In this episode Irma and Karen chat about the 2025 Ubud Writers & Readers Festival, painting a picture of the festival atmosphere and sharing some of the highlights.

Then they ask six authors at the festival – Clare Wright, Jenny Erpenbeck, Lech Blaine, Yves Rees, Craig Leeson and Virginia Haussegger – to share a green room story. They uncover Bryan Brown’s funny festival request, thievery by one of Australia’s most famous authors, Jenny Erpenbeck’s props room catastrophe, Annabel Crabb’s near miss, an unexpected diversion with David Attenborough, and how Virginia Haussegger burnt a hole in a green room floor.

Karen and Irma chat about early drafts and tips for gaining momentum again after a break.

Then Irma talks to Sophie Cunningham in her role as Chair of the Australian Society of Authors about the impact of AI, the closure of Meanjin, the ASA’s role with industry issues, the ways in which authors need to change their expectations around publishing, how the Stella Prize changed the literary landscape, but also why prizes can be devastating for the majority who don’t make the lists, why we need to rethink the acquisition of independents by multinational publishing houses, and why seeing writing as a job helps her avoid the destablising effect of career highs and lows.

About Sophie

Sophie Cunningham has written 10 books, was co-founder of The Stella Prize, is a former editor of Meanjin, and a Member of the Order of Australia for her contributions to literature. She is currently a non-executive director of the Copyright Agency and the Chair of the Australian Society of Authors, which is the capacity in which we are chatting with her today.

Irma and Karen chat about the upcoming Ubud Readers & Writers Festival at which they will be recording interviews with several international writers, as well as some of the books they've been reading recently.

Then both Karen and Irma chat to Craig Cormick about the pros and cons of big versus small publishers, how he’s got author gigs on cruise ships and what they’ve involved, how he’s managed to be such a prolific writer while having a full-time job as a science communicator and responsibilities as a carer, the ways he’s seen the publishing landscape change over the last three decades, how to prevent the shiny new idea from derailing your current project, advice for writers wanting to include First Nations characters in their books and how to go about it the right way, the industry differences between writing for adults and kids, how he has landed multiple Antarctica residencies, and why the highest moment of his career was also his lowest.

ABOUT CRAIG

Dr Craig Cormick is an award-winning author and science communicator. He writes books for children and adults, and stopped counting them somewhere after 30, but by our count he’s published 46 over the last xxx years. He is drawn to stories of people whose voices have been hidden from history, and his most recent book is Warra Warra Wai: How Indigenous Australians Discovered Captain Cook and What they Tell about the Coming of the Ghost People, which is co-written with Gunditjmara - Gunai-kurnai author Darren Rix.

Irma and Karen chat about small regional writers’ festivals.

Then Karen talks to Emily Maguire about how a high school teacher initially crashed her dreams of becoming a writer, how she became a feminist without realising it, how she avoids putting her own opinions into the heads of her characters, how she has learned to focus her anger when writing about feminist issues, how much joy she gains from teaching creative writing, the impact of AI on the writing world, and some very important lifestyle questions you should consider if you want to be a fulltime writer.

About Emily

Emily Maguire is the author of seven novels and three non-fiction books. Her novel An Isolated Incident, published in 2016, was shortlisted for the Stella Prize and the Miles Franklin Literary Award. Her 2022 novel Love Objects and latest book Rapture have also been shortlisted or long listed for several awards. Emily has a Master of Arts in literature, and works as a mentor to young and emerging writers.

Irma and Karen talk about copyright, and the productivity commission’s recent recommendations regarding AI.

Then Karen talks to Pip Williams about how she shifted from academic research to writing novels, how COVID lockdown inadvertently boosted sales of The Dictionary of Lost Words, how a genius promotions idea for The Bookbinder of Jericho turned into stunning window displays in bookshops, the process of watching her book become a stage play, how writing might be easier than reading for people with dyslexia, how parents can support the writing of children with dyslexia, and how mentorship from other writers has supported her creative journey.

About Pip

Pip Williams first book was a memoir, One Italian Summer, and her first novel, The Dictionary of Lost Words, was one of Australia’s most successful debuts. It became a New York Times bestseller and was the first Australian novel to be selected for Reese Witherspoon’s Book Club. It also won several major Australian literary awards and was shortlisted for the international Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction. Her second novel The Bookbinder of Jericho was also very successful.

Karen and Irma chat about book to film adaptations, and recommend recent reads in their new Book Chat segment.

Then Irma talks to Upswell Founder and Publisher Terri-ann White about the current state of the publishing industry and what needs to change, why she thinks too many books are being published, why she believes there is not enough risk-taking happening, the cult of the writer and its impact on the publicity demands placed on authors, how shame and guilt pervade the industry, the devastating experience of discovering her first book with Upswell contained plagiarism and the subsequent high of publishing an award-winning book by Josephine Wilson, and why booksellers are magic.

About Terri-ann

Terri-ann White was Director and Publisher at UWA Publishing for 14 years until 2020. Prior to this, she founded and directed a cross-disciplinary research centre at UWA, taught literature and writing in universities, was a bookseller for 16 years, and organised ‘ideas’ festivals. In 2021 she founded independent publishing house Upswell in Perth.

Karen and Irma chat about foreign rights deals, and Irma shares some shocking stats.

Then Irma chats to Graeme Simsion and Anne Buist about how a conversation between them on their first wedding anniversary was pivotal in Anne’s career, the low of splitting with Graeme’s publisher after the three Rosie Project books, how they manage the process of planning and writing books together, why they think their book tour to 400 bookshops made no difference to sales, what does impact sales and tips for how to secure publicity that works, the ups and downs of The Rosie Project movie, and the most meaningful reader feedback.

About Graeme & Anne

Graeme Simsion and Anne Buist are partners in both life and writing. Together they have written four books, the latest being The Oasis, which is the second Menzies Mental Health novel. And separately they both have established individual careers.

Graeme is a screenwriter, playwright, and former IT consultant, and his debut novel, The Rosie Project, was an international bestseller. He followed it up with two sequels, and the standalone The Best of Adam Sharp, a collection of short stories, two data modelling books and the writing guide, The Novel Project.

Anne has published five psychological thrillers – four in the Natalie King series, and the standalone The Long Shadow. She also has over 40 years of clinical and research experience in perinatal psychiatry.

In this episode Irma and Karen chat about how a two-book deal was secured via an explosive Booktok profile, after which they discuss recent reads that they’ve enjoyed.

Then Karen talks to Markus Zusak about his family of storytellers and his early steps as a writer, how to use your writing heroes to start on the journey of developing your own voice, the excitement of having his first book published, how The Book Thief arose from three separate ideas that came together like a volcanic eruption, how the success of that book landed in his life and impacted his future work, how you know when you’ve found the right spark in writing, his affection for Bridge of Clay, and how much he enjoyed writing Three Wild Dogs and the Truth.

About Markus

Markus Zusak is the award-winning internationally bestselling author of six novels, including The Book Thief, Bridge of Clay and The Messenger. His books have been translated into more than fifty languages, and two of them have been adapted to film, television and theatre.