's at the heart of her writing. SHOW NOTES: Writes4Women www.writes4women.com Facebook @writes4women Twitter / Instagram @w4wpodcast W4W Patreon https://www.writes4women.com/support-us-on-patreon Eliza Henry Jones Website: click here Facebook: click here Instagram: click here Buy Eliza's books here Pamela Cook www.pamelacook.com.au Facebook: click here Twitter: click here Instagram: click here This episode produced by Pamela Cook for Writes4Women. Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/writes4women?fan_landing=true See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
David and Perry discuss a number of recent award winners and take the Hugo Time Machine zooming back to the year of 1967 A. Bertram Chandler Award (01:48) Booker Prize Winner (00:37) Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award (00:58) World Fantasy Awards (02:02) Readings Prize (00:38) Hugo Voting closes (00:25) Hugo Time Machine~1967 (01:00:58) Short Stories (17:09) “Mr. Jester” by Fred Saberhagen “Delusion for a Dragon Slayer” by Harlan Ellison “Rat Race” by Raymond F. Jones “The Secret Place” by Richard McKenna (Won Nebula) “Man in His Time” by Brian W. Aldiss “Comes Now the Power” by Roger Zelazny “Light of Other Days” by Bob Shaw WINNER “Neutron Star” by Larry Niven Novelettes (13:30) “The Alchemist” by Charles L. Harness “An Ornament to His Profession” by Charles L. Harness “The Manor of Roses” by Thomas Burnett Swann “Call Him Lord” by Gordon R. Dickson “For a Breath I Tarry” by Roger Zelazny “This Moment of the Storm” by Roger Zelazny “Apology to Inky” by Robert M. Green, Jr. “The Eskimo Invasion” by Hayden Howard WINNER “The Last Castle” by Jack Vance Other possible nominees (06:27) Novels (16:47) Day of the Minotaur by Thomas Burnett Swann The Witches of Karres by James H. Schmitz Too Many Magicians by Randall Garrett Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes Babel-17 by Samuel R. Delany WINNER: The Moon is a Harsh Mistress by Robert A. Heinlein Other possible nominees (01:26) Other 1967 Hugo awards (01:23) Windup (00:39) Photo by RODNAE Productions from Pexels
David and Perry discuss a number of recent award winners and take the Hugo Time Machine zooming back to the year of 1967 A. Bertram Chandler Award (01:48) Booker Prize Winner (00:37) Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award (00:58) World Fantasy Awards (02:02) Readings Prize (00:38) Hugo Voting closes (00:25) Hugo Time Machine~1967 (01:00:58) Short Stories (17:09) “Mr. Jester” by Fred Saberhagen “Delusion for a Dragon Slayer” by Harlan Ellison “Rat Race” by Raymond F. Jones “The Secret Place” by Richard McKenna (Won Nebula) “Man in His Time” by Brian W. Aldiss “Comes Now the Power” by Roger Zelazny “Light of Other Days” by Bob Shaw WINNER “Neutron Star” by Larry Niven Novelettes (13:30) “The Alchemist” by Charles L. Harness “An Ornament to His Profession” by Charles L. Harness “The Manor of Roses” by Thomas Burnett Swann “Call Him Lord” by Gordon R. Dickson “For a Breath I Tarry” by Roger Zelazny “This Moment of the Storm” by Roger Zelazny “Apology to Inky” by Robert M. Green, Jr. “The Eskimo Invasion” by Hayden Howard WINNER “The Last Castle” by Jack Vance Other possible nominees (06:27) Novels (16:47) Day of the Minotaur by Thomas Burnett Swann The Witches of Karres by James H. Schmitz Too Many Magicians by Randall Garrett Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes Babel-17 by Samuel R. Delany WINNER: The Moon is a Harsh Mistress by Robert A. Heinlein Other possible nominees (01:26) Other 1967 Hugo awards (01:23) Windup (00:39) Click here for more info and indexes Photo by RODNAE Productions from Pexels
Jennifer Down is a highly awarded writer, named a Sydney Morning Herald Young Novelist of the Year consecutively in 2017 and 2018. Her third long form work is 2021's Bodies of Light. Our Magic Hour, her debut novel, was shortlisted for the 2014 Victorian Premier's Literary Award for an unpublished manuscript. Her second book, Pulse Points, was the winner of the 2018 Readings Prize for New Australian Fiction and the 2018 Steele Rudd Award for a Short Story Collection in the Queensland Literary Awards, and was shortlisted for a 2018 NSW Premier's Literary Award. About The Garret Read the transcript of this interview at thegarretpodcast.com. The interview was recorded by Zoom, and we can't wait to start recording in person again soon. You can also follow The Garret on Twitter and Facebook, or follow our host Astrid Edwards on Twitter or Instagram. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
A teenage encounter by the water, Schnapps, and memory – Joshua shares his own gentle take on the well-worn coming of age. Joshua Lobb teaches Creative Writing at the University of Wollongong. His stories have appeared in The Bridport Prize Anthology, Best Australian Stories, Animal Studies Journal, Griffith Review, Text, Southerly and Island. His ‘novel in stories' about grief and climate change, The Flight of Birds (Sydney University Press, 2019) was shortlisted for the 2019 Readings Prize for New Australian Fiction and the 2020 Mascara Literary Review Avant Garde Awards for Best Fiction. He is also part of the multi-authored project, 100 Atmospheres: Studies in Scale and Wonder (Open Humanities Press, 2019).Queerstories an award-winning LGBTQI+ storytelling project directed by Maeve Marsden, with regular events around Australia. For more information, visit www.queerstories.com.au and follow Queerstories on Facebook.The Queerstories book is published by Hachette Australia, and can be purchased from your favourite independent bookseller or on Booktopia.To support Queerstories, become a patron at www.patreon.com/ladysingsitbetterAnd for gay stuff and insomnia rants follow Maeve Marsden on Twitter and Instagram. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
At the end of its life, the phoenix bursts into flames and a younger bird rises from the ashes. The roc is large enough to carry an elephant in its claws. The caladrius absorbs disease, curing the ill. The rain heron, which can take the form of steam, liquid or ice, controls the climate around it. Unlike the first three mythical birds, whose legends are hundreds or thousands of years old, the rain heron is a new entry in the library of imaginary beasts, introduced in the novel bearing its name by Tasmanian author Robbie Arnott. Set in an unnamed country beset by a military coup and climate disruptions, The Rain Heron (FSG Originals, 2021) is a story of survivors searching for peace but finding violence in both nature and society. The characters are tested and exposed by the titular creature, which exacts a price from those who dare covet it. “What I was really trying to do was create a mythical creature that embodies both the beauty and the savagery of nature,” Arnott says. “I wanted something that is totally captivating, the way many natural environments and phenomena can be, but also is really, really dangerous.” Arnott’s descriptions of nature are inspired by the beauty of his Australian home state of Tasmania, where he has spent long stretches hiking in the bush and fishing in the cold waters. “It always comes through in my writing a lot. There's lots of descriptions of natural places because that's generally where I've been and what I'm interested in. I tried living in a big city for a while and I just I just couldn't do it.” Robbie Arnott is the author of the novel Flames, which won the Margaret Scott Prize, was short-listed for the Victorian Premier’s Literary Prize for Fiction, the Guardian Not the Booker Prize, and the Readings Prize for New Australian Fiction. In 2019, he was named a Sydney Morning Herald Best Young Australian Novelist. The Rain Heron was one of LitHub's Most Anticipated Books of 2021. Rob Wolf is the host of New Books in Science Fiction and the author of The Alternate Universe and The Escape. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network
At the end of its life, the phoenix bursts into flames and a younger bird rises from the ashes. The roc is large enough to carry an elephant in its claws. The caladrius absorbs disease, curing the ill. The rain heron, which can take the form of steam, liquid or ice, controls the climate around it. Unlike the first three mythical birds, whose legends are hundreds or thousands of years old, the rain heron is a new entry in the library of imaginary beasts, introduced in the novel bearing its name by Tasmanian author Robbie Arnott. Set in an unnamed country beset by a military coup and climate disruptions, The Rain Heron (FSG Originals, 2021) is a story of survivors searching for peace but finding violence in both nature and society. The characters are tested and exposed by the titular creature, which exacts a price from those who dare covet it. “What I was really trying to do was create a mythical creature that embodies both the beauty and the savagery of nature,” Arnott says. “I wanted something that is totally captivating, the way many natural environments and phenomena can be, but also is really, really dangerous.” Arnott’s descriptions of nature are inspired by the beauty of his Australian home state of Tasmania, where he has spent long stretches hiking in the bush and fishing in the cold waters. “It always comes through in my writing a lot. There's lots of descriptions of natural places because that's generally where I've been and what I'm interested in. I tried living in a big city for a while and I just I just couldn't do it.” Robbie Arnott is the author of the novel Flames, which won the Margaret Scott Prize, was short-listed for the Victorian Premier’s Literary Prize for Fiction, the Guardian Not the Booker Prize, and the Readings Prize for New Australian Fiction. In 2019, he was named a Sydney Morning Herald Best Young Australian Novelist. The Rain Heron was one of LitHub's Most Anticipated Books of 2021. Rob Wolf is the host of New Books in Science Fiction and the author of The Alternate Universe and The Escape. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/science-fiction
At the end of its life, the phoenix bursts into flames and a younger bird rises from the ashes. The roc is large enough to carry an elephant in its claws. The caladrius absorbs disease, curing the ill. The rain heron, which can take the form of steam, liquid or ice, controls the climate around it. Unlike the first three mythical birds, whose legends are hundreds or thousands of years old, the rain heron is a new entry in the library of imaginary beasts, introduced in the novel bearing its name by Tasmanian author Robbie Arnott. Set in an unnamed country beset by a military coup and climate disruptions, The Rain Heron (FSG Originals, 2021) is a story of survivors searching for peace but finding violence in both nature and society. The characters are tested and exposed by the titular creature, which exacts a price from those who dare covet it. “What I was really trying to do was create a mythical creature that embodies both the beauty and the savagery of nature,” Arnott says. “I wanted something that is totally captivating, the way many natural environments and phenomena can be, but also is really, really dangerous.” Arnott’s descriptions of nature are inspired by the beauty of his Australian home state of Tasmania, where he has spent long stretches hiking in the bush and fishing in the cold waters. “It always comes through in my writing a lot. There's lots of descriptions of natural places because that's generally where I've been and what I'm interested in. I tried living in a big city for a while and I just I just couldn't do it.” Robbie Arnott is the author of the novel Flames, which won the Margaret Scott Prize, was short-listed for the Victorian Premier’s Literary Prize for Fiction, the Guardian Not the Booker Prize, and the Readings Prize for New Australian Fiction. In 2019, he was named a Sydney Morning Herald Best Young Australian Novelist. The Rain Heron was one of LitHub's Most Anticipated Books of 2021. Rob Wolf is the host of New Books in Science Fiction and the author of The Alternate Universe and The Escape. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/literature
Anna and Annie discuss the winner of the 2020 Readings Prize for New Fiction, Smart Ovens for Lonely People by Elizabeth Tan. Our book of the week is Nudibranch by Irenosen Okojie. This collection of short stories was a Guardian Must Read Book of 2019. We read the story Grace Jones, which won the 2020 AKO Caine Prize for African Writing. Highly recommended. Coming up: The Paying Guests by Sarah Waters. Follow us! Facebook: Books On The Go Email: booksonthegopodcast@gmail.com Instagram: @abailliekaras and @mr_annie Twitter: @abailliekaras and @mister_annie LItsy: @abailliekaras and @mr_annie Credits Artwork: Sascha Wilkosz
Alice Robinson is a highly awarded writer of literary fiction, and The Glad Shout can only be described as great literature. In this interview, Alice reflects on the impetus to write The Glad Shout, how she's approaching her writing craft in 2020 and what great literature she thinks will come out of this time. Alice's debut novel, Anchor Point, was longlisted for The Stella Prize and the Indie Book Awards. The Glad Shout was shortlisted for an Aurealis Award and The Colin Roderick Literary Award and won the Readings Prize for New Australian Fiction. Alice's stories, essays and reviews have been published widely in literary journals, including in Meanjin, Overland, The Lifted Brow, Kill Your Darlings, The Big Issue Fiction Edition, Fireflies, Arena, The Australian Humanities Review and Australian Book Review. About The Garret Read the transcript of this interview at thegarretpodcast.com. The interview was recorded by Zoom, and we can't wait to start recording in person again soon. You can also follow The Garret on Twitter and Facebook, or follow our host Astrid Edwards on Twitter or Instagram. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Alice Bishop is a short story writer. A Constant Hum - about the Black Saturday Fires - is her debut collection. The work was nominated for the 2019 Readings Prize for New Australian Fiction, and the origins of the work were commended in the 2015 Victorian Premier's Literary Award for an Unpublished Manuscript, as well as the inaugural Richell Prize and the 2017 Kill Your Darlings Unpublished Manuscript Award. Her essay 'Coppering' was shortlisted in the 2017 Horne Prize. Alice's other pieces have been published by Meanjin, Overland, Australian Book Review, Seizure, Voiceworks and Lip Magazine. About The Garret You can read the transcript of this interview at thegarretpodcast.com. You can also follow The Garret on Twitter and Facebook, or follow our host Astrid Edwards on Twitter or Instagram. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Anna, Amanda and Annie discuss the Readings Prize for New Australian Fiction shortlist. This is becoming widely followed and is a great way to discover new Aussie authors. Our book of the week is Too Much Lip by Melissa Lucashenko, winner of the 2019 Miles Franklin Prize and short-listed for the Stella Prize. We loved this - a cracking story, dazzling prose and lots to discuss. Highly recommended. Next week, Anna and Amanda will be reading The Ditch by Herman Koch, translated by Sam Garrett. Then we will be back with 10 Minutes 38 Seconds in this Strange World by Elif Shafak and The Testaments by Margaret Atwood. Follow us! Facebook: Books On The Go Email: booksonthegopodcast@gmail.com Instagram: @abailliekaras , @amandalhayes99 , @mr_annie Twitter: @abailliekaras, @mister_annie Litsy: @abailliekaras, @mr_annie Credits Artwork: Sascha Wilkosz
Writer and poet Ellen van Neerven reflects on team sport friendships, new cities and personal geographies. Ellen van Neerven is a writer of Mununjali Yugambeh and Dutch heritage. Her first book, Heat and Light (UQP, 2014), was the recipient of the David Unaipon Award, the Dobbie Literary Award and the NSW Premier’s Literary Awards Indigenous Writers Prize. Heat and Light was also shortlisted for The Stella Prize, the Queensland Literary Award for State Significance, and the Readings Prize. Ellen’s second book, a collection of poetry, Comfort Food (UQP, 2016) was shortlisted for the NSW Premier’s Literary Awards Kenneth Slessor Prize and Highly Commended for the 2016 Wesley Michel Wright Prize. Queerstories is an LGBTQI+ storytelling night programmed by Maeve Marsden, with regular events around Australia. For Queerstories event dates, visit www.maevemarsden.com, and follow Queerstories on Facebook. The Queerstories book is published by Hachette Australia, and can be purchased from your favourite independent bookseller or on Booktopia. To support Queerstories, become a patron at www.patreon.com/ladysingsitbetter And for gay stuff and insomnia rants follow me - Maeve Marsden - on Twitter and Instagram.
Anna and Amanda discuss the Man Booker 2018 winner: Milkman by Anna Burns. We loved this (see episode 25 for our discussion)! Apparently it's superb on audio so we recommend that - let us know if you've read (or listened to) it! Closer to home, Jennifer Downs has won the Readings Prize for New Australian Fiction with Pulse Points. Our book of the week is Nine Perfect Strangers by Liane Moriarty. The author of three New York Times No. 1 best-sellers including Big Little Lies, Moriarty has fun with this novel set at a health retreat where nine people go seeking a life change - but will they survive? A great beach read. Next up, Anna and Amanda will be reading Trick by Domenico Starnone. Follow us! Facebook: Books On The Go Email: booksonthegopodcast@gmail.com Instagram: @abailliekaras and @amandalhayes99 Litsy: @abailliekaras Twitter: @abailliekaras Credits: Artwork: Sascha Wilcosz
Jennifer Down is the winner of this year's Readings Prize for New Australian Fiction. Here, she chats with Ellen Cregan, chair of the judging panel, about her winning work of fiction, Pulse Points.
Events manager Chris Gordon chats about this year's Readings Prize For New Australian Fiction shortlist with Ellen Cregan, chair of the judging panel. Find the shortlisted books here: http://bit.ly/2ORFSxP
Eliza Henry-Jones is an author based on a little farm in the Yarra Valley of Victoria. Eliza chats to Words and Nerds about mental illness , the power of friendship in a world created for couples and art. In this very honest and entertaining podcast Eliza shares personal experiences that led her to write this beautiful book. Her debut novel In the Quiet was published in 2015 as part of a three book deal with HarperCollins Australia and is now out in the US through Harper360. It was shortlisted for the Readings Prize for New Australian Fiction, the NSW Premier’s Literary Awards and was longlisted in the Indie Awards and ABIA Awards. Her second novel Ache was released in 2017. Eliza has also signed an additional two book deal with HarperCollins Australia for two works for younger readers. Her first Young Adult novel P is for Pearl has just been released. Eliza has qualifications in English, Psychology and grief, loss and trauma counselling. She has also completed an honours thesis exploring representations of bushfire trauma in fiction. Her work has been published widely, appearing in places such as The Guardian, The Age, Southerly, Island, The Big Issue and Daily Life.
Events manager Chris Gordon chats about this year's Readings Prize for New Australian Fiction shortlist with two of the judges: Marie Matteson and Gabrielle Williams.
In our season one finale, satirist Julie Koh joins us to discuss switching careers, experimental short fiction, and whether satire can change the world when it feels like the world is satirising itself. Plus, a bonus for our listeners – the audio of Julie’s reading at the Emerging Writers’ Festival 2017 Program Launch. Julie Koh is a Sydney-based writer. She quit a career in corporate law to pursue writing, and her short stories have appeared in The Best Australian Stories and Best Australian Comedy Writing. Julie has written two short-story collections, Capital Misfits and Portable Curiosities. The latter has been shortlisted for the Readings Prize for New Australian Fiction, the Steele Rudd Award in the Queensland Literary Awards, and the UTS Glenda Adams Award in the NSW Premier’s Literary Awards. Portable Curiosities was also one of The Guardian’s Best Australian Books of 2016, an Australian Book Review 2016 Book of the Year, a Sydney Morning Herald Daily Life feminist reading pick of 2016, and a Feminist Writers Festival Best Feminist Book of 2016. Julie is the editor of BooksActually’s Gold Standard and a founding member of Kanganoulipo.
In this week’s podcast we look at a special edition of the Stella Prize count, a survey uncovering the gender divide in Australian literary criticism. Then we look at the rise of the Australian music critic Anwen Crawford. And finally we chat The Readings Prize, an award dedicated to Australians authors of debut and second books.