Talking Words

Content warning for discussions of racism & violence.

Welcome to Talking Queer - a summer special of Talking Words. This is the first of two exciting features of writers whose ideas, opinions and perspectives attempt to make queer sense of the world, exploring the complex and shifting spectrum of human sexuality- and gender-diversity through literature. Our first is with award-winning writer of fiction, non-fiction, and poetry, Ellen van Neerven. Ellen, of Mununjali Yugambeh (South East Queensland) and Dutch heritage, has authored three gorgeous and galvanising books - their first, Heat and Light, is a work of fiction which earned Ellen the David Unaipon Award, the Dobbie Literary Award and the NSW Premier's Literary Awards Indigenous Writers Prize. Comfort Food, Ellen's first poetry collection was shortlisted for the NSW Premier's Literary Awards Kenneth Slessor Prize and highly commended for the 2016 Wesley Michel Wright Prize. Throat, their second poetry collection, is hot off the presses, having been released at the end of March this year, and boldly and dauntlessly delves into the complexities of love, language, and land. Throat was shortlisted for the 2020 Queensland Judith Wright Calanthe Award for a poetry collection, and was awarded the inaugural UQP Quentin Bryce Award.

Leona had the honour of speaking to Ellen on August 26th of this year, recording their conversation remotely to account for pandemic travel restrictions.

[One final note - since this episode was recorded, Leona's preference of pronoun leans more towards 'they' than 'she' - but they won't be offended if you occasionally forget!]

Content warning for discussions of transphobia, homophobia, eating disorders & violence.

Welcome back to Talking Queer, Talking Words' summer special, here today with not one, but two incredible queer multi-hyphenates: Fiona Wright and Tea Uglow. Hailing from Sydney's southwest, Fiona is a writer, editor, critic and tutor of creative writing and creative non-fiction. She hosts Six Degrees from the City, a podcast about writers and Western Sydney, holds a PhD in Literature and Creative Writing from Western Sydney University, and has authored four award-winning books - two collections of poetry, and two essay collections; all remarkable, challenging, and beautifully intimate.

Tea is the Creative Director for Google's Creative Lab in Sydney. Interested in the generative potential of intersections between technology and the arts, this self-described 'atypical creative' and fan of physics, reality, and doubt, has contributed world-altering talks to TED, the Sydney Writer's festival, and the AIGA annual conference in Minneapolis. Most recently, Tea authored the beautiful book Loud and Proud, an anthology of speeches from the LGBTQIA+ community and our allies. Fortunately, Fiona and Tea are both currently based in Sydney, so we were able to meet in person to discuss creativity, vulnerability, and queer history.

Settle in for the long haul - this one's a journey worth taking.

[One final note - since this episode was recorded, Leona's preference of pronoun leans more towards 'they' than 'she' - but they won't be offended if you occasionally forget!]

Chris Flynn is an Irish author who has written three books, The Glass Kingdom, A Tiger in Eden and Mammoth, a novel that journeys from the Pleistocene era to 21st century America that's told through the eyes of an American Mastodon, otherwise known as a mammoth. In Olivia's last episode as host & producer of Talking Words, she chats with Chris about dinosaurs, the importance of nature and whether they may, in fact, be related.

Books mentioned:

•Mammoth by Chris Flynn

•The Illustrated Bible

•Winnie The Pooh by A.A. Milne

•The Exorcist by William Peter Blatty

Yumna Kassab is a neuroscientist and teacher who has published one book, 'The House of Youssef' which is a collection of short stories that was long-listed for the 2020 Stella Prize. From pondering about isolation to the beauty of first person narrative, Olivia and Yumna chat all things libraries, quarantine and writing.

Books mentioned:

•The House of Youssef by Yumna Kassab

Rick Held is a screenwriter who has written for Australian TV shows such as A Place to Call Home and Packed to the Rafters, and has just published his first novel, Night Lessons in Little Jerusalem. Olivia and Rick chat about the perils of adaption and the true story behind his novel.

Books mentioned:

•Night Lessons in Little Jerusalem by Rick Held

•Winnie The Pooh by A.A. Milne

•The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis

•The Secret River by Helen Garner

Tara June Winch is an award winning Wiradjuri author who has written three books: Swallow the Air, After the Carnage and The Yield, which swept the 2020 NSW Premier's Literary Awards winning in three categories, including Book of the Year. In the first chapter of our isolation Special, Olivia and Tara chat about the importance of language and why art moves us.

Books mentioned:

•The Yield by Tara June Winch

•Dead Man Walking by Kate McClymont

•She's Come Undone by Wally Lamb

Welcome to the finale of Season Two! In this chapter we yarn with Helena Fox, an award winning young adult novelist who has written one book, 'How It Feels to Float'. Alongside being an author, Helena mentors younger writers and runs workshops on creative writing and its positive impacts on mental health. Helena and Olivia chat about moving overseas to follow your dreams and how writing can be a beautiful act of self care.

Books mentioned:

•How It Feels to Float by Helena Fox.

•Lenny's Books of Everything by Karen Fox-Lee.

•The Treehouse Series by Andy Griffiths & Terry Denton.

•Euphoria Kids by Alison Evans.

•The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas.

•The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo.

J.P. Pomare is an award winning crime writer who has written three books: 'Call Me Evie', 'In the Clearing' and 'Tell Me Lies' (available through Audible). J.P. talks to Olivia about the ins and outs of publishing a book and which novels have totally changed his life (hint: he's not the only one to think this!)

Books mentioned:

•Call Me Evie by J.P. Pomare

•In the Clearing by J.P. Pomare

•Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling

•Cat's Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut

•The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath

•On the Road by Jack Kerouac

•The Family by Chris by Johnston & Rosie Jones

•The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck

•Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck

•Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

•Gravity's Rainbow by Thomas Pynchon

•Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace

Stephanie Wood is an award winning journalist and editor. Her debut book, 'Fake: A startling true story of love in a world of liars, cheats, narcissists, fantasists and phonies' is a memoir that explores the impact of duplicitous relationships. She sits with Olivia and chats about her book, media literacy and why having a social conscience is vital in today's world.

Books mentioned:

•Snugglepot and Cuddlepie by May Gibbs

•The Famous Five by Enid Blyton

•The Magic Faraway Tree by Enid Blyton

•The Enchanted Wood by Enid Blyton

Vivian Pham is a Vietnamese-Australian author whose debut novel 'The Coconut Children', was written when she was just 16 years old. She yarns with Olivia about identity, life before she was born and her love of fan fiction.

Books mentioned:

•The Coconut Children by Vivian Pham

•Matilda by Roald Dahl

•George's Marvellous Medicine by Roald Dahl

•The Witches by Roald Dahl

•Letters to Felix by Annette Langen

•A Room of One's Own by Virginia Woolf

•Go Tell It On the Mountain by James Baldwin

•Pluck the Living Flower by Danial Carrington

•With a special shout out to P.G. Wodehouse