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.
Nov 19, 2024
'That was the most naive, worst decision I've ever made in my life, because the disease came back with a vengeance.'
In episode 106, Ashley speaks to award-winning memoirist Simone Amelia Jordan about the career that took her from Australia to New York City, and the health crisis that changed everything.
We also speak about family heritage and family support, and how writing a memoir helped Simone recover herself and reinvent her career.
Simone Amelia Jordan is Australia's most successful hip-hop journalist, with a career spanning print, radio, TV and digital media. At twenty-three, she founded Urban Hitz, the country's highest-selling rap and R&B publication. Later, in New York City, she served as the content director of The Source, the iconic 'Hip-Hop Bible'. Simone is also an ambassador for Crohn’s Colitis Australia. Her memoir, Tell Her She's Dreamin', won the 2021 Richell Prize winner, and is published in Australia and the United States.
Get your copy of Tell Her She's Dreamin' from Booktopia or your local bookshop or library.
Nothing in this episode is intended as medical advice. If you have health concerns, speak to your GP.
Books & authors discussed in this episode:
- The Greater Freedom: Life as a Middle Eastern Woman Outside the Stereotypes by Alya Mooro
- Parable of the Sower by Octavia E Butler
- Hayley Scrivenor
Upcoming events
- Ashley is teaching Crafting Narrative Drive for the Society of Women Writers NSW on Wednesday 11 November
- Ashley is teaching Year of the Novel for Writing NSW beginning on Wednesday evenings starting 26 February 2025
Learn more about Ashley's thrillers, Dark Mode and Cold Truth, and get your copies from your local bookshop or your library.
Get in touch!