Derek Rielly is a strange cross of dirtbag surfer meets eloquent wordsmith. This made him the perfect person to write Wednesdays With Bob - the bestselling biography on Bob Hawke. Derek has since followed that up with an incredible book on the Indigenous Australian icon David Gulpilil. When he’s not writing about real people, Derek also makes up facts about his parents to colour up his author’s bio.

In this chat, we uncover whether Derek’s dad really was a pro wrestler, how persistence landed him the book with Bob Hawke, and how one of the most compelling biographies he’s read opens up with a corpse…

Derek’s best biography recommendations include.

Night Train: The Sonny Liston Story by Nick Toches

Dino: Living High On The Business of Dreams by Nick Toches

The World Is My Home by James Mitchener (actually a memoir)

When Warriors Lie Down and Die by Richard Trudgen (history)

For Derek’s latest, head to BeachGrit.com

For a full list of the Genre Wars episodes, head to timhawken.com/genrewars