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.
Apr 15, 2025
How does having a stalker change your life? We talk with bestselling novelist Pip Drysdale about her latest novel 'The Close-Up,' its real-life inspirations, and how surviving a stalker shifted her worldview.
We also discuss how to navigate public image and the role anxiety has to play in creative pursuits.
Plus, this...
Mar 11, 2025
What considerations come into choosing to have a baby for creatives? And once baby enters the picture, how do you balance parenting with your creative practice?
We ask Dinuka McKenzie and Lee Kofman, two beloved past guests who happen to be both authors and parents, about their decision to have children and how they...
Feb 11, 2025
Cold Truth, Ashley's new thriller, is out now. James and Ashley discuss just how difficult writing this book was, plus why she chose to set in a city that makes headlines for being colder than the surface of Mars. They also chat about real-life research, including the time Ashley learned how to pick a lock with a credit...
Jan 14, 2025
'I always knew I wanted to write a novel, but I didn’t have any ideas that I thought could extend to a novel-length work.'
In episode 110, Michelle See-Tho shares her journey from aspiring writer to winner of the 2023 Penguin Literary Prize for her debut novel, Jade and Emerald. Though she started out writing short...
Dec 17, 2024
Here it is - the annual end-of-year book recommendation extravaganza! This bumper episode contains every single edition of 'What are you reading?' from 2024, in which James, Ashley and guests discuss the books on their shelves, and why you should read them too (or not). Use it as a last-minute Christmas shopping...