Through discussions and interviews with writers, artists and health professionals, author friends James McKenzie Watson and Ashley Kalagian Blunt explore the big questions: how do books get written? How do people navigate life with chronic illness? And just what are you reading?
Ashley Kalagian Blunt is the author of Dark Mode, an internationally published psychological thriller. Her earlier books are How to Be Australian, a memoir, and My Name Is Revenge, collected fiction and essays. Her writing appears in the Sydney Morning Herald, Overland, Griffith Review, Sydney Review of Books, and more. Ashley is an enthusiastic teacher of writing and creativity. Originally from Canada, she has lived and worked in South Korea, Peru and Mexico. Find her on Twitter and Instagram or visit her website.
James McKenzie Watson is the author of Denizen, which won the 2021 Penguin Literary Prize and was shortlisted in 2023 Ned Kelly Awards for Best Debut. His writing has appeared in The Guardian, Meanjin, Kill Your Darlings and the Newtown Review of Books. He has appeared at events including the Sydney Writers Festival, Newcastle Writers Festival and BAD Crime Sydney. He works as a nurse. Find him on Twitter and Instagram or visit his website.
Aug 26, 2025
When bestselling author Sulari Gentill was diagnosed with stage four cancer, she decided to write the ending she wanted. In episode 121, she joins James and Ashley to discuss her seventeenth novel, Five Found Dead, which features a main character riding the Orient Express to celebrate his recent cancer recovery – and...
Aug 5, 2025
In episode 120, bestselling author Michelle Prak discusses how she set her latest thriller against the backdrop of Australia’s housing crisis and why she writes flawed, sometimes rash characters.
She also reflects on how growing up in a lower socio-economic home influenced her love of reading and her ambition to be...