Podcast appearances and mentions of sydney writers' centre

full Australian Writers' Centre dfc4ac92-b7f4-4b35-bf26-a8b900849ca1 dfc4ac92-b7f4-4b35-bf26-a8b900849ca1 Thu, 05 Apr 2018 08:11:00 +0000 3933 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/SydneyWritersCentrePodcast/~3/oAw7KtkmqmM/australian-writers-centre-interview-with-tim-ferri tracy@spindriftmedia.com.au (Valerie Khoo)noBest-selling writers share their secrets of success.The Sydney Writers' Centre podcast on writers and writing features interviews with best-selling and acclaimed writers in a wide range of genres including literary fiction, fantasy, children's books, non-fiction, business and much more. Founder of the Sydney Writers' Centre, Valerie Khoo, interviews successful writers on how they approach the writing process and what goes into creating a remarkable piece of work. www.sydneywriterscentre.com.auSydney,Writers,Centre,Sydney,Writers,Center,stories,novel,authors,writing,Valerie,Khoo,Tim,Ferriss,publishing,getting,published,books,memoir,fiction,fantasy,languagehttps://omny.fm/shows/australian-writers-centre-podcast/australian-writers-centre-interview-with-tim-ferrihttps://traffic.omny.fm/d/clips/605a8977-4d30-43b0-9692-a7450005bf9d/68e73944-f257-471c

This week we talk to journalist and author, Chris Masters. Chris will be well known to ABC audiences for his decades of work on 4 Corners. He’s also the author of 4 books, and he’s here today to speak to us about the latest, Uncommon Soldier.

Ramona Koval has been living a life richly steeped in words since she learned to read and checked out Kafka's "The Trial" at 10 years of age. A writer, journalist and broadcaster, she was Australia's voice of literature for five years as the presenter of the Book Show on the ABC. Interview by Rose Powell of Sydney Writers' Centre. www.sydneywriterscentre.com.au

Kimberley Freeman is an Australian contemporary women’s fiction author who has also published speculative fiction and horror under her real name, Kim Wilkins. She is an award-winning author in her original genre, In 2007 she decided to explore a new genre and published her first women’s fiction novel, Duet. Her fourth book in the genre is Lighthouse Bay. Interview by Danielle Williams, course manager of Sydney Writers' Centre. www.sydneywriterscentre.com.au

Joanne Harris is the best-selling author of 14 novels, including Chocolat, Blackberry Wine and Five Quarters of the Orange. Her latest novel is Peaches for Monsieur Le Cure, the third book in the trilogy that started with Chocolat and Lollipop Shoes. Interview by Danielle Williams, course manager of Sydney Writers' Centre. www.sydneywriterscentre.com.au www.valeriekhoo.com

This week, Pete talks to Valerie Khoo - A journalist and writer, Founder of the Sydney Writers Centre, and author of the book, Power Stories - the 8 Stories You Must Tell, which is about the use of storytelling in business to get your message across -= Links =- - Online: http://powerstoriesbook.com/ - The Official Website for Valerie's Book - Books: Power Stories - The 8 Stories You Must Tell - Valerie Khoo -=- For more information about Pete and Dom, visit us online at http://www.preneurmedia.tv or drop us a line at: preneurcast@preneurgroup.com If you like what we're doing, please leave us a review on iTunes or a comment on the Preneurmedia.tv Web Site.

Sulari Gentill’s latest novel is Paving the New Road, the fourth book in the Rowland Sinclair historical crime series. It is the second book in the series she’s released in 2012 and has just been awarded the Sisters in Crime Davitt Award for the best crime novel by a woman. The first book in the series, A Few Right Thinking Men, was nominated in 2011 for the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize for Best First Novel in the South Easy Asia and Pacific.   Interview by Danielle Willams, course manager of Sydney Writers' Centre. www.sydneywriterscentre.com.au

Melbourne writer Zane Lovitt’s first book is The Midnight Promise. Told over a collection of 10 crime mysteries, it is the story of private inquiry agent, John Dorn. Its already garnered critical praise and comparisons to Australian crime writer, Peter Temple. Interview by Danielle Williams, course manager of Sydney Writers' Centre. www.sydneywriterscentre.com.au

Nichole Bernier is a feature writer, editor and now novelist. Her debut novel is The Unfinished Journals of Elizabath D. She lives in Boston with her husband and five children. Interview by Daneille Williams, course manager of Sydney Writers' Centre. www.sydneywriterscentre.com.au

Elliot Perlman is the author of three novels and a collection of short stories. His debut novel Three Dollars was published in 1998 and won the Age Book of the Year award and the Betty Trask Prize. It was later turned into a film by Elliot and director Robert Connolly, and was released in 2005. Interview by Rose Powell, Sydney Writers' Centre. www.sydneywriterscentre.com.au

Kim Kyosaki is a successful entrepreneur who was able to retire in 1994 thanks to the success of her business endeavours, But she couldn’t sit still for long, and in 1997 with husband, Robert Kyosaki, author of , she began travelling the world and imparting the secrets of her financial success. Her particular focus is on empowering women to take control of their financial destiny. It is a theme she has addressed in both her books, , released in 2006, and in her recently published new book, .Rich Dad, Poor DadRich WomanIt’s Rising Time! What it really takes for the reward of financial freedom Interview by Valerie Khoo, director of Sydney Writers' Centre. www.sydneywriterscentre.com.au www.valeriekhoo.com

Brian Thacker’s seventh travel book is Tell Them to Get Lost – Travels with the Lonely Planet guidebook that started it all. Travelling South-East Asia with a copy of the first-ever shoestring guidebook, published in 1975, Brian travels through Portuguese Timor, Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Laos and Burma. Interview by Valerie Khoo, director of Sydney Writers' Centre. www.sydneywriterscentre.com.au www.valeriekhoo.com

According to today's guest, Valerie Khoo of the Sydney Writers' Centre, storytelling can inspire, sell and motivate people into action. What are the key stories that YOU tell that will help your business stand out in customers minds? And, how can you use social media to spread your stories?

Jessica Rudd’s second novel, and sequel to her debut Campaign Ruby, is Ruby Blues. After helping the opposition win government in Campaign Ruby, Ruby Stanhope is now struggling with a PM whose popularity is quickly waning, a luke-warm love life, and her looming 30th birthday. Interview by Valerie Khoo, director of Sydney Writers' Centre. www.sydneywriterscentre.com.au www.valeriekhoo.com

For the 2011 Christmas edition of our podcast, we've done something a little different. Regular listeners will know that we usually interview one author per podcast. This time, we've interviewed two former students of the Sydney Writers' Centre, Heather Smith and Al McKillop, who both have books released this month. Interview by Valerie Khoo, director of Sydney Writers' Centre. www.sydneywriterscentre.com.au www.valeriekhoo.com

Tara Moss is the best-selling author of The Spider Goddess, the second book in her new series of paranormal fiction featuring Pandora English. A heady mix of high fashion and gothic horror set in New York, The Spider Goddess follows Pandora as she goes to live with her great-aunt in a haunted mansion in Spektor, Manhattan. Interview by Valerie Khoo, director of Sydney Writers' Centre. www.sydneywriterscentre.com.au www.valeriekhoo.com

Judy Nunn is an Australian author and actress, known by many of us for her role in Home and Away as Ailsa. Her latest books is Tiger Man, set in Tasmania in the 1850s when ambitious entrepreneurs rapidly built a thriving centre of industry at the expense of the state’s natural resources and environment. Interview by Valerie Khoo, director of Sydney Writers' Centre. www.sydneywriterscentre.com.au www.valeriekhoo.com

author Robert Kiyosaki dropped into the Sydney Writers’ Centre and we chatted to him about his new book , which he co-authored with Donald Trump. Robert has built an entire empire on his “Rich Dad, Poor Dad” series of books so it was great to be able to chat to him about his writing and book marketing strategies. Rich Dad, Poor DadMidas Touch: Why Some Entrepreneurs Get Rich – And Why Most Don’t Interview by Valerie Khoo, director of Sydney Writers' Centre. www.sydneywriterscentre.com.au www.valeriekhoo.com

James Halliday is one of Australia’s leading wine experts. He is a wine writer, critic and competition judge. An experienced winemaker, James is famous for the James Halliday Australian Wine Companion, which is a must buy for any wine buff, from the novice to the connoisseur. Interview by Valerie Khoo, director of Sydney Writers' Centre. www.sydneywriterscentre.com.au www.valeriekhoo.com

Nick Earls is an award-winning author of 12 novels and two short story collections. His latest is The Fix, is the story of a wannabe investigative journalist working instead as a fixer – the PR spin-master who can get any client out of a bind. Interview by Valerie Khoo, director of Sydney Writers' Centre. www.sydneywriterscentre.com.au www.valeriekhoo.com

After working for 11 years as a police officer in Tasmania, Y A (Yvette) Erskine decided to leave the force and pursue her writing career. Her first book is The Brotherhood, a fictional account of what many police officers experience daily in their working lives. The novel follows the investigation of the murder of Sergeant John White, and all-round good guy who is killed during a routine callout. Interview by Valerie Khoo, director of Sydney Writers' Centre. www.sydneywriterscentre.com.au www.valeriekhoo.com

After completing a degree at the University of Chicago, Lauren Shockey took up a role in a public relations agency. But after just one year in the “perdition” of the corporate world she quit her job and enrolled in the French Culinary Institute to start her training as a chef. She went on to take up internship roles in some of the world’s most well-known restaurants, in New York, Paris, Hanoi and Tel Aviv. Her book, Four Kitchens, chronicles her life as a stagiares (chef’s apprentice). Interview by Valerie Khoo, director of Sydney Writers' Centre. www.sydneywriterscentre.com.au www.valeriekhoo.com

Barry Maitland is an architect turned author. His most recent novel is Chelsea Mansions, the latest in the Brock and Kolla series of crime novels. Barry was born in Scotland and, in 1984, moved to Australia from London to take up a role as Professor of Architecture at the University of Newcastle. In 2000 he retired from that role to write full time. Interview by Valerie Khoo, director of Sydney Writers' Centre. www.sydneywriterscentre.com.au www.valeriekhoo.com

Liz Porter is the author of Cold Case Files, an account of how cold cases from Australia, the UK and the US have been solved using new science and techniques. She is also the author of Written on the Skin, which was the joint winner of the 2007 Ned Kelly award for best true crime book. Interview by Valerie Khoo, director of Sydney Writers' Centre. www.sydneywriterscentre.com.au www.valeriekhoo.com

Anonymums is a book by 3 anonymous mothers, Mum A, Mum B and Mum C. The book started off as a game of Truth or Dare, a game they played with each other to relieve themselves of boredom in suburbia. However the end result is a book that is a raw and revealing account of motherhood. Its funny and very honest which is why the authors have decided to remain anonymous. So they can admit in print what most mothers simply will not. Mum A talks to us in this podcast anonymously, of course. Interview by Valerie Khoo, director of Sydney Writers' Centre. www.sydneywriterscentre.com.au www.valeriekhoo.com

Best-selling author, Lisa Genova, has just released her second book – Left Neglected. It is a fictional look at the devastating affects of a traumatic brain injury on high-powered supermum, Sarah Nickerson, and is inspired by an actual condition called Left Neglect. Interview by Valerie Khoo, director of Sydney Writers' Centre. www.sydneywriterscentre.com.au www.valeriekhoo.com

Anna Lanyon is an author and academic, with a long interest in Spanish and Portuguese langue and history. She has written three historical books and her third, Fire and Song, has just been released. Interview by Valerie Khoo, director of Sydney Writers' Centre. www.sydneywriterscentre.com.au www.valeriekhoo.com

Mark Abernethy is an Australian author well-known for his suspense and thriller novels featuring the Aussie super-spy, Alan McQueen. He has written four novels and two non-fiction books. His latest is Counter Attack, the third book in the Alan McQueen series. Interview by Valerie Khoo, director of Sydney Writers' Centre. www.sydneywriterscentre.com.au www.valeriekhoo.com

Leslie Cannold is an academic, ethicist and freelance writer. Her first novel is "The Book of Rachael", a re-imagining of the story of Jesus told through the eyes of his younger sister. Interview by Valerie Khoo, director of Sydney Writers' Centre. www.sydneywriterscentre.com.au www.valeriekhoo.com

West Australian author, Sara Foster, has just released her second book – Beneath the Shadows. Her first novel, Come Back to Me, was released in 2010 and was well received by readers and critics alike. Interview by Valerie Khoo, director of Sydney Writers' Centre. www.sydneywriterscentre.com.au www.valeriekhoo.com

Dominic Smith is an Australian author currently living in Austin, Texas. He’s published three novels and his latest is Bright and Distant Shores. It follows the journey of an obsessive American collector who travels to islands in the Pacific to collect artefacts for an ethnographic exhibition. Set in the years after the Chicago World Fair, it chronicles the clash between modern and commercial America and the tribal Pacific. Interview by Valerie Khoo, director of Sydney Writers' Centre. www.sydneywriterscentre.com.au www.valeriekhoo.com

Cory Taylor is a freelance writer from Brisbane, best known for her children’s books, including Rat Tales #1 and Rate Tales #2. Her first novel, Me and Mr Booker will be released in March this year. Interview by Valerie Khoo, director of Sydney Writers' Centre. www.sydneywriterscentre.com.au www.valeriekhoo.com

Author and academic, Alison Booth, has just published her second book – The Indigo Sky. Her first novel, Stillwater Creek, was published in 2010 and was well received by critics and readers alike. The Indigo Sky is the sequel to Stillwater Creek. Interview by Valerie Khoo, director of Sydney Writers' Centre. www.sydneywriterscentre.com.au www.valeriekhoo.com

Publishing phenomenon Matthew Reilly is known for his action/thriller novels. His first book, Contest, was self-published in 1996. After being knocked back by every major publisher in Sydney, he produced 1,000 copies of Contest himself, and eventually won a publishing deal with Pan Macmillan. His first book with Pan Macmillan was Ice Station, followed by Contest and Temple. Among the 7 books published since then are Hell Island (one of four in the Shane Schofield series), The Five Greatest Warriors (book 3 of the Jack West series) and Hover Car Racer, a book that was originally published online and read by over 180,000 people – for free! Matt Reilly’s books have been published in over 20 countries and sold over 3.5 million copies. Some of his books have also been optioned for film. In this podcast Matthew is interviewed by Sydney Writers’ Centre presenter Geoff Bartlett. www.sydneywriterscentre.com.au

Lara Morgan is the author of the new young adults series, The Rosie Black Chronicles. The first book, Genesis, will be released in October 2010. In 2003 she won the Australian Women’s Weekly Short Story Contest, which led to an invitation to write a story for Girls’ Night In, published by Penguin in 2004. Interview by Valerie Khoo, director of Sydney Writers' Centre. www.sydneywriterscentre.com.au www.valeriekhoo.com

Kate Williams is an historian and author of two historical biographies – England’s Mistress: The Infamous Life of Emma Hamilton and Becoming Queen about the young Queen Victoria and her cousin Princess Charlotte. She is an expert on the Regency period in England and lectures regularly throughout Europe. Interview by Valerie Khoo, director of Sydney Writers' Centre. www.sydneywriterscentre.com.au www.valeriekhoo.com

Posie Graeme-Evans is an author, screenwriter, television producer and lyricist. Her most recent novel is The Dressmaker. She is also the author of the historical romance trilogy – The Innocent, The Exiled and The Beloved – set in medieval England. Posie was the creator and producer of one of Australia’s best-loved drama series, McLeod’s Daughters, and the co-creator of Hi-5. Interview by Valerie Khoo, director of Sydney Writers' Centre. www.sydneywriterscentre.com.au www.valeriekhoo.com

Sonya Harnett is one of Australia’s most well known authors. She has written books for both children and adults and received numerous prizes and awards. She started writing when she was 13, and her first book, Trouble All The Way, was published when she was just 15.Her latest books are the adult novel, Butterfly, the children’s picture book The Boy and the Toy, and later this year she’ll release The Midnight Zoo, another children’s book. Interview by Valerie Khoo, director of Sydney Writers' Centre. www.sydneywriterscentre.com.au www.valeriekhoo.com

Patrick Ness is an American-born writer now living in London. The first book in the Chaos Walking series, The Knife of Never Letting Go, was published in 2008 and was awarded the Guardian Children’s Fiction Prize and the Booktrust Teenage Prize. It was also shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal in the UK. His latest book is Monsters of Men, the third in his young adult series, Chaos Walking.   Interview by Valerie Khoo, director of Sydney Writers' Centre. www.sydneywriterscentre.com.au www.valeriekhoo.com

Sally Murphy made the decision to fulfill her dream of becoming a children’s author in 2002. Since then she has published 30 books and has been short-listed for the Children’s Book Council of Australia Awards, among others. Her latest book is Toppling, an illustrated verse novel about childhood illness. Sally has worked as a teacher, and is also a book reviewer. She runs the website Aussiereviews.com, which features reviews of Australian books for children, young adults and adults. Interview by Valerie Khoo, director of Sydney Writers' Centre. www.sydneywriterscentre.com.au www.valeriekhoo.com

John Connolly is the author of the popular Charlie Parker crime series. Connelly published his first novel in 1999. Every Dead Thing was a critical success and earned him a nomination for the Bram Stoker Award for Best First Novel. His latest novel is The Whisperers, the ninth book in the series. Other books include Dark Hollow, The White Road and The Black Angel. Interview by Valerie Khoo, director of Sydney Writers' Centre. www.sydneywriterscentre.com.au www.valeriekhoo.com

Natasha Solomons is the author of Mr Rosenblum’s List, which was published in Australia in April. It is her first novel and is based partly on her grandparents’ story of leaving Germany and settling in England before WWII. The novel has been very well received and is already published in 9 languages. Natasha is currently working on the screen adaptation with her husband, fellow screenwriter David Solomons. Interview by Valerie Khoo, director of Sydney Writers' Centre. www.sydneywriterscentre.com.au www.valeriekhoo.com

Linda Jaivin is the author of eight books, including the bestseller Eat Me – a romp through the lives of four Sydney women and their erotic exploits. Eat Me was her first novel and was a bestseller here and overseas. Her latest is A Most Immoral Woman. Interview by Valerie Khoo, director of Sydney Writers' Centre. www.sydneywriterscentre.com.au www.valeriekhoo.com

Malla Nunn is an Australian author, screenwriter and director. Her latest book is Let the Dead Lie, the second Detective Emmanuel Cooper novel. Originally from Swaziland, she emigrated to Perth with her parents in the 1970s.   Interview by Valerie Khoo, director of Sydney Writers' Centre. www.sydneywriterscentre.com.au www.valeriekhoo.com

Sarah Waters’ 2009 novel, The Little Stranger, was shortlisted for the Booker Prize and has received much praise and critical acclaim since its release. Set in 1940s England, it is a chilling ghost story about the Ayres family. Since 2003, she has been awarded the Betty Trask Award, the Somerset Maugham Awards, and the CWA Ellis Peters Dagger Award for Historical Crime Fiction for Fingersmith. She has also been shortlisted twice for both the Orange Prize and the Man Booker Prize. Interview by Valerie Khoo, director of Sydney Writers' Centre. www.sydneywriterscentre.com.au www.valeriekhoo.com

Andrea Levy's latest book is The Long Song. It is the story of July – a slave girl on a sugar plantation in Jamaica. Set during the time of the Baptist War, when slavery eventually came to an end. The inspiration from her books comes from the experiences of black Jamaicans in Britain. Her own parents migrated from Jamaica in 1948 and, as a young woman, Levy always wanted to see more books written about the lives of black Britons. Interview by Valerie Khoo, director of Sydney Writers' Centre. www.sydneywriterscentre.com.au www.valeriekhoo.com

PD Martin is an Australian crime writer. Her latest book, Kiss of Death, features Aussie FBI profiler Sophie Anderson. Her academic career started with a Bachelor in Behavioural Sciences. She then went on to study music full time and it was during this period that she rediscovered her love of writing. Interview by Valerie Khoo, director of Sydney Writers' Centre. www.sydneywriterscentre.com.au www.valeriekhoo.com

Elizabeth Kostova’s second novel is The Swan Thieves, a story of obsession and art. Her first, The Historian, shot to number one on the New York Times bestseller list, becoming the first debut novel to do so. This historical novel explores the history and folklore of Vlad the Impaler, the real-life inspiration for the Dracula story. It went on to sell over two million copies worldwide, and was published in 26 foreign editions. Interview by Valerie Khoo, director of Sydney Writers' Centre. www.sydneywriterscentre.com.au www.valeriekhoo.com

Sara Foster’s debut novel is Come Back to Me. Originally from England, she settled in Perth with her husband in 2004. Although she started her career in book publishing and has been working as a freelance editor for the last decade, she has always had an interest in writing and wrote poems and short stories from a young age. Interview by Valerie Khoo, director of Sydney Writers' Centre. www.sydneywriterscentre.com.au www.valeriekhoo.com

Christopher Ride self-published his first novel, The Schumann Frequency, after spending 10 years writing it but having no success in finding a publisher. He went on to sell well over the 10,000 copies he was aiming for and the rights to the novel were eventually bought by Random House. They have now published the second book in the Overseer series, The First Boxer. Interview by Valerie Khoo, director of Sydney Writers' Centre. www.sydneywriterscentre.com.au www.valeriekhoo.com

Penelope Green is a freelance journalist and author. She has published three travel memoirs recounting her time in Italy – When In Rome, See Naples and Die, and the latest, Girl By Sea. It is the story of her life in Procida, an idyllic island looking over the Bay of Naples, and how she became part of the community through a common love of food.  Interview by Valerie Khoo, director of Sydney Writers' Centre. www.sydneywriterscentre.com.au www.valeriekhoo.com

Liz Byrski is a freelance journalist and author of 14 non-fiction and fiction books. As a journalist she has over 40 years' experience in the media, both in England and Australia. She worked on ABC Radio in Perth and went on to become an executive producer there. Her latest novel is 'Bad Behaviour', a story of three women coming to terms with their past. Interview by Valerie Khoo, director of Sydney Writers' Centre. www.sydneywriterscentre.com.au www.valeriekhoo.com

Tom Rob Smith is the author of Child 44, which won huge acclaim when it was released in 2008. It was long-listed for the Man Booker Prize, won the 2008 Ian Fleming Steel Dagger prize for best thriller and was nominated for the Costa First Novel Award (formerly the Whitbread Awards). His latest novel is The Secret Speech. Interview by Valerie Khoo, director of Sydney Writers' Centre. www.sydneywriterscentre.com.au www.valeriekhoo.com

Jack Marx is a journalist, blogger and author. As a journalist Marx has written for The Sydney Morning Herald, Rolling Stone, The Times, The Age, Men’s Style, Ralph, and Australian Traveller and many others. His latest book is Australian Tragic: Gripping tales from the dark side of our history, a book of true stories from Australia’s ‘dark heart’. Interview by Valerie Khoo, director of Sydney Writers' Centre. www.sydneywriterscentre.com.au www.valeriekhoo.com

Andrew Griffiths is an entrepreneur and author of ten books. He is the author of the '101 Ways' business building series of books, published by Allen & Unwin. There are eight books in total in the series and they've all been incredibly successful both in Australia and overseas. His latest is 'The ME Myth' – a book about how to combat the self-obsession of the modern world. Interview by Valerie Khoo, director of Sydney Writers' Centre. www.sydneywriterscentre.com.au www.valeriekhoo.com

Michael White is the author of the bestselling novels Equinox and The Medici Secret. His latest book in the series is The Borgia Ring. He is also the author of the E-force books, which are published under his pseudonym, Sam Fisher. The latest Sam Fisher novel was also published this year and is called State of Emergency. Interview by Valerie Khoo, director of Sydney Writers' Centre. www.sydneywriterscentre.com.au www.valeriekhoo.com

Scott Frost is a screen writer and novelist with some incredibly successful television programs and books to his credit. His television credits include shows such as Twin Peaks, The X-Files, Babylon Five and Andromeda. He has also written five books, his latest book is Don't look back. Interview by Valerie Khoo, director of Sydney Writers' Centre. www.sydneywriterscentre.com.au www.valeriekhoo.com

Lisa Lutz is the author of the Spellman series, the latest of which, Revenge of the Spellmans, has just been released. The books are about a family of private investigators and have sold in over 22 countries. Film rights to The Spellman Files have also been optioned. In 2000 her screenplay, Plan B, was made – and she vowed never to write another screenplay again! She also worked for many years for a private detective agency. Interview by Valerie Khoo, director of Sydney Writers' Centre. www.sydneywriterscentre.com.au www.valeriekhoo.com

JJ Cooper's debut novel is The Interrogator. It is a military thriller made frighteningly authentic thanks to Cooper's own experience as a Human Intelligence officer with the Australian Army. He spent 17 years in the army, during which time he did two tours of duty in East Timor and one in the Middle East. Interview by Valerie Khoo, director of Sydney Writers' Centre. www.sydneywriterscentre.com.au www.valeriekhoo.com

Michael McGirr is the author of the best-selling book 'Things You Get For Free', about his trip to Europe with his mother, and 'Bypass: the story of a road', about Australia's 'main road', the Hume Highway. His latest book is 'The Lost Art of Sleep', a book that explores sleep and its seeming demise despite its many benefits and the huge role it plays in everyday life. Interview by Valerie Khoo, director of Sydney Writers' Centre. www.sydneywriterscentre.com.au www.valeriekhoo.com

Dr Leah Giarratano has been a clinical psychologist for many years - she's therefore well placed to write convincing crime thrillers. She has also worked in television - in 2009 she was the host of Channel 7's Beyond the Darklands. Her latest book is Black Ice, the third in the series of Jill Jackson novels. Interview by Valerie Khoo, director of Sydney Writers' Centre. www.sydneywriterscentre.com.au www.valeriekhoo.com

Linwood Barclay is the hugely successful author of No Time for Goodbye, which was the bestselling novel in the UK for 2008. He started his career in journalism in his hometown of Ontario, Canada and went on to become a regular humour columnist in the Toronto Star from 1993 to 2008. His latest book, Fear the Worst, has just been released. Interview by Valerie Khoo, director of Sydney Writers' Centre. www.sydneywriterscentre.com.au www.valeriekhoo.com

Marele Day is the author of 10 books, including the four-book Claudia Valentine series of crime novels. She has won several awards including the Ned Kelly Lifetime Achievement, 2008 and won international acclaim for her 1997 novel Lambs of God. Her latest book is The Sea Bed, about a Buddhist monk who leaves his monastery to carry out a fellow monk’s dying wish. Interview by Valerie Khoo, director of Sydney Writers' Centre. www.sydneywriterscentre.com.au www.valeriekhoo.com

Helen Brown is a newspaper columnist and author originally from New Zealand and now living in Melbourne. She has published 10 books and has written regular columns for papers such as the Christchurch Star, Marlborough Express and LIVE Magazine. Her latest book is Cleo, the story of the cat Cleo who entered her one week after her oldest son was killed, and stayed with her and her family for 24 years. It will be released in Australia in September this year. Interview by Valerie Khoo, director of Sydney Writers' Centre. www.sydneywriterscentre.com.au www.valeriekhoo.com

In 1992, Poppy King set up Poppy Industries selling her own brand of lipstick, and within three years, her business had grown into a multi-million dollar company. She quickly became known as the ‘Lipstick Queen’. In 2002 Poppy Industries was sold to Estee Lauder. Poppy has now returned to running her own company, this time called Lipstick Queen. She has also just released her first book, Lessons of a Lipstick Queen: Finding and Developing the Great Idea That Can Change Your Life. Interview by Valerie Khoo, director of Sydney Writers' Centre. www.sydneywriterscentre.com.au www.valeriekhoo.com

Susannah Fullerton is a popular literary lecturer and author. She is a leading authority on 19th and 20th century writers with a special interest in Jane Austen - she is president of the Jane Austen Society of Australia. She also leads literary tours to the UK every year. Her latest book is "Brief Encounters: Literary travellers in Australia 1836-1939". Interview by Valerie Khoo, director of Sydney Writers' Centre. www.sydneywriterscentre.com.au www.valeriekhoo.com

Craig Silvey was only 19 when he finished his first novel, Rhubarb. It was published two years later in 2004 and won Craig the Sydney Morning Herald Best Young Novelist award. The book was hailed by critics and readers alike and was chosen as the 'One Book' for the Perth International Writers' Festival in 2005, and was included in the national Books Alive campaign. Interview by Valerie Khoo, director of Sydney Writers' Centre. www.sydneywriterscentre.com.au www.valeriekhoo.com

Mary Moody has had a long passion for gardening. Her gardening and love of writing led to a number of columns on gardening and eventually many books. She is probably most well-known for her French trilogy - Au Revoir, Last Tango in Toulouse and The Long Hot Summer. Written during her time in France, where she lived alone for six months while her family remained in Australia, they were bestsellers in Australia and overseas. Interview by Valerie Khoo, director of Sydney Writers' Centre. www.sydneywriterscentre.com.au www.valeriekhoo.com

Gregor Salmon is a Sydney based freelance writer. He has written for many Australian magazines including Sunday Life, Inside Sport, Ralph, Readers Digest and Playboy. He has also worked as a producer in television for Beyond Productions, The Morning Show on Channel 7 and an online producer for Channel 7 and Yahoo7. Interview by Valerie Khoo, director of Sydney Writers' Centre. www.sydneywriterscentre.com.au www.valeriekhoo.com

Dominic Knight is best known for his work with the comedy team, The Chaser. In 1999 he founded The Chaser newspaper with Julian Morrow, Craig Reucassel and Charles Firth. Following on from that were the ABC television series CNNNN, The Chaser Decides and The Chaser’s War on Everything, the third series of which is airing on ABC currently. Interview by Valerie Khoo, director of Sydney Writers' Centre. www.sydneywriterscentre.com.au www.valeriekhoo.com

Amanda Falconer is author of The Renovator’s Survival Guide. Since the book’s launch, she has been featured on Sunrise, 9am with David and Kim, A Current Affair, as well as numerous radio interviews. She is a brand and marketing expert with over 20 years experience. Interview by Valerie Khoo, director of Sydney Writers' Centre. www.sydneywriterscentre.com.au www.valeriekhoo.com

Twelve years ago Richard Harland left his job as a Senior Lecturer at the University of Wollongong to write full-time. Since then he has published 15 novels and has just scored a big US publishing deal for his latest book, Worldshaker. Interview by Valerie Khoo, director of Sydney Writers' Centre. www.sydneywriterscentre.com.au www.valeriekhoo.com

Louise Bagshawe is the author 12 international bestsellers including Tuesday’s Child, Glamour, Glitz and her most recent Passion. She is also a parliamentary candidate for the Conservative Party and an advocate for many charities supporting victims of HIV/AIDS, the homeless and children. Interview by Valerie Khoo, director of Sydney Writers' Centre. www.sydneywriterscentre.com.au www.valeriekhoo.com

Sydney Bauer is the author of the crime series featuring Boston based criminal attorney David Cavanagh. Her debut novel Undertow, also the first novel in the series, was published in 2006 and won the Sisters in Crime Davitt Award for the best crime novel by an Australian Woman. Interview by Valerie Khoo, director of Sydney Writers' Centre. www.sydneywriterscentre.com.au www.valeriekhoo.com

Maree Giles' debut novel, Invisible Thread, is a semi-autobiographical account of life for a young girl in the Gunyah Training School for Girls in 1970. Despite its sometimes harrowing story, it received rave reviews. Interview by Valerie Khoo, director of Sydney Writers' Centre. www.sydneywriterscentre.com.au www.valeriekhoo.com

Janeen Brian is an award-winning author of more than 65 books - some of her more well-know children’s books are Where does Thursday go?, Hoosh! Camels in Australia and Pilawuk: When I was Young. Janeen has been a teacher, actress, artist and writer and has even written scripts for Humphrey Bear, the iconic Australian children’s program. Interview by Valerie Khoo, director of Sydney Writers' Centre. www.sydneywriterscentre.com.au www.valeriekhoo.com

Patti Miller is an author and writing teacher. She has written five books including two on the process of life writing. She has been teaching life writing throughout Australia and overseas for over 15 years and teaches regularly at the Sydney Writers' Centre. Interview by Valerie Khoo, director of Sydney Writers' Centre. www.sydneywriterscentre.com.au www.valeriekhoo.com

Michelle Bridges is a trainer and fitness instructor. Since 2006 she has been the Red Team trainer on Channel 10’s The Biggest Loser. She has been writing regular columns on health, nutrition and fitness for a number of national newspapers and magazines since 2001 and has recently released Crunch Time through Penguin books, a guide to healthy eating and exercise. Interview by Valerie Khoo, director of Sydney Writers' Centre. www.sydneywriterscentre.com.au www.valeriekhoo.com