Kathy Charles' debut novel Hollywood Ending was recently released in Australia by Text Publishing (John Belushi Is Dead, MTV Books, US). In my review for the October issue of Australian Book Review I said: 'Kathy Charles creates a world both familiar and strange ... Despite being highly, if darkly, entertaining, the book hints at deeper issues, such … Continue reading In the end we all fade to black: a ‘responsive’ interview with Kathy Charles, author of Hollywood Ending
Interviews + Profiles
Interacting with other literary-minded folk…
This cumulative kind of effect when you stop: an interview with Emily Maguire on Smoke in the Room, part two
Part One of this interview can be found here. Pictured: Emily Maguire and I before the Sleepers Salon in October. I ask Maguire about the setting. Is it pertinent for this story to be set in Sydney? She says it probably could have been a few cities, but ‘western Sydney is – the cliché is … Continue reading This cumulative kind of effect when you stop: an interview with Emily Maguire on Smoke in the Room, part two
This cumulative kind of effect when you stop: an interview with Emily Maguire on Smoke in the Room, part one
In Smoke in the Room (Aus), three characters end up in a share house in Sydney. Katie works on instinct and is weighted by an overwhelming empathy. Adam, an American, is grieving and needs to save money to get home. Graeme, an aid worker, has rid himself of possessions and simplified his existence. In this … Continue reading This cumulative kind of effect when you stop: an interview with Emily Maguire on Smoke in the Room, part one
Buying time: Liz Sinclair on asking for money to write her book
I was very curious when I heard about Liz Sinclair's project 'Help Me Write My Book'. Like many writers, Liz has to work to support herself, and of course, work takes time away from what she's really wanting to do - write that book. My first reaction, honestly, was something along the lines of 'why does she … Continue reading Buying time: Liz Sinclair on asking for money to write her book
Adam Ford on life, superheroes, poetry, his Twitter novel and The Third Fruit is a Bird
Who is your favourite superhero and why? I'd love to say it's some less-well-known-to-the-general-public superhero like Machine Man or Metamorpho, but to be honest it's a tie between Superman and Spider-Man, partly because their costumes are so striking and colourful, partly because they're both nice-guy superheroes who always try to use their powers to help … Continue reading Adam Ford on life, superheroes, poetry, his Twitter novel and The Third Fruit is a Bird
A 'responsive' interview with Kirsten Reed, author of The Ice Age
The Ice Age Kirsten Reed Text, 2009 9781921520747 (Aus, US/Kindle) Prompts: LiteraryMinded Responses: Kirsten Reed One of your own ‘on the road’ experiences… I was seventeen, hitching a short distance (about forty miles; this was a leg of my journey for which there was no connecting bus). The sun was about to set, and I … Continue reading A 'responsive' interview with Kirsten Reed, author of The Ice Age
Everything Ravaged, Everything Burned: Christopher Currie interviews Wells Tower, part the second
Part the first of Christopher Currie's interview with Wells Tower can be found here. Everything Ravaged, Everything Burned Wells Tower Granta, 2009 9781847080486 (Aus, US/Kindle) In other interviews, you’ve talked about your stories having a 'moral pendulum' swinging between characters, and the importance of putting the reader slightly off-balance at the end of a … Continue reading Everything Ravaged, Everything Burned: Christopher Currie interviews Wells Tower, part the second
Everything Ravaged, Everything Burned: Christopher Currie interviews Wells Tower, part the first
Everything Ravaged, Everything Burned Wells Tower Granta, 2009 9781847080486 (Aus, US/Kindle) Words: Christopher Currie and Wells Tower Image: Chris Somerville Back in March, during one of my reverential trawls through my RSS feeds, I began hearing about an American writer, Wells Tower, whose short story collection Everything Ravaged, Everything Burned was beginning to garner some … Continue reading Everything Ravaged, Everything Burned: Christopher Currie interviews Wells Tower, part the first
Queensland Poetry Festival special: Elizabeth Bachinsky
The Queensland Poetry Festival runs from 21 to 23 August. Graham Nunn has helped me to select three poets to feature on LiteraryMinded in the weeks leading up to the festival. Revisit number one, A.F. Harrold; or number two, Hinemoana Baker, if you like. Enjoy! Elizabeth Bachinsky is the author of three collections of poetry, Curio … Continue reading Queensland Poetry Festival special: Elizabeth Bachinsky
The real possibility of joy: an interview with Josephine Emery
Josephine Emery's The Real Possibility of Joy: A Personal Journey from Man to Woman is released in September from Pier 9. It's a compelling, poignant, fascinating, honest memoir. And as a writer, screenwriter and former director of the literature board at the Australia Council for the Arts, Josephine Emery really knows how to write. I … Continue reading The real possibility of joy: an interview with Josephine Emery
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