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 29, 2025
Lynne Ainsworth is the founder of Writers at the Woolshed, an emerging writer, and a person who 'loves hanging out with people who read and write'. She loves it so much, she not only created a pop-up festival to connect authors with regional readers and writers, she's now hosting the first Winter Writing Retreat, featuring masterclasses with Eleanor Limprecht, Betty O'Neil, Audrey Molloy, Ashley Kalagian Blunt and Lee Kofman (from eps 3, 76 and 112).
In this special bonus episode, Lynne tells us how she first became a festival director, and shares details of the retreat, happening 13-18 July in Mittagong, NSW.
An alumna of Varuna and Faber Writing Academy, Lynne Ainsworth has several short stories published, and was awarded a Masterclass with Patti Miller at Varuna in 2017, a one-month placement as Artist in Residence at The Old School House at Mt. Wilson, and a CreateNSW Small Project Grant for her current memoir, Sambio, set in Papua New Guinea.
Find out more from Writers at the Woolshed.
Books & authors discussed in this episode:
- Clare Keegan
- Girl in a Pink Dress by Kylie Needham
- The Great Gatsby by F Scott Fitzgerald
- We Used to Live Here by Marcus Kliewer
- Nightwatching by Tracy Sierra
- Freedom by Lea Ypi
Upcoming events:
- Ashley & Pip in conversation at Five Dock Library speaking about Cold Truth, Five Dock Library, Wednesday 30 April 5.30 for 6pm start. Free, book online.
- Ashley is teaching Online: Writing Crime for Faber, 8 weeks starting Tuesday 6 May
- Ashley is launching Jay Martin's debut novel at Better Read Than Dead on Sunday 18 May, 3pm
- Ashley will be doing an in-conversation in Meeniyan with Jacinta Dietrich, Saturday 28 June, 6.30-7.30pm
- Ashley is teaching a multi-day memoir masterclass as part of the Writers at the Woolshed Winter Writing Retreat in the Southern Highlands, 13-18 July
- Join Ashley and podcast fav Hayley Scrivenor for the Mystery and Mayhem Readers Retreat at the 5-star Tamborine Mountain Glades, 3-5 October
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!