Literati Glitterati

Literati Glitterati launches its monthly book club with a special live edition in the Triple R Performance Space. We unpack the inaugural book of the month: Dorothy Porter’s iconic lesbian crime thriller, The Monkey’s Mask. Celebrating thirty years since its 1994 release, this modern Australian classic is gritty, sensual and pioneering in form, told in short verses that hit like your favourite song lyrics. Mel is joined by special guests RVG’s Romy Vager, Worms Book Club’s Hayley Percy, and Dorothy’s surviving partner, award-winning novelist Andrea Goldsmith. The Literati Glitterati Salon is a new monthly book club for folks who like a good story, well told.

& get reading All Fours by Miranda July to be part of next months Book Club.

This week, Mel is joined in the studio by Cher Tan.

Cher Tan is an essayist, critic and editor living and working on unceded Wurundjeri land. She has lived in Kaurna Yerta/Adelaide and Singapore, where she was born and raised.

Cher's debut collection of essays, Peripathetic: Notes on (un)belonging, contains 11 pieces of relatable, tangible and thoughtful writing. Mel and Cher talk about the dissonance between self and perceived self, artists who inspired the essay collection, and sh*tty, sh*tty jobs! Plus, Cher gives a reading of the introduction from the collection, subtitled Clocking In.

Peripathetic: Notes on (un)belonging launches at the Brunswick Artists Bar on Thursday May 16.

Literati Glitterati Book Club Launch! - details here: https://www.rrr.org.au/events/literati-glitterati-book-club-launch

In this episode, Mel speaks to Kaveh Akbar, an Iranian-American poet and scholar, on his new book, Martyr!

The book is a semi-autobigraphical tale, in which the main character Cyrus Shams shares some parallels to Kaveh's own life. It is the story of a newly sober, orphaned son of Iranian immigrants, who is guided by martyrs - in the forms of artists, poets, and kings. Cyrus goes on a remarkable search for a family secret that leads him to a terminally ill painter living out her final days in the Brooklyn Museum. Mel and Kaveh discuss being a martyr, writing a character who acts as a reality check in your own life and what it's like to replace subtance addiction with writing addiction.

Kaveh Akbar has published and recieved awards for his books of poetry, and he is a college writing professor at the University of Iowa.

Literati Glitterati Book Club Launch! - details here: https://www.rrr.org.au/events/literati-glitterati-book-club-launch

Join Mel this week by best-selling American Author, and master of nonfiction, Leslie Jamieson, to deep dive into her life, what inspires her book writing and characters in relation to her own lived experiences. Listen along to snippets of conversation from her recent book Splinters, a memoire following the aftermath of divorce and awakening of motherhood.

This week, Mel Fulton is joined in the studio by multi-faceted novelist, Miranda Darling.

Miranda is in to discuss her fifth novel, Thunderhead. In the book, the main (and almost only) character, Winona Dalloway (a nod to Woolf's Mrs Dalloway) goes about a normal day in her life, although the reader can't help but feel impending doom...

Mel asks Miranda about how she created a direct line to the inner life of her main character, the way she plays with "reality", how humour is the thread between her novels and the feeling she wants to leave her readers with.

Miranda Darling is a writer, poet, and and co-Founder of Vanishing Pictures as well as much, much more... listen to find out how she came to complete a Masters in Strategic Studies and Defence from the ANU (GSSD) (!!!!!!!).

Author & journalist Bri Lee joins today's show to talk about her debut novel 'The Work' which was released April 3rd. Listen to the nuanced discussion about the process of writing this book, the conversation she wants to have between author and audience, the ways that this fiction work differs from her non-fiction work, and how politics and ethics are woven into all of these aspects of her writing and life.

Eliza Hull, musician, writer and disability advocate, then joins Lit Glitt to talk about the fundraiser show 'For Palestine' that she is hosting on Dja Dja Wurrung country at the Theatre Royale in Castlemaine on April 21st. Eliza will be joined by many wonderful artists, poets and important community figures to raise money for 'We Are Not Numbers,' a not-for-profit organisation supporting writers in Palestine.

Hosted by Mel Fulton

Mel Fulton speaks to author Bonny Cassidy about her memoir, Monuments, which explores the consequences of colonial settlement across generations within the lens of a white Australian family of mixed origins and ancestries.

James Colley, television comedy writer and producer from Western Sydney best known for his work as Head Writer on Gruen joins Mel to talk about his new part young-love rom-com, part David and Goliath story, The Next Big Thing.

Corrie Perkin, Director of Sorrento Writers Festival also joins the show to share highlights from the program for the festival's second year.

Join Mel Fulton this week with Natalie Paul, CEO of Beatrix Bakes and author of new book titled Beatrix Bakes Another Slice. The two chat about all things sweet and delicious! Also joining Mel on the line is Sue Beal, CEO of Creative Clunes for the upcoming Clunes Booktown Festival, 23-24 March 2024.

The idea for Abbey Lay's debut novel came to her on a bus ride in Mexico... next thing she knew she was shortlisted for the Victorian Premier's Award for an Unpublished Manucript in 2022.

Mel gets into the nitty gritty of the novel, Lead Us Not, asking how much of the story is autobigraphical (you might be surprised), why complex female friendships aren't properly portrayed in media and maybe the biggest question of all: why are teenage girls so cruel to each other?