Irma and Karen chat about juggling jobs to survive while writing. 

Then Karen talks to Nardi Simpson about the creative crossover between making songs and writing books, why she decided to start writing novels, how writing helps her to explore larger questions, how her writing mentors inspired her, what she learned from the Year of the Novel course, how sending a story out into the world is like throwing a boomerang, how she opens herself to playing with ideas and language, why she no longer writes lists of rules for herself when starting to write a new book, how competitiveness gets in the way of her writing, how green rooms differ between music gigs and writers festivals, how her partner met Trent Dalton in a green room, and how sharing stories and sitting with love and family are the most important things in her life.

About Nardi

Nardi Simpson is a Yuwaalaraay woman living in Sydney. She’s a singer/songwriter in the vocal duo the Stiff Gins, in which she has performed nationally and internationally and released four albums, two singles, an EP and countless compilations. In 2018 Nardi won the Black & Write! Fellowship for the manuscript that became her first novel, Song of the Crocodile, which went on to win  the ASAL Gold Medal and be longlisted for both the Stella Prize and Miles Franklin Awards. Her second novel is The Belburd.