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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.

Jun 25, 2024

'There are so many books in bookstores, how could it possibly be that, by complete randomness, someone would pick yours up?' 

Author Siang Lu joins us to discuss his second novel, Ghost Cities, and the multilayered inspirations behind his multilayered fiction, including Catch-22 and Paradise Lost. 

We also discuss talent stacking, the challenge of building an author brand and Siang's novel approach to doing so. 

Siang Lu is the author of Ghost Cities and The Whitewash, and the co-creator of The Beige Index. In 2023 he was named one of the Top 40 Under 40 Asian-Australians at the Asian Australian Leadership Awards. He has written for film and television, and is based in Brisbane, and Kuala Lumpur.

Books and authors discussed in this episode

  • Catch-22 by Joseph Heller;
  • Viet Thanh Nguyen;
  • Paradise Lost by John Milton;  
  • Katherine Collette (from ep 55);
  • He Who Drowned the World by Shelly Parker-Chan;
  • Amygdalatropolis by BR Yeager;
  • So Late in the Day by Claire Keegan;  
  • Better Than Happiness by Gregory P Smith
Get your copy of Ghost Cities from Booktopia or your local bookshop.

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