Christos Tsiolkas is one of Australia's most courageous writers.

He has published five novels, several of which have been adapted for the screen. Loaded (1995) became the movie Head On, and The Slap (2008) was turned into an Australian and U.S. television miniseries after it won the 2009 Commonwealth Writers' Prize, was shortlisted for the 2009 Miles Franklin Literary Award and was longlisted for the 2010 Man Booker Prize.

Christos is also a playwright, essayist, screen writer and film critic. His other published works include his first short story collection Merciless Gods (2014), his reflective essay Tolerance, Prejudice and Fear (1997) for PEN Sydney.

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In a continuation of this interview, Christos participated in our first live podcast event. He spoke about the politics of writing and read from his latest work in progress, ‘Damascus’.

Tony Birch talks about The Slap and reflects on the reactions he has seen from students to Christos' writing.

Alice Pung would invite Christos to attend her ideal literary dinner party.

About The Garret

The Garret is committed to accessibility and education. The transcript and interactive show notes of Christos' interview are available at www.thegarretpodcast.com/christos-tsiolkas.