I’m not a journalist, I’m a poet.” Says the narrator of Cristos Tsiolkas’ novel ‘seven and a half’. Following on from the complex challenge of Damascus, which followed on from Barracuda and Merciless Gods, and the rip-roaring success of The Slap, novel number eight is the author’s ode to beauty. What is it that links all Tsiolkas’ books? Is this one his most personal, his most audacious, the one that’s impossible to pin down? Cristos Tsiolkas discusses beauty, writing, and the surprise of a new book.

Chair: Bec Kavanagh (La Trobe University)

Recorded on 6th May, 2023.