Former Sydney Swans footballer and author of 2025's unhinged footy novel Pissants, Brandon Jack, joins Steph from @Stephanie's House of Books for a chat.
How did being an AFL player prepare Brandon for being an author? What hurts more - being critiqued by your editor or letting down your coach? And will Brandon actually reveal WHO the embittered fringe players from Pissants are based on?
Plus, Brandon shares his hot tips for perfecting your writing craft and we ask the big questions, like can you change the colour of track changes in Word?
Brandon Jack is an Australian author, journalist, musician and former Sydney Swans AFL player.
After retiring from football in 2017, he published his memoir 28 in 2021 and in 2025 released his debut novel Pissants, a chaotic and hilarious behind-the-scenes look into what actually goes on in a professional football club.
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Today’s reading list:
- 28 by Brandon Jack
- Pissants by Brandon Jack
- Trainspotting by Irvine Welsh
- Postcards from the Edge by Carrie Fisher
- A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan
- Less Than Zero by Bret Easton Ellis
- The Shards by Bret Easton Ellis
- In Persuasion Nation by George Saunders
- Tenth of December by George Saunders
- Boy Swallows Universe by Trent Dalton
- Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky
- Just Kids by Patti Smith
- Dusk by Robbie Arnott
- The Rain Heron by Robbie Arnott