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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.

Sep 14, 2021

James and Ashley interview Lyn Yeowart, author of the rural-noir thriller, 'The Silent Listener.' In it, they discuss how Lyn's own childhood shaped the events in the book, the fascinating world of synesthesia, and why it's never too late to start writing. 

Learn more about Lyn on her website, and buy a copy of 'The Silent Listener' from your local bookshopBooktopia or wherever else books are sold.

Books and authors discussed in this episode:

  • The Spiral by Iain Ryan;  
  • Humankind, a Hopeful History by Rutger Bregman;
  • Utopia for Realists by Rutger Bregman;
  • How Fiction Works by James Woods;
  • The Important Things by Audrey Molloy;
  • The Looming Tower by Lawrence Wright;
  • Destiny Disrupted: A History of the World Through Islamic Eyes by Tamim Ansary;
  • One Hundred Years of Dirt by Rick Morton

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