In this episode, Jack Roney and Harry Colfer chat with author, poet and editor, Lauren Daniels about how authors can improve their public speaking skills for public events such as writers festival panels, workshops and library author talks.

This episode is sponsored by the Brisbane Writers Workshop and The Fellowship of Australian Writers Queensland.

In episode 2 of the 3-part series with Japanese language translator and writer David Shield, he explains the rules for translating stories between English and Japanese and how AI will never replace the human element needed for accurate storytelling.

David Shield is a writer and professional Japanese interpreter and translator, with a BA in Japanese language and Asian Political Studies, Master of International Studies and Master of Japanese Interpreting and Translation. David writes across genres including fantasy, historical fiction and sci-fi. His middle-grade fiction work My Dad’s an Evil Necromancer was shortlisted for the Qld Writers Centre’s Publishable Program in 2022; his short story translation won the Australian Society of Interpreters New Translator Prize in 2021.

In episode 1 of this 3-part series, our guest David Shield explains how his alter ego, a purple octopus named Angus, has come into his life, and how he came to embark on a professional career as a Japanese language translator. David also explains his love for storytelling and how he juggled academic studies and career to still find the time to indulge his creative writing interests.  

So, sit back, relax, and enjoy!

In this episode, Lauren Daniels chats with Jack Roney and Harry Colfer about writing competitions, awards and volunteering to be a judge, as well as benefits of participating in anthology publications.

In this episode, Jack Roney and Harry Colfer chat with author, poet and editor, Lauren Daniels about benefits of attending writers conferences, events and retreats which can really help writers boost their careers.

This episode is sponsored by the Brisbane Writers Workshop and The Fellowship of Australian Writers Queensland.

In this episode, Jack and Harry continue their chat with Dr Kate Cutherbert about her advice to writers when pitching to agents and publishers, how to write a stand-out submission, self-editing and hiring a professional editor, and how having the right manuscript at the right time can play into a decision to either reject or accept your manuscript.

In this special episode, Harry and Jack recorded on location at the Qld Writers Centre (Qld State Library) Brisbane, where their guest was none other than QWC CEO Lori-Jay Ellis. If you've ever wondered how the centre can help you as a writer, this is the podcast episode to listen to. Lori-Jay explains the programs, events and workshops on offer as well as what's installed for the 2025 Genrecon writers conference btn 28th Feb - 2nd March.

Sit back, relax, and enjoy!

Special thanks to the Fellowship of Australian Writers Queensland for their ongoing support in allowing us to use their podcasting equipment.

Dr Kate Cuthbert has worked in publishing for almost 15 years and has held senior roles at Pantera Press, Writers Victoria and launched the Escape Publishing brand at Harlequin Australia. A genre fiction advocate and enthusiast, she completed a PhD proposing research methodologies for the examination of book covers and book titles. She is also a co-host on the popular podcast What Would Danbury Do?

In this episode, Jack and Harry chat with Kate about her PhD research into the evolution of book titles and covers. It's an interesting insight into how reader expectations of genre fiction have changed over time, with some great advice for things you should consider when designing a book cover.

Jack and Harry continue their chat with author Christine Gregory about her experiences working with an agent, landing a publishing contract, expectations around author marketing and promotions, finding time to write and maintaining resilience despite setbacks.

A great episode for emerging writers.