'I always knew I wanted to write a novel, but I didn’t have any ideas that I thought could extend to a novel-length work.' 

In episode 110, Michelle See-Tho shares her journey from aspiring writer to winner of the 2023 Penguin Literary Prize for her debut novel, Jade and Emerald. Though she started out writing short stories and video game reviews, she discusses how drawing on inspiration from her own life, including her passion for video games, helped her shape the world of her novel. 

Michelle See-Tho is a freelance writer and copywriter. She has had articles and stories published in Kill Your Darlings, Meanjin, Overland and The Big Issue Fiction Edition. Jade and Emerald is her first novel. 

You can read Michelle's article 'Why Aren't There More Books About Video Games?' for Nintendo Life here. 

Get your copy of Jade and Emerald from Booktopia or your local bookshop or library.

Books & authors discussed in this episode:

• Melanie Cheng
• Katherine Collette
• Annette Higgs
• Dirt Town by Hayley Scrivenor
• Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin
• Translations by Jumaana Abdu
• The Profound Benefits of a Stint in Prison by Andrew Hamilton
• The Third Realm by Karl Ove Knausgård

Upcoming events:

• Ashley is teaching From Memory to Manuscript for Hunter Writers Centre monthly on Monday evenings starting 24 February 
• Ashley is teaching Year of the Novel for Writing NSW on Wednesday evenings starting 26 February 2025 
• Cold Truth Sydney launch with James – Thursday 6 Feb, 7 pm at the Royal Oak, Balmain
• Cold Truth Melbourne with Sally Hepworth – Monday 10 February, 6.30 at Cheltenham Library
• Cold Truth Melbourne with Kate Mildenhall – Tuesday 11 February, 6.30 at Readings Carlton
• Cold Truth Brisbane launch with Martine Kropkowski – Thursday 13 February, 6pm at Avid Reader
• Ashley is teaching Pathways to Publishing in-person for the Sout Coat Writers Centre on Saturday, 15 March starting 10.30 am

Learn more about Ashley's thrillers, Dark Mode and Cold Truth, and get your copies from your local bookshop or your library. 

Learn more about James's award-winning novel Denizen and get your copy from your local bookshop or your library. 

Get in touch!

• ashleykalagianblunt.com
• jamesmckenziewatson.com
• Instagram: @akalagianblunt + @jamesmcwatson

Here it is - the annual end-of-year book recommendation extravaganza! This bumper episode contains every single edition of 'What are you reading?' from 2024, in which James, Ashley and guests discuss the books on their shelves, and why you should read them too (or not). Use it as a last-minute Christmas shopping guide or a wishlist for your own personal library in 2025.

Books and authors discussed in this episode (brace yourself, this is a long list):

From episode 92 (Kylie Ladd, author of 'I'll Leave You With This')

• The Vitals by Tracy Sorensen (Kylie)
• The Wolves of Eternity by Karl Ove Knausgård (James)
• Red River Road by Anna Downes (Ashley)
• A Mother’s Reckoning by Sue Klebold.

From episode 93 (Adele Dumont, author of 'The Pulling')

• Annie John by Jamaica Kincaid (Adele)
• The Wolves of Eternity by Karl Ove Knausgård (James)
• Unfinished Business by Shankari Chandran (Ashley)

From episode 94 (no guest)

• Red River Road by Anna Downes (James)
• The Consultant by Im Seong Sun, translated by An Seon Jae (Ashley)

From episode 95 (Liz Nugent, author of 'Strange Sally Diamond')

• The Prophet Song by Paul Lynch (Liz)
• In the Woods by Tana French (James)
• The Witch Elm by Tana French (James)
• Tender is the Flesh by Agustina Bazterrica (Ashley)
• Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro (Liz)

From episode 96 (Tracy Sorensen, author of 'The Vitals')

• I’ll Leave You With This by Kylie Ladd (Tracy)
• Number Go Up by Zeke Faux (Ashley)
• The Trial by Franz Kafka (James)
• Loosely Based on a Made-Up Story by James Blunt (James)

From episode 97 (no guest)

• The Cop Who Fell To Earth by Craig Semple (Ashley)
• Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver (James)

From episode 98 (Imbi Neeme, author of 'Kind of, Sort of, Maybe but Probably Not')

• Ghost Cities by Siang Lu (Imbi)
• Novelist as a Vocation by Haruki Murakami (Ashley)
• On Our Best Behaviour by Elise Loehnen (Ashley)
• The Writer's Room by Charlotte Wood (James)

From episode 99 (Siang Lu, author of 'Ghost Cities')

• He Who Drowned the World by Shelly Parker-Chan (Siang)
• Amygdalatropolis by BR Yeager (James)
• So Late in the Day by Claire Keegan (James) 
• Better Than Happiness by Gregory P Smith (Ashley)

From episode 100 (no guest)

• Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver (Ashley)
• Scary Monsters by Michelle de Krester (James)

From episode 101 (Khin Myint, author of 'Fragile Creatures')

• Detachable Penis by Sam Elkin (Khin)
• Quiet by Susan Cain (Khin)
• The Good Sister by Sally Hepworth (Ashley)
• Assassin's Apprentice by Robin Hobb (James)

From episode 102 (Zahid Gamieldien, author of 'All the Missing Children')

• Hurricane Season by Fernanda Melchor (Zahid)
• The Three-Body Problem by Liu Cixin (James)
• Dark Matter by Blake Crouch (Ashley)
• The Guest List by Lucy Foley (Ashley)

From episode 103 (Robyn Harding, author of 'The Haters')

• This Book Will Bury Me by Ashley Winstead (Robyn)
• Girl Falling by Hayley Scrivenor (James)
• Tyranny of the Minority by Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt (James)
• Catherine Wheel by Liz Evans (Ashley)

From episode 104 (Michael Klim, author of 'Klim')

• Ikigai: The Japanese Secret to a Long and Happy Life by Héctor García and Francesc Miralles (Michael)
• The Storyteller by Dave Grohl (Michael)
• Andrew Johns: The Two of Me by Andrew Johns and Neil Cadigan (James)
• Johnathan Thurston: The Autobiography by Johnathon Thurston (James)

From episode 105 (Arna Radovich, author of 'Limits of Forgetting')

• Tell Me Everything by Elizabeth Strout (Arna)
• What Happened to Nina? by Dervla McTiernan (Arna)
• The Glass House by Graeme Simsion & Anne Buist (Arna)
• Stoneyard Devotional by Charlotte Wood (Arna)
• Nuclear War: A Scenario by Annie Jacobsen (James)
• The Conspiracy Against the Human Race by Thomas Ligotti (James)
• Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy (James)
• Revisionist History season 11: Hitler's Olympics by Malcolm Gladwell and Ben Naddaff-Hafrey (Ashley) [Podcast]
• Dopamine Nation by Anna Lembke (Ashley) 

From episode 106 (Simone Amelia Jordan, author of 'Tell Her She's Dreamin''

• The Greater Freedom: Life as a Middle Eastern Woman (Simone)
• Outside the Stereotypes by Alya Mooro (Simone)
• Parable by the Sower by Octavia E Butler (Ashley)

From episode 107 (Maggie Walters, author of 'Split')

• In Bad Faith by Dassi Erlich (Maggie)
• For Life by Ailsa Piper (Maggie)
• The Anatomy of Motive by John Douglas (Ashley)
• My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante (James)

Upcoming events 

• Ashley is teaching Year of the Novel for Writing NSW beginning on Wednesday evenings starting 26 February 2025 
• The Cold Truth tour is happening in February! Sign up for Ashley's newsletter here for full details 

Learn more about Ashley's thrillers, Dark Mode and Cold Truth, and get your copies from your local bookshop or your library. 

Learn more about James' award-winning novel Denizen and get your copy from your local bookshop or your library.

Get in touch!

• ashleykalagianblunt.com
• jamesmckenziewatson.com
• Instagram: @akalagianblunt + @jamesmcwatson

It's that time of year again - the annual Bed on a Plinth Awards, in which James and Ashley discuss the best books they've read in the last twelve months! Use this particularly eclectic list to gather Christmas gift ideas, or simply top up your own 'to be read' pile.

Books & authors discussed in this episode (spoilers below!):

• Red River Road by Anna Downes 
• The Last Trace by Petronella McGovern
• An Ambush of Widows by R.W.R. McDonald (audiobook)
• Seventeen Years Later by JP Pomare
• Girl Falling by Hayley Scrivenor
• The Pulling by Adele Dumont (interviewed in episode 93)
• Nuclear War by Annie Jacobsen 
• Not Everything Counts but Everything Matters by Ivan Cleary & Andrew Webster 
• Fragile Creatures by Khin Myint (interviewed in episode 101)
• Ghost Cities by Siang Lu (interviewed in episode 99)
• Nightwatching by Tracy Sierra
• Sociopath by Patric Gagn
• The Writer’s Room by Charlotte Wood 
• Tyranny of the Minority by Daniel Ziblatt & Steven Levitsky 
• Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy 
• Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver 

Upcoming events 

• Ashley is teaching Year of the Novel for Writing NSW beginning on Wednesday evenings starting 26 February 2025 
• The Cold Truth tour is happening in February! Sign up for Ashley's newsletter here for full details 

Learn more about Ashley's thrillers, Dark Mode and Cold Truth, and get your copies from your local bookshop or your library. 

Learn more about James' award-winning novel Denizen and get your copy from your local bookshop or your library.

Get in touch!

• ashleykalagianblunt.com
• jamesmckenziewatson.com
• Instagram: @akalagianblunt + @jamesmcwatson

'It's not a mental illness. It's actually a creative coping mechanism.' 

What's it like to discover other people living in your own head? In Maggie Walters' debut memoir, she describes her life with dissociative identity disorder, formerly known as multiple personality disorder (which remains Maggie's preferred term). After surviving years of abuse as a child, Maggie now lives with 40 alters and has spent much of her adulthood learning to understand herself, as well as how to share her experience with others.

In episode 107, she describes living with her alters, how she wrote her memoir, and why, after years of keeping her reality a secret, she's now sharing it with the world. 

Maggie Walters lives in the NSW Northern Rivers with her family. As a trauma survivor, she shares her journey towards wholeness, confronting stereotypes around mental health. Her debut memoir, Split, was published in 2024. An early draft of Split was longlisted for the 2022 Richell Emerging Writers Prize.

Get your copy of Split from Booktopia or your local bookshop or library.

Books & authors discussed in this episode:

• The Writer Laid Bare by Lee Kofman
• In Bad Faith by Dassi Erlich
• For Life by Ailsa Piper
• The Anatomy of Motive by John Douglas
• My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante 

Upcoming events 

• Ashley is teaching Crafting Narrative Drive for the Society of Women Writers NSW on Wednesday 11 November
• Ashley is teaching Year of the Novel for Writing NSW beginning on Wednesday evenings starting 26 February 2025 
• The Cold Truth tour is happening in February! Sign up for Ashley's newsletter here for full details 

Learn more about Ashley's thrillers, Dark Mode and Cold Truth, and get your copies from your local bookshop or your library. 

Learn more about James' award-winning novel Denizen and get your copy from your local bookshop or your library.

Get in touch!

• ashleykalagianblunt.com
• jamesmckenziewatson.com
• Instagram: @akalagianblunt + @jamesmcwatson

'That was the most naive, worst decision I've ever made in my life, because the disease came back with a vengeance.' 

In episode 106, Ashley speaks to award-winning memoirist Simone Amelia Jordan about the career that took her from Australia to New York City, and the health crisis that changed everything.

We also speak about family heritage and family support, and how writing a memoir helped Simone recover herself and reinvent her career.  

Simone Amelia Jordan is Australia's most successful hip-hop journalist, with a career spanning print, radio, TV and digital media. At twenty-three, she founded Urban Hitz, the country's highest-selling rap and R&B publication. Later, in New York City, she served as the content director of The Source, the iconic 'Hip-Hop Bible'. Simone is also an ambassador for Crohn’s Colitis Australia. Her memoir, Tell Her She's Dreamin', won the 2021 Richell Prize winner, and is published in Australia and the United States.

Get your copy of Tell Her She's Dreamin' from Booktopia or your local bookshop or library.

Nothing in this episode is intended as medical advice. If you have health concerns, speak to your GP.

Books & authors discussed in this episode:

• The Greater Freedom: Life as a Middle Eastern Woman Outside the Stereotypes by Alya Mooro 
• Parable of the Sower by Octavia E Butler 
• Hayley Scrivenor 

Upcoming events 

• Ashley is teaching Crafting Narrative Drive for the Society of Women Writers NSW on Wednesday 11 November
• Ashley is teaching Year of the Novel for Writing NSW beginning on Wednesday evenings starting 26 February 2025 

Learn more about Ashley's thrillers, Dark Mode and Cold Truth, and get your copies from your local bookshop or your library. 

Learn more about James' award-winning novel Denizen and get your copy from your local bookshop or your library.

Get in touch!

• ashleykalagianblunt.com
• jamesmckenziewatson.com
• Instagram: @akalagianblunt + @jamesmcwatson

In ep 105, James and Ashley interview Arna Radovich, the author of Limits of Forgetting, a collection of stories interwoven with themes of memory, grief and reflection. Arna shares insights into how her own experiences provide the background for her fiction, and how she found the resolve to release her collection after the loss of her husband.

We also delve into Arna's multifaceted creative practice, which spans poetry, prose, fiction and nonfiction for both children and adults. We discuss her dedication to both evolving her practice and contributing to her artistic community, affirming how art and connection foster resilience and insight amidst personal and collective challenges.

Reflecting on her commitment to writing and community, Arna discusses her long-standing involvement with artist-run initiative Mounted. Their latest exhibition, Excavate, is happening in Sydney in November. 

Arna Radovich writes for both adults and children. Her short fiction and poetry has been published widely and performed. She won the ZineWest 2020 Prize and 2nd prize in the 2019 Peter Cowan Short Story Award and has been a finalist in the 2018 Tasmanian Writers Prize, the Carmel Bird Digital Literary Award and the NWF/joanne burns Microlit Award.In 2024 she released her debut collection of new and selected short stories, Limits of Forgetting.

Meet Arna and other Blue Mountains artists at Excavate: an exhibition from Mounted ARI:

• 13 to 17 November, The Corner Gallery Stanmore
• Opening event: Friday 15 November, 5.30 to 7.30 pm   

Get your copy of Limits of Forgetting from Rosey Ravelston Bookshop or your local bookshop or library. Supporting libraries and neighbourhood bookshops supports authors. 

Books & authors (and one podcast) discussed in this episode:

• Forgetting: The Benefits of Not Remembering by Scott Small
• Tell Me Everything by Elizabeth Strout
• The Writer Laid Bare by Lee Kofman
• If You're Happy by Fiona Robertson (from ep 53)
• 'Vigil' by Amanda O'Callaghan
• Helen Garner
• What Happened to Nina? by Dervla McTiernan
• The Glass House by Graeme Simsion & Anne Buist
• Stoneyard Devotional by Charlotte Wood
• The Dinner Party by Victoria Benn
• Nuclear War: A Scenario by Annie Jacobsen
• The Conspiracy Against the Human Race by Thomas Legotti
• Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy ('It's like Knausgård in the 1800s!')
• War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy
• Jon Ronson
• Revisionist History season 11: Hitler's Olympics by Malcolm Gladwell and Ben Naddaff-Hafrey
• Dopamine Nation by Anna Lembke
• Stolen Focus by Johann Hari 

Further recommended reading from Arna:

• The Grieving Brain: The Surprising Science of How We Learn from Love and Loss by Mary-
• Francis O’Connor
• Resilient Grieving: How To Find Your Way Through Devastating Loss: A Practical Guide To
• Recovery by Dr Lucy Hone
• Love, Death and Other Scenes by Nova Weetman

Upcoming events 

• Ashley is interviewing Pip Drysdale and Hayley Scrivenor at Harry Hartog Mosman on Thursday 31 October, 6-8pm 
• Ashley is speaking at Sydney Authors Inked in Summer Hill, Sunday 3 November, 12.30-2.30pm
• Ashley is teaching Writing Crime Fiction in Bowral on Thursday 7 November, 10am-4pm 

Learn more about Ashley's thrillers, Dark Mode and Cold Truth, and get your copies from your local bookshop or your library. 

Learn more about James' award-winning novel Denizen and get your copy from your local bookshop or your library.

Get in touch!

• ashleykalagianblunt.com
• jamesmckenziewatson.com
• Instagram: @akalagianblunt + @jamesmcwatson

'For me, the only decision was to put myself out there and become more of service to others.'  

Olympic gold medallist Michael Klim speaks with James about his diagnosis and life with CIDP, the same autoimmune condition James lives with. Michael discusses his childhood and Olympic career, how his worsening health affected his mental health, and how he ultimately decided to become vocal about his condition and support others. 

Michael Klim is a renowned Australian swimmer. He competed in three Olympic Games and won six medals, including two gold. Since 2020, Michael has lived with a rare autoimmune disorder, chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (CIDP). He has established the Klim Foundation to provide support to sufferers and champion the search for new treatments. 

Books & authors discussed in this episode:

• Ikigai: The Japanese Secret to a Long and Happy Life by Héctor García and Francesc Miralles
• This Is a Call: The Life and Times of Dave Grohl by Paul Brannigan
• Andrew Johns: The Two of Me by Andrew Johns and Neil Cadigan
• Johnathan Thurston: The Autobiography by Johnathon Thurston 
• Open by Andre Agassi 
• Kelly Slater: For the Love by Kelly Slater

Get your copy of Klim from your local bookshop or library. Supporting libraries and neighbourhood bookshops supports authors.

Upcoming events:

• Ashley is teaching Crafting Memoir for the New England Writers Centre online, Saturday 12 October, 2-3.30pm 
• James is in conversation with Zahid Gamieldien at Manly Library on Tuesday 15 October, 6:30pm 
• James is teaching Writing Setting and Landscape for Writing NSW, Saturday 26 October, 10am-4pm
• Ashley is doing her first author tour to the Mid North and Central Coast. Catch her speaking in Forster on Monday 21 October, in Port Macquarie on Monday 21 October, in Kempsey on Tuesday 22 October and at Erina Library on Wednesday 23 October.
• Ashley is teaching Writing Crime Fiction in Bowral on Thursday 7 November, 10am-4pm. 

Learn more about Ashley's bestselling psychological thriller Dark Mode and get your copy from your local bookshop or your library.

Learn more about James' award-winning novel Denizen and get your copy from your local bookshop or your library.

Get in touch!

• ashleykalagianblunt.com
• jamesmckenziewatson.com
• Instagram: @akalagianblunt + @jamesmcwatson

What's it like putting your creative work out in the world and discovering that some people hate it? 

In episode 103 of James and Ashley Stay at Home, international bestselling author Robyn Harding joins James and Ashley to explore her extensive career in writing. She shares her experience of releasing her first book in 2004, and how her journey has evolved up to the launch of her latest novel, The Haters. 

Robyn also shares insights into the challenges of dealing with online negativity, the psychological impact of reviews, and what inspired her to write a story centered around an author’s worst nightmare. We also discuss managing negativity bias and maintaining a long-term career in the ever-changing literary world.

Robyn Harding is the author of numerous international bestsellers, including The Party, The Arrangement and The Drowning Woman. She is also the screenwriter and executive producer of the independent film, The Steps. She lives in Vancouver, BC, with her family and two rescue chihuahuas. 

Books & authors discussed in this episode:

• Troll Hunting by Ginger Gorman;  
• This Book Will Bury Me by Ashley Winstead;
• The Last Housewife by Ashley Winstead; 
• Girl Falling by Hayley Scrivenor; 
• Dirt Town by Hayley Scrivenor; 
• Tyranny of the Minority by Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt; 
• How Democracies Die by Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt;
• Catherine Wheel by Liz Evans

Get your copy of 'The Haters' from your local bookshop or library. Supporting libraries and neighbourhood bookshops supports authors. 

Upcoming events:

• Ashley is part of the Northern Beaches Readers Festival, 27-28 September
• Ashley is teaching Online: Creative Nonfiction for Writing NSW, a six-week online course starting 30 September
• Ashley is in conversation with Heather Taylor Johnson in celebration of her latest novel, Little Bit, on Thursday 3 October, 6.30pm 
• James is teaching an online creative writing workshop for Laneway Learning,  Wednesday 11 Sept, 6.15pm AEST
• Ashley is teaching Crafting Memoir for the New England Writers Centre online, Saturday 12 October, 2-3.30pm 
• James is in conversation with Zahid Gamieldien at Manly Library on Tuesday 15 October, 6:30pm
• James is teaching Writing Setting and Landscape for Writing NSW, Saturday 26 October, 10am-4pm

Learn more about Ashley's bestselling psychological thriller Dark Mode and get your copy from your local bookshop or your library.

Learn more about James' award-winning novel Denizen and get your copy from your local bookshop or your library.

Get in touch!

• ashleykalagianblunt.com
• jamesmckenziewatson.com
• Instagram: @akalagianblunt + @jamesmcwatson

'I wasn't even sure I was going to write a novel.' 

Author Zahid Gamieldien joins us to discuss his debut novel, All the Missing Children. Zahid speaks about his start writing short stories, his decision to transition to novel writing based on the advice of a publisher, and how he sees the differences between prose and screenwriting. 

He also speaks about the challenge of fitting in writing time while raising children, and his four-year-old son's assessment of his work.  

Plus, more spec fiction talk! 

Zahid Gamieldien is an author, screenwriter, editor and writing tutor. His short fiction has been published in literary journals including Overland, Meanjin, Kill Your Darlings, Island Magazine and many others. His co-written screenplays have been listed for awards such as the Australian Writers’ Guild’s John Hinde Award and the AMC One-Hour Pilot Award at the Austin Film Festival. His debut novel is All The Missing Children.

Books & authors discussed in this episode:

• 2666 by Roberto Bolaño; 
• A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan; 
• Hurricane Season by Fernanda Melchor; 
• The Three-Body Problem by Liu Cixin; 
• The Guest List by Lucy Foley; 
• Dark Matter by Blake Crouch

Get your copy of All the Missing Children from your local bookshop or library. Supporting libraries and neighbourhood bookshops supports authors. 

Zahid and James will be appearing in conversation together to discuss 'All the Missing Children' at Manly Library on Tuesday 15 October.

And make sure to check out Zahid at Bad Crime Sydney on Friday 13 September. 

Upcoming events 

• Ashley is part of the Northern Beaches Readers Festival, 27-28 September
• Ashley is teaching Online: Creative Nonfiction for Writing NSW, a six-week online course starting 30 September
• Ashley is in conversation with Heather Taylor Johnson in celebration of her latest novel, Little Bit, on Thursday 3 October, 6.30pm 
• Ashley is teaching Crafting Memoir for the New England Writers Centre online, Saturday 12 October, 2-3.30pm 
• James is teaching Writing Setting and Landscape for Writing NSW, Saturday 26 October, 10am-4pm

Learn more about Ashley's bestselling psychological thriller Dark Mode and get your copy from your local bookshop or your library. 

Learn more about James' award-winning novel Denizen and get your copy from your local bookshop or your library.

Get in touch!

• ashleykalagianblunt.com
• jamesmckenziewatson.com
• Instagram: @akalagianblunt + @jamesmcwatson

'I didn't believe that I'd stalked my partner.' 

In episode 101, we speak with debut author Khin Myint about the multiple strands of biography he explores in his memoir Fragile Creatures. One of these is the sudden and extreme betrayal he faced from his ex-partner, who accused him of stalking her. 

We also discuss the ambiguous illness his sister Theda lived with for years, at times diagnosed as depression, CFS/ME and chronic Lyme disease, and how she chose to end her life after thirteen years of symptoms and divisiveness. We also consider whether our societal silence around suicide is potentially contribuiting to its rise.  

Khin also describes how he came to understand masculinity as a shadow, a pressure that follows men and ultimately shapes them. He asks, 'What is this pressure that socialises boys to adhere to some of these toxic expectations of maleness?'  

Fragile Creatures is a must-read memoir, and this conversation is only the tip of more than one culturally urgent conversation.  

Plus in What Are You Reading, we chat about a surprising number of speculative fiction titles. 

Khin Myint is an author based in Perth. His writing has appeared in The Sydney Morning Herald, Liminal and The West Australian, and more. He was selected as one of ten participants in the Wheeler Centre's Next Chapter scheme in 2021. His debut memoir is Fragile Creatures. 

Books & authors (and one podcast) discussed in this episode:

• The Tipping Point by Dinuka McKenzie (from ep 51); 
• 'What do trigger warnings actually do?' from Search Engine; 
• Detachable Penis by Sam Elkin; 
• Quiet by Susan Cain; 
• The Good Sister by Sally Hepworth; 
• Assassin's Apprentice by Robin Hobb; 
• Hyperion by Dan Simmons;
• Orson Scott Card

Get your copy of Fragile Creatures from your local bookshop or library. Supporting libraries and neighbourhood bookshops supports authors. 

Upcoming events: 

• Ashley is part of the Northern Beaches Readers Festival, 27-28 September
• Ashley is teaching Online: Creative Nonfiction for Writing NSW, a six-week online course starting 30 September
• Ashley is in conversation with Heather Taylor Johnson in celebration of her latest novel, Little Bit, on Thursday 3 October, 6.30pm 
• Ashley is teaching Crafting Memoir for the New England Writers Centre online, Saturday 12 October, 2-3.30pm 
• James is teaching Writing Setting and Landscape for Writing NSW, Saturday 26 October, 10am-4pm

Learn more about Ashley's bestselling psychological thriller Dark Mode and get your copy from your local bookshop or your library. 

Learn more about James' award-winning novel Denizen and get your copy from your local bookshop or your library.

Get in touch!

• ashleykalagianblunt.com
• jamesmckenziewatson.com
• Instagram: @akalagianblunt + @jamesmcwatson