'When I sat down to write, it felt like I had killed someone.' Hayley Scrivenor opens up about managing creative anxiety, what it means to write through our feelings, and the experience of having her novel 'Dirt Town' debut as a number one Australian bestseller. Plus James turns the interview into a therapy session.

Hayley Scrivenor is the author of 'Dirt Town', published as 'Dirt Creek' in North America. An earlier version was shortlisted for the Penguin Literary Prize and won the Kill Your Darlings Unpublished Manuscript Award. Hayley has a PhD in Creative Writing and is a former Director of Wollongong Writers Festival.

Books and authors discussed in this episode:

• George Saunders;
• Sulari Gentill;
• Anna Downes (from ep 5);
• Garry Disher;
• Dinuka McKenzie;
• Jane Harper;
• Kirli Saunders;
• Madukka the River Serpent by Julie Janson;
• The Morning Star by Karl Ove Knausgård;
• Song of the Sun God by Shankari Chandran (from ep 48);
• My Name Is Revenge by Ashley Kalagian Blunt;
• Rattled by Ellis Gunn (from ep 56);
• Curlews on Vulture Street by Darryl Jones (from ep 67)
• Taken by Dinuka McKenzie (from ep 51)

Get your copy of 'Dirt Town' from your local bookshop, Booktopia or wherever good books are sold.

James' novel 'Denizen' is out now! Learn more about it and buy your copy here.

Get in touch!

• Ashley's website: ashleykalagianblunt.com
• Ashley's Twitter: @AKalagianBlunt
• Ashley's Instagram: @akalagianblunt
• James' website: jamesmckenziewatson.com
• James' Twitter: @JamesMcWatson
• James' Instagram: @jamesmcwatson