Talking Aussie Books

Bridie Jabour is the Head of Multimedia at Guardian Australia who previously worked as a journalist reporting on social affairs, politics and regional issues.

Bridie is the author of a book of essays - Trivial Grievances: On the contradictions, myths and misery of your 30s as well as the 2018 novel The Way Things Should Be.

And this year Bridie has a new novel out.  

Called ‘Ordinary Funny Tragic’ (published by HarperCollins Australia) it’s an exploration of family and grief - but specifically about what it means to be a good mother. Something that resonated with me on a deep level. 

I thoroughly enjoyed chatting with Bridie for the podcast recently.

Award-winning journalist, former television presenter and author Whitney Fitzsimmons who is best known for her work at the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) has just released her debut novel.

’The Rising’ published by Ventura Press  is set in a small northern NSW town plagued by floods. When the flood waters recede and the cleanup begins, a decades old mystery is unearthed and a journalist’s desire to solve the mystery is met with resistance by the townspeople she has come to know and whom she call friends. 

'The Rising' is a twisty, compelling rural noir novel that has captured the attention of some of Australia’s best known authors - people like Matthew Spencer, Fiona Lowe, RWR MacDonald and many more.

I was delighted to welcome Whitney to the podcast recently to talk about her journey from journalist to published novelist and the many twists and turns along the way.

I was thrilled to welcome the uber talented Karen Brooks back to the podcast recently to discuss her brand new novel.  Called ‘The Extraordinary Florence Stoker’ this book is both fascinating and enthralling in equal measures. 

A book that follows the life of Dubliner Florence Balcombe, a witty and beautiful woman, who marries Bram Stoker - the man who would become best-known for his gothic horror novel ‘Dracula’.

With impressive attention to detail and underpinned by extensive research, what Karen has done with this novel is to give us an intimate glimpse into the life of this woman who it becomes clear was indeed extraordinary for so many reasons.

Not the least of which was her marriage to a man who was to all intents and purposes  an enigma as well as her fight to ensure copyright in her husband’s work was protected against unauthorised adaptations. 

From the moment I began reading this book, I knew I was in skilled hands. I simply couldn’t put it down.

Out in Australia from the 1st of September, if you are a fan of historical fiction, you will not be able to resist this book.

Happy listening!

'All Her Beautiful Deaths' is the new historical gothic mystery by author extraordinaire Allison Rushby.

Allison is the author of more than 30 books across junior, middle age and YA fiction as well as adult fiction.

'All Her Beautiful Deaths' published by HQ Fiction in Australia this year is a dual timeline novel centred around Victorian death photography - a macabre, yet popular practice of memorialising dead people in photos.

It comes hot on the heels of another of Allison's novel, 'Slashed Beauties' which was released in 2025 and inspired by another unsettling phenomena - 18th century wax anatomical models known as 'Anatomical Venus'.

In this wide-ranging chat, guest host Cassie Hamer talks to Allison about both these books and their inspiration, her incredible 25 year career, the creative pillars that underpin her writing process and what it takes to bring up a new generation of readers.

A wonderful interview!

Nicola Marsh could be one of Australia’s most prolific and successful authors. 

With 90 books to her name, Nicola is a USA Today bestselling, multi-award winning author whose books traverse a range of genres that include romance, domestic suspense, women’s fiction and fantasy - netting Nicola millions of sales across the globe.

Her books have been translated into 25 languages and this year alone listeners, Nicola has or will have 5 new releases. 

One of which I had the pleasure of talking to Nicola about for the podcast recently.

'The Orchard at Rosevale' was published by HQ Fiction here in Australia at the end of July and while it was the first of Nicola’s books I’ve read - it definitely won’t be the last.

Hope you enjoy this fabulous chat as much as I did.

Much loved Aussie author crime author Dinuka McKenzie has a brand new novel out.

'She Lied First' (HarperCollins) is Dinuka’s first stand alone novel after the highly successful Detective Kate Miles trilogy which included her award-winning debut novel ‘The Torrent’.

This twisty psychological thriller takes Dinuka’s writing in a new, but exciting direction. 

Exploring sibling relationships, secrets, betrayal and trauma this book provided plenty of fascinating material for Dinuka's in-depth discussion with Cassie Hamer in this new episode of Talking Aussie Books.  

Emma Babbington's second novel 'The Gardens' (HQ Fiction) was released in Australia at the end of July.

A stunning follow-up to her gripping 2025 debut 'The Neighbours'.

Talking Aussie Books co-host Cassie Hamer recently chatted to Emma about her childhood home in Hampstead in London and how this place became the inspiration for 'The Gardens', about cults and intentional communities and why this intrigued her enough to include in the novel as well as the prevalence of teenagers/issues affecting teenagers in her work.

Such a wide-ranging terrific chat between great friends and talented writers.

I thoroughly enjoyed listening in and hope you will too.

Back in 2021 I was privileged to interview the 2018 winner of the prestigious Richell Prize - Ruth McIver - about her thrilling novel ‘I Shot the Devil’ and today I have the honour of talking to the 2023 winner , Alex Sawyer.

Alex is a psychologist, a volunteer firefighter, father, short story writer and now published novelist.

Alex’s award-winning novel ‘Rat Daniels’ was published at the end of June and I have to tell you listeners, the book is unforgettable.  

A beautifully written, thoughtful and heartfelt coming of age story about friendship and loyalty that will stay with you long after you’ve finished reading. 

Shannon Kelly-White is a former nurse who made her claim to fame as an irreverent, hilarious, often potty-mouthed blogger, then cookbook, parenting and lifestyle writer. 

She wrote four non-fiction books -books that included the bestselling, award-winning breakout ‘Shannon’s Kitchen’, as well as Shannon Does Dinner, Parenting for Legends and the hilariously titled account of outrageous medical stories - 'The Bum Hole Diaries'!!

But somewhere along the way, Shannon’s attention turned to fiction writing and the result has been nothing less than spectacular.

Shannon's debut novel 'Billie King ' (HarperCollins Australia) is a story of three courageous women: a bushranger, a woman on the edge and a young girl desperate to find her missing mother. 

An incredibly entertaining heartfelt tale that had me absolutely gripped from its opening pages and didn’t let go until its thrilling end. 

And I was delighted to welcome this legend author to the podcast recently. 

Lillian Telford's debut novel 'Lovesick' was published by HQ Fiction recently and is, in every sense of the word, a labour of love.

More than ten years in the making, 'Lovesick' is the culmination of not only Lillian's hard work and determination, but an array of experiences that she has been able to funnel into this intense story about a couple falling in and out of love and the impact of this on their other significant relationships.

I thoroughly enjoyed this in-depth discussion of the book between guest host Cassie Hamer and Lillian Telford about its characters and themes along with the issues Lillian is concerned to explore in her writing.

Hope you enjoy it too!