The Readings Podcast
The Readings Podcast is a celebration of books, reading and culture. Episodes are published weekly and include author interviews, event recordings, booksellers chatting about their favourite reads, industry insights, and more.
Episodes
Kids Podcast – Suzy Zail in Conversation
In this episode, another instalment of the Readings Kids Podcast, hosted by Readings Prize and Readings Foundation coordinator Angela Crocombe. Angela was joined by members of the Teen Advisory Board for a discussion with Suzy Zail, author of A New Kind of Beautiful, a moving YA novel about love, loss, and the beauty in the things we can't always see. Paige Wilding has her future mapped out – the
Tom Griffiths in Conversation
In this episode, a recording taken from the Melbourne launch of Tom Griffiths’ new book, Alice’s dreaming, an astonishing work of history about a girl and the Indigenous world she encountered. Early last century, Alice Duncan-Kemp grew up on a remote Queensland cattle station. Later she would write down her childhood memories of learning from Aboriginal women and men at home on their own Country.
Amanda Curtin in Conversation
In this episode, a conversation with Amanda Curtin, author of a new novel – Six Days. Daniel, an expatriate Australian who has lived in Paris for more than forty years, has made a mess of his life and is trying to atone, to become the ‘good man’ his friend Marcelline believes him to be. But Marcelline has disappeared, the quotidian world has been tipped out of balance and Daniel makes an error of
The Comics Question: Aki Fukuoka in Conversation with Bernard Caleo
In this episode, another instalment of the Comics Question, where Bernard Caleo discusses comics, graphic novels, and the place they inhabit within the broader books and publishing world. Bernard was joined by Aki Fukuoka, children’s book illustrator and graphic novelist, who has worked on over 80 children’s books, most notably including Sally Rippin’s beloved Billie B Brown series. The two met to
Lenny Robinson in Conversation
In this episode, a conversation with Lenny Robinson, author of And in the Morning, a prismatic gem of a debut novel that reflects the experiences of women across three wars and the damage done to the men they love. In the winter of 1919, Lily and her three-year-old son, Ted, rush through the streets of Melbourne to welcome home Lily’s husband, Bert, who has spent the last four years fighting with
Simon Reynolds in Conversation
In today's episode, a conversation with Simon Reynolds, acclaimed music writer and journalist, and author of a new book, Still in a Dream: Shoegaze, Slackers and the Reinvention of Rock, 1984-1994. Twenty years after his acclaimed postpunk best-seller, Rip It Up and Start Again, Simon Reynolds tells the tale of what happened next: the underground explosion of noisepop, shoegaze, slacker rock and g
Jordan Prosser in Conversation
In this episode, a conversation recorded at the Melbourne launch of Jordan Prosser’s new work of fiction/sci-fi, Blue Giant, an unruly eulogy for millennial optimism – and a deranged love letter to a generation torn between helplessness and selfishness. Abby always believed she was destined for great things. But her dream career as an industry-disrupting fashion designer went up in smoke, and her
Avigayl Sharp in Conversation
In this episode, a conversation with Avigayl Sharp, author of a blisteringly funny and transcendently deranged debut novel for fans of Ottessa Moshfegh, Patricia Lockwood and George Saunders. In Offseason, our fiercely observant but self-deluded narrator finds herself teaching at an all-girls boarding school in a remote coastal town. In between manic lectures that veer from Charles Dickens's Bleak
Mirandi Riwoe in Conversation
In this episode, a conversation with Mirandi Riwoe, the award-winning, bestselling author of Stone Sky Gold Mountain, and of a new book, the story of an Irish-Chinese family over four generations in Australia, A Short History of Longans. It’s the winter of 2049 and Daniel is elderly and long isolated. Soon after yet another devastating storm, this time destroying his beloved longan tree, he finds
The Comics Question: Trace Balla in Conversation with Bernard Caleo
In this episode, another instalment of the Comics Question, where Bernard Caleo discusses comics, graphic novels, and the place they inhabit within the broader books and publishing world. Bernard was joined by Trace Balla, a much-loved Australian children's book writer, illustrator, and author of an extraordinary, inspiring and hope-filled graphic novel, Treeshape. This beautiful book tells the st
Rachel E. Menzies & Ross G. Menzies in Conversation
In this episode, a conversation with two psychologists; father-and-daughter duo Rachel E. Menzies and Ross G. Menzies, the authors of a new book, Being: Why it's harder to be human than a hamster or a herring. Being human is hard. From early childhood, we start to become aware of the difficulties we must all inevitably face. We will battle an inner critic across the entirety of our life. We will n
Joanne Wallis & Jack Corbett in Conversation
In this episode, a recording taken from the launch of Joanne Wallis and Jack Corbett’s co-authored book ‘Neighbours: Australia and the Pacific’, in which they detail a new vision for our country and our region. Australia has a long history in the Pacific. Many Australians might have forgotten it, but the region has not forgotten us. This book provides an alternative way Australia might relate to i
Chris Ames in Conversation
In this episode, a conversation with Chris Ames, author of a debut collection of short stories, I Made This Just For You. The characters in this book are perfect avatars of modern life. They work in tech, take designer drugs, assemble IKEA furniture, pursue beauty matching, and rehabilitate their reputations – all while grappling with a perilous sense of unease, held hostage by economic forces bey
The Comics Question: Bernard Caleo on graphic novels for kids
In today's episode, another instalment of the Comics Question, where Bernard Caleo discusses comics, graphic novels, and the place they inhabit within the broader books and publishing world. This week, Bernard is joined by Readings’ children's book division manager, Kim Gruschow.
This month of July, Readings is both promoting in-store and offering discounts off a broadened array of Graphic Novels
Maria Takolander in conversation
In this episode, a conversation with novelist and poet Maria Takolander, author of The End of Romance, a new work of dystopian fiction.
It is the future, and the earth has seemingly refused to cooperate with humanity, producing only thorn-bearing plants and caustic fogs in abundance. Life is hard for those who still inhabit urban communities. For those who have chosen to live ‘off-grid’ it is sub
Laura McPhee-Browne in conversation
In this episode, a conversation with writer, social worker and counsellor Laura McPhee-Browne, author of the novel Worry Doll, a thrilling exploration of love and desire – obsessive, all-consuming, and impossible to look away from.
On an ordinary day, two women meet on a train. Heloise – the older woman – lives with her boyfriend in Melbourne. Lacey – the other woman – is from Aotearoa and studie
Madeleine Gray in conversation
In this episode, a conversation with Madeleine Gray, author of Chosen Family – a queer, epic literary novel for all readers by the award-winning author of the internationally acclaimed bestseller Green Dot.
Books about friendship are not often described as love stories, but this is one. Nell Argall and Eve Bowman are both brilliant, odd and friendless. Traumatised in their first year of high scho
Tony Albert in conversation
In today's episode, a recording taken from the Melbourne launch of Tony Albert’s incredible new art book, Not A Souvenir, a landmark monograph that celebrates an artist, curator and cultural leader, whose work reshapes how we see Aboriginal identity, urging a more honest and hopeful vision of Australia's past and future.
Tony Albert's art reclaims and reframes the imagery of Aboriginal Australia
Quinn Slobodian & Ben Tarnoff in conversation
In this episode, we have a conversation with Quinn Slobodian and Ben Tarnoff, co-authors of Muskism: A Guide for the Perplexed.
Who on earth is Elon Musk and what is he doing? Is he a hero, a villain, or does he swing constantly between those two poles? According to the constant media gush driven by his every act and pronouncement, Musk is best understood in personal terms. This book argues diffe
Australian fiction favourites from our booksellers
In this week's episode, we're doing something a little different. As Readings celebrates Australian Fiction throughout June, we're turning to the people who spend every day talking about books: our booksellers. Australian writers have shaped our literary culture and found readers around the world, yet they can still be overlooked in international conversations about great literature. Rather than t
Griffith Review 92 contributors in conversation
In this episode, a conversation with two contributors to Griffith Review 92. Griffith Review is a quarterly literary journal, with every edition exploring a different theme, bringing together long-form critical and analytical non-fiction and creative writing from the finest emerging and established writers from Australia and overseas.
In his piece ‘Encircling the flames,’ Raeden Richardson refle
Steve Toltz in conversation
In this episode, a conversation with Steve Toltz, Booker-shortlisted author, and the writer of a new audacious, comic lament for a world that no longer knows itself – a novel titled A Rising of the Lights.
In a reeling world of fraudsters and hypnotists, sleep talkers and estranged twins, false alibis and second chances, Rusty Wilson is beset on all sides by mysteries. Why was his childhood deci
Patrick Marlborough in conversation
In this episode, a conversation with writer and comedian Patrick Marlborough, author of Nock Loose.
Set in the fictional coastal town of Bodkins Point, where an annual ultra-violent medieval festival has warped local history and identity for generations, it follows retired Olympian archer and former Tokusatsu stunt performer Joy as she embarks on a revenge quest through a landscape of grifters,
Y.M. Abdel-Magied in conversation
In this episode, a conversation with Y.M. Abdel-Magied, author, writer, commentator and the mind behind a new book, At Sea.
Expert driller Zainab is called to take charge of a high-stakes oil rig operation. Unable to resist the opportunity, she leaves behind her pregnant sister and heads offshore for the job of her life. But there's a catch. The rig is teetering on the edge of disaster – and Zai
Doireann Ní Ghríofa in conversation
In this episode, a conversation with award-winning poet and writer Doireann Ni Ghriofa, author of a new book, Said the Dead.
In the city of Cork, a derelict Victorian mental hospital is being converted into modern apartments. One passerby has always flinched as she passes the place. Had she lived in another time, she too might have found herself held within those walls. Now, she notices a sign:
Susan Tomes in conversation
In this episode, some different introduction music. This is Frédéric Chopin’s Nocturne in B-flat minor, Op. 9, No. 1 (from 1832), and the reason is that today’s conversation is with Susan Tomes, a celebrated pianist, an author of Nocturnes and the Fascination of Night Music, an engrossing history of the music of twilight and sleep, from the nocturnes of John Field and Chopin to Max Richter.
In a
Lisa Gorton in conversation
In this episode, a conversation with poet and novelist Lisa Gorton. Mirror Landscape: New and Selected Poems is a tribute to Gorton’s achievement, and it brings together in one volume poems published over the past twenty years, from her first collection Press Release to her most recent Mirabilia. It also includes a substantial new sequence of poems, ‘Caesars’, on the relation between art and power
Yann Martel in conversation
In this episode, a conversation with Yann Martel, winner of the 2002 Man Booker Prize, and author of a new novel, Son of Nobody.
In this new book, we meet Harlow Donne, who sacrificed his life to the study of the Classical world. When he is invited to Oxford University to work on an obscure collection of papyrus fragments it is an academic’s dream come true. He must leave behind his daughter and
Antoinette Lattouf in conversation
In this episode, a conversation with journalist and human rights advocate Antoinette Lattouf, the author of a new book, Women Who Win: Celebrating Courage, Conviction and Change.
In this book, Lattouf highlights and speaks with women who defied expectations and shattered cultural and legal barriers – usually while being cast aside and asked to calm down. Threaded throughout is Lattouf’s account
Antoun Issa in conversation
In this episode, a conversation with writer and journalist Antoun Issa, author of Rebirth: A Love Story from the Depths of War.
Beirut, Lebanon – 1974. Laila Khalil has just come of age for marriage. The eldest of five in a poor Catholic family, Laila knows that she must fulfil her family's expectations. But her heart is drawn to the handsome Nicolas, a coiffeur at a local hair salon. Dodging th
Angela O'Keeffe in conversation
In this episode, a conversation with Angela O’Keeffe, author of the novels The Sitter and Night Blue, and now, a new work, Phantom Days.
The stories that unfold in this book are, in part, told by a book. The book is a quiet observer, both as object and as subject, as listener and teller, primarily a witness to the story of three people – mother and daughter Maggie and Isabel, and another, Lewis.
Marissa Meyer & Tamara Moss in conversation
In this episode, a conversation with #1 New York Times bestselling author Marissa Meyer and rising star Tamara Moss, co-authors of The Escape Game, a new YA mystery-thriller filled with sabotage, betrayal, and puzzles. The two authors were joined in conversation by Readings Marketing and Events Coordinator, Lucie Dess, to discuss their writing process (an intercontinental writing process, that is)
Ana Schnabl in conversation
In this episode, a conversation with writer Ana Schnabl, author of Flood Tide.
In moderate physical decline, and with an immoderate weed habit, the novelist Dunja Anko returns home to the Slovene Adriatic coast to play detective and solve the mystery of her brother’s death. The going is arduous, the people inscrutable; her old friends have had years to forget – or to convince themselves they don
Patrick Ness in conversation
In this episode, a conversation with Patrick Ness, acclaimed author, screenwriter and journalist. Ness has made a return to his bestselling Chaos Walking series and the setting of New World, with Piper at the Gates of Dusk.
Something has been spotted in the night sky. Something that’s bringing back dreams of Noise, dreams of terror. Brothers Ben and Max have never really gotten on, each being mo
The Comics Question: Mandy Ord in conversation with Bernard Caleo
In this episode, another instalment of the Comics Question, where Bernard Caleo is in conversation with acclaimed comics artist, Mandy Ord. Ord’s work has been featured in numerous publications, and her books have received both national and international awards and nominations. In her new book, Sassy, Ord captures an animal-related encounter every day for a year bringing whimsy and delight to the
Ariel Zeleznikow-Johnston in conversation
In this episode, a conversation with Ariel Zeleznikow-Johnston, a neuroscientist and author of the book The Future Loves You: How and Why We Should Abolish Death. This book puts forward a bold and, at times, unsettling idea – that death may not be as inevitable as we’ve long assumed.
In the book, he argues that as medicine continues to advance – from ventilators to brain implants – we’ve already
The Readings Kids Podcast: Fiona Wood in conversation
In this episode, another instalment of the Readings Kids Podcast, and an interview with Fiona Wood, author of The Boy and the Dog Tree, an exceptional middle-grade novel about the special bond between a dog and his boy; a heart-lifting tale of friendship, courage and belonging.
Enjoyed what you heard? Click here to purchase the book: https://www.readings.com.au/product/9780702269226/the-boy-and-t
George Kemp in conversation
In this episode, a conversation with award-winning playwright George Kemp, about his debut novel, Soft Serve.
Stuck in a regional McDonald’s, as bushfires close in, three twenty-somethings and their dead friend’s mum all face a reckoning. Fern longs for Ethan, Ethan longs for Jacob, and Jacob struggles to long for anything. Meanwhile, Pat just wants her grief to ease up. Soft Serve proves that s
The Comics Question: Lee Lai in conversation with Bernard Caleo
In this episode, another instalment of the Comics Question, where Bernard Caleo is in conversation with acclaimed graphic novelist and comic artist, Lee Lai.
In Cannon, Lee Lai’s follow-up to the critically acclaimed and award-winning Stone Fruit, the full palette of a nervous breakdown is just a part of what is on offer. Lai’s sharp sense of humour and sensitive eye produce a story that explore
Francesca Wade in conversation
In today’s episode, a conversation with Francesca Wade, author of Gertrude Stein: An Afterlife, a biography as unconventional and surprising as the life it tells.
'Think of the Bible and Homer, think of Shakespeare and think of me,' wrote Gertrude Stein in 1936. Admirers called her a genius, sceptics a charlatan: she remains one of the most confounding - and contested - writers of the twentieth
Fiona Hardy in conversation
In this episode, a conversation with Fiona Hardy, author of Old Games, a pacey, off-beat Aussie crime story about two best female friends and investigators unravelling the private lives of Melbourne's celebrity sportspeople.
Enjoyed what you heard? Click here to purchase the book: https://www.readings.com.au/product/9781761638275/old-games--fiona-hardy--2026--9781761638275
Morally flexible best
Alister Newstead in conversation
In this episode, a conversation with Alister Newstead, a music journalist, reporter and music editor with Triple J and Double J, and author of a new book in the 33 1/3 series on Tame Impala’s landmark album, Currents. The album is emblematic of a cultural shift in music production and consumption in the early days of streaming and a project that cemented its creator, Kevin Parker, as one of Austra
The Comics Question: Georgina Chadderton in conversation with Bernard Caleo
In this episode, another instalment of The Comics Question, where Bernard Caleo discusses comics, graphic novels, and the place they inhabit within the broader books and publishing world.
Today’s conversation is with cartoonist Georgina Chadderton, who, in her new book Oh Brother, examines the fun and difficult parts of growing up alongside her autistic brother, Rob. Although Georgina has been p
Hasib Hourani in conversation
In this episode, a conversation with poet and writer, Hasib Hourani, author of rock flight. This is a book-length poem that, over seven chapters, follows a personal and historical narrative to compose an understated yet powerful allegory of Palestine’s occupation. Formally claustrophobic, the poem morphs into irony, declaring everything a box while refusing to exist within one.
Enjoyed what you he
The Readings Kids Podcast: Ruby Jean Cottle in conversation
In this episode, another instalment of the Readings Kids podcast, and an interview with the author Ruby Jean Cottle, writer of Black River, a mystical new YA series that blends fantasy, sci-fi and romance. Ruby Jean Cottle was interviewed by members of the Readings Teen Advisory Board, who posed questions throughout the conversation.
Enjoyed what you heard? Click here to purchase the book: https:/
Kate Mildenhall in conversation
In this episode, we’re delighted to begin 2026 with an interview with one of Readings’ favourite writers, a key member of Australia’s literary community and a frequent guest (in the interviewer seat) on the Readings Podcast itself, Kate Mildenhall.
Her acclaimed books include Skylarking, The Mother Fault and The Hummingbird Effect, and joining these with publication late last year is The Hiding
Tony Tulathimutte in conversation
In this episode, a conversation with Tony Tulathimutte, author of Rejection, an audacious and original novel-in-stories, following a cast of intricately linked characters as rejection throws their lives and relationships into chaos.
Sharply observant and outrageously funny, Rejection is a provocative plunge into the thorniest problems of modern life: sex, relationships, identity and the internet
Laura Bates in conversation
In this episode, a conversation with author Laura Bates, author of The New Age of Sexism.
AI is here, bringing a seismic shift in the way our society operates. Might this mean a future reimagined on equitable terms for women and marginalised groups everywhere? Not unless we fight for it. At present, power remains largely in the hands of a few rich, white men. New AI-driven technologies, with mis
Sarah Housley in conversation
In this episode, a conversation with author Sarah Housley, author of the new book, Designing Hope.
When did we stop dreaming of a better future? What happened to the science fiction golden age of the 1950s, when futurism flourished as a discipline and drove innovation? As a society, we either struggle to imagine something good for the times to come, or we fail to picture any future at all. Our w
Ender Başkan in conversation
In this episode, a conversation with poet Ender Başkan, author of a new book, Two Hundred Million Musketeers.
In this work, Başkan explores the complexities of parenthood and family life, and anxieties about the future his children will grow up in. It maps the shifting trains of thought when one’s attention is drawn in many different directions – between child-rearing and house-keeping, domestic
The winners of The Readings Prize in conversation
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 2025 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 P
Bri Lee in conversation
In this episode, a conversation with Bri Lee, the acclaimed and bestselling author of Eggshell Skull and The Work, and of a new novel, Seed.
Mitchell is a brilliant biologist, committed to the environment and the growing global antinatalist movement. For one month each year he lives with his colleague Frances in a utopia of radical equality and scientific dedication in Antarctica. They are concl
Andrew Pippos in conversation
In this episode, a conversation with Andrew Pippos, the author of Lucky’s, awarded the Readings Prize for Fiction, on his new, forthcoming book, The Transformations.
In the fading glow of Australia's print journalism era, The National is more than a newspaper: it's an institution, and the only place that George Desoulis has ever felt at home. A world-weary subeditor with a bookish sensibility an
Monica Raszewski in conversation
In this episode, a recording taken from the launch of Monica Raszewski's Crimson Light Polished Wood.
Leonora, a British teacher, has relocated to Melbourne and falls in love with Margaret, a fellow female teacher who three years later dies of cancer. While still grieving for Margaret, Leonora meets and befriends Anna, the Polish woman who lives next door. As Leonora becomes increasingly involve
Toni Jordan in conversation
In today’s episode, a conversation with a longtime Readings favourite, Toni Jordan, about her most recent book, Tenderfoot.
The story is set in Brisbane, 1975: Andie Tanner's world is small but whole. Her mum is complicated, but she adores her dad and the kennel of racing greyhounds that live under their house. Andie is a serious girl with plans: finish school with her friends, then apprentice t
Paul Daley in conversation
In today’s episode, a conversation with respected journalist and acclaimed novelist Paul Daley, author of a new book, The Leap.
The Leap is an outback town fuelled by fear, churning with corruption, prejudice and misogyny – and blighted by its inescapable history of frontier violence. Into this nightmarish morass falters traumatised British diplomat, Benedict Fotheringham-Gaskill. He’s on his fi
Rhett Davis in conversation
In today’s episode, a conversation with Rhett Davis, author of a new novel, Arborescence.
Bren works for an obscure company with colleagues he's never met, and who might not be real. His partner, Caelyn, is looking for something more but isn't sure what. The only thing she knows for certain is that humans are breaking the world and she's powerless to do anything about it.
Arborescence is a com
Amy Lovat in conversation
In today’s episode, a conversation with writer, podcaster and academic Amy Lovat, author of the new novel, Big Feelings, a neurotic, anti-romantic comedy for fans of Fleabag and High Fidelity.
Our protagonist Sadie Thomas is obsessed with love stories, and whether hers stacks up – for the perfect love story is all Sadie has ever wanted. Her parents' story is what rom-com dreams are made of. But,
Samantha Byres in conversation
In this episode, a conversation with writer Samantha Byres, author of the new novel, Dead Ends.
All-round chaos merchant Nell Jenkins has returned to her small hometown to fulfil family duties for the mother and brother she's barely seen since making her escape as a teen. But her homecoming isn't the triumph it should be. She has nothing to show for her time in Sydney but a string of failed rela
Mikayla Bridge in conversation
In this episode, a conversation with Mikayla Bridge, author of the Young Adult Fantasy Novel, Of Flame and Fury.
The book focuses on Phoenix racing: exciting, profitable, deadly. No one knows this better than Kel Varra and her crew, the Crimson Howlers. They live on the edge of survival. When a mysterious tech billionaire offers them a place at his training facility, it gives them hope but also
Steve Vizard in conversation
In this episode, writer and broadcaster Steve Vizard in conversation with Michael Veitch about Vizard’s new book, Nation, Memory, Myth. Vizard brings an original perspective to the foundational myth of Gallipoli as a sacred bearer of Australian national values and identity.
In this scrupulously researched close reading of the Gallipoli mythology, Vizard dissects the elements common to all nation
Jennifer Mills in conversation
In this episode, a conversation with author Jennifer Mills, author of Salvage, a work of suspenseful, deeply human literary speculative fiction, in which two estranged sisters reconnect in the aftermath of ecological and social collapse.
Jude's life has been about survival. She works on rebuilding - fixes roofs, trucks supplies, transports refugees. Tries to stay free from attachments and obliga
Miranda Nation in conversation
In this episode, a conversation with screenwriter and actor Miranda Nation, author of New Skin, a powerful debut about first love and second chances from a stunning new voice in Australian fiction.
Alex and Leah meet at medical school and form an immediate and intense connection. Over the course of four years, they are caught in the push-pull of passion and betrayal, longing and reunion. Neither
Brandon Jack in conversation
In this episode, a recording taken from the Melbourne launch of the novel Pissants, by Brandon Jack – former Sydney Swans football player.
In Pissants, the embittered fringe players of an unnamed football club follow rules of their own. Fangs, Stick, Squidman and Shaggers speak in a cryptic code of inside jokes and WhatsApp exchanges, chained to each other by their place on the outskirts of the
Sophie Quick in conversation
In this episode, a conversation with writer Sophie Quick, author of the new book, The Confidence Woman.
Christina is a single mother living in the Melbourne suburbs, but to her online clients she is the esteemed Dr Ruth Carlisle, an 'executive coach and mindset expert, specialising in high-performing individuals’. Dr Ruth gains her clients' trust through her coaching business, discovering their
Tania Davidge (Open House) in conversation
In this episode, a special conversation with Tania Davidge, Executive Director and Chief Curator with Open House Melbourne.
Across Melbourne, every building, street and public place tells a unique story. Shaped by its transformation over time and the diverse communities that live here, the city is more than its bricks and mortar - the city is about people and place. The stories of our city are e
The Readings Kids Podcast: Amie Kaufman in conversation
In this episode, New York Times-bestselling author Amie Kaufman, in conversation with members of the Readings Teen Advisory Board. Kaufman’s book Lady’s Knight, co-authored with Meagan Spooner, takes readers on a wild ride through a sapphic romance.
Gwen is tired of hiding – whether it’s her secret role as her father’s blacksmith, her attraction to girls or her desire to become a knight. Lady Is
Hugh White in conversation
In this episode, Hugh White, author of a new Quarterly Essay, in conversation with Michael Wesley about Australia’s place in the new global landscape.
Are we ready for our post-American future? In an era of rising danger for all, and dramatic choices for Australia, White explores how the world is changing, and Australia should respond. Under Donald Trump, America's retreat from global leadership
Tyler Jenke in conversation
In this episode, a conversation with writer Tyler Jenke, author of an in-depth look at the rise of enigmatic Australian rock band TISM, the unexpected success of their 1995 album, Machiavelli and the Four Seasons, and the continued trajectory of their storied career.
Focusing on one of Australia's most enigmatic bands, This Is Serious Mum (better known as TISM), Jenke forms an analysis of the an
Laura Elvery in conversation
In this episode, a recording taken from the launch of acclaimed author Laura Elvery’s novel, Nightingale, inspired by the life of Florence Nightingale; part historical fiction, part ghost story, and utterly original.
Mayfair, 1910. At the age of ninety, Florence Nightingale is frail and no longer of sound mind. After a storied career as a nurse, writer and statistician, she now leads a reclusive
Kimberley Allsopp in conversation
In this episode, a conversation with author Kimberley Allsopp, author of Love and Other Puzzles, and a new book, Rise and Shine.
Charming, wryly funny, poignant and original - Rise and Shine is a love story, yes, but it's a love story that happens ten years into a marriage, when somebody wants out. It is also a story about life, love and happiness, and in the absence of happiness, what we need t
Jacqueline Maley in conversation
In this episode, a conversation with the bestselling author of The Truth About Her, Jacqueline Maley. Maley’s new book, Lonely Mouth, is a tender and vivid novel about the conflicted way women think about their bodies, their appetites, and themselves in the world.
Jane Caro in conversation
In this episode, a conversation with Jane Caro, a commentator, writer and activist, and author of Lyrebird.
In this new crime novel, which opens twenty years in the past, ornithology student Jessica Weston recorded a lyrebird mimicking a woman's dying screams and reported it to police, but her claims were dismissed. Now, two decades later, a body is discovered exactly where Jessica had said it w
Hamish McDonald in conversation
In today’s episode, author Hamish McDonald in conversation to discuss his book, Melanesia: Travels in Black Oceania. Stretching from Fiji in the east to New Guinea in the west, Melanesia is astonishingly diverse. Its islands are home to some 1,200 language groups, many of them still isolated from the outside world. In Australia, this complex region tends to make the news only in times of crisis –
Lisa MacKinney in conversation
In this episode, a recording taken from the launch of historian Lisa MacKinney’s book, Dressed in Black: The Shangri-Las and Their Recorded Legacy. MacKinney marshals an impressive array of new evidence to tell the story of the Shangri-Las, one of the most significant-and most misunderstood-pop groups of the 1960s.
Sisters Mary and Betty Weiss, together with twins Mary Ann and Marguerite Ganser,
Irma Gold in conversation
In this episode, a recording taken from the launch of Irma Gold's novel Shift.
Gusty and gripping, tender and deeply compassionate, Shift is a compulsively readable story about the messy process of art-making, and the mess of love and family. It is an unflinching, insightful and immersive novel that takes the reader inside the inner life of one township in South Africa, beyond the hyperbole of n
Someone Like Me: Featuring readings from several contributors
In this episode, a recording taken from the launch of the anthology, Someone Like Me. In the book, edited by Clem Bastow and Jo Case, 25 Autistic gender-diverse and women writers explore their experiences – and explode stereotypes.
This groundbreaking anthology ranges from sex, living room dance parties and the natural world to eating disorders, all-encompassing passions and religion. Autistic p
Diana Reid in conversation
In this episode, a conversation with a Readings favourite, Diana Reid, author of the new novel, Signs of Damage.
The Kelly family’s idyllic holiday in the South of France is disturbed when Cass, a thirteen-year-old girl, goes missing. She’s discovered several hours later with no visible signs of injury. Everyone present dismisses the incident as a close brush with tragedy. Sixteen years later, a
Kate Grenville in conversation
In this episode we have a conversation with acclaimed author, Kate Grenville, to discuss her most recent book, Unsettled.
Grenville is no stranger to the past. Her success and fame as a writer exploded when she published The Secret River in 2005, a bestseller based on the story of her convict ancestor, an early settler on the Hawkesbury River. More than two decades on, and following the defeat of
Shapeshifting: First Nations Lyric Nonfiction
In this episode, a conversation recorded at the launch of Shapeshifting, a wide-ranging collection of nonfiction by First Nations writers co-edited by Jeanine Leane and Ellen van Neerven. With Evelyn Araluen and contributors.
These lyric essays push the boundaries of nonfiction beyond the biographical or the academic, with pieces that experiment with form and embark on carefully crafting and re-c
