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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 GuardianMeanjinKill 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.

Jul 25, 2023

Mark Brandi is the author of four novels, including his latest, Southern Aurora. He joins us to discuss how a short story he began in 2015 became his newest novel, his choice to set the story in rural Australia in the 1980s, and how he writes so convincingly from a child's point of view. We also talk about sustaining yourself creatively over multiple books. 

Plus, who's going to die first – Ashley or James? Is one of us dead already? Listen to find out! 

Mark Brandi's bestselling novel, Wimmera, won the coveted British Crime Writers' Association Debut Dagger, and was named Best Debut at the 2018 Australian Indie Book Awards. Mark's second novel, The Rip, was published to critical acclaim in 2019, and his third novel, The Others, was shortlisted for the Best Fiction prize in the 2022 Ned Kelly Awards. His fourth novel is Southern Aurora. He graduated with a criminal justice degree and worked in the justice system before changing direction and deciding to write.

Get your copy of Southern Aurora online or from your local bookshop.

Upcoming events 

Books and authors discussed in this episode:

  • Sofie Laguna;
  • Tony Birch;
  • Brilliant Lies by David Williamson; 
  • Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller; 
  • Summer of the Seventeenth Doll by Ray Lawler; 
  • A Swim in the Pond in the Road by George Saunders; 
  • Lee Kofman (from ep 76);
  • Kate Mildenhall (from ep 13); 
  • Sarah Sentilles (from ep 50); 
  • From Bhutan to Blacktown by Om Dhungel

Ashley's psychological thriller 'Dark Mode' is out now! Learn more about it and get your copy.

James' novel 'Denizen' is out now! Learn more about it and get your copy. 

Get in touch!