The Empty Page

Nick Place has been a professional writer since he was 17. He has co-authored a new book called Stalin's Wine Cellar which is a cracking read even for people who aren't wine buffs but just appreciate a really good yarn. The book tells John Baker's story, and it was Nick who worked  with John to put it on the page. Nick chats about his writing life, how he goes about writing in someone else's voice, and - right at the end - some  simple but important advice for aspiring writers.

When Aussie rock legend Jimmy Barnes sat himself down to write a memoir six years ago he had no idea that he would end up writing a trilogy. First came Working Class Boy, then Working Class Man, and now his third release, the incredibly entertaining and heartfelt Killing Time, a collection of short stories that is tremendous fun to read.
In this episode Jimmy talks about the challenges of writing this book during the onset of a global pandemic, how he is able to zone out and keep on writing even in a crowded room, and Jimmy also tells the amazing true story of being invited by Eddie Van Halen (more than once!) to join Van Halen. 

Writing books about Australian music is how Jeff Apter makes his living, and he's damn good at it. On this episode Jeff talks about his latest book, "Friday On My Mind; The Life Of George Young", his method of meticulously planning before he writes, and Jeff's also got an amazing Aretha Franklin story from his days as a Rolling Stone correspondent.

Tasmanian youth counsellor Kyle Perry knows a thing or two about resilience. He wrote ten books - none of which were picked up by publishers - but he kept on believing in himself and he kept on writing. In 2020 Kyle finally gets his reward with the release of his stunning debut novel, The Bluffs. In this episode Kyle talks about the process of writing The Bluffs, those ten unpublished stories, how it felt to finally break through, and the importance of maintaining his physical and mental health for the sake of his writing.

Megan Goldin recorded this interview in her car, which is also where she does a large chunk of her writing. Megan's international career is taking off right now thanks her gripping new novel The Night Swim. Megan chats about the process of writing it, her time working in the Middle East as a journalist, and how she somehow juggles motherhood with getting her writing done in the midst of a global pandemic. 

Stuart Coupe is one of Australia's best music writers and he doesn't mind a bit of a chat. Stuart has written a brilliant book (the only kind he knows how to write) about one of Australia's greatest ever singer/songwriters, Paul Kelly, and he has had a long and fascinating career as a writer, so there's a lot to cover in this episode. 

Lili Wilkinson has a PhD in creative writing, so it's safe to say that Lili knows more about the subject of putting a story together than most people, and on this episode she shares some of that knowledge and talks about her new young adult novel, The Erasure Initiative. 

Mikey Robins is a history buff, and he's also a funny bugger. His new book is called Reprehensible; Polite Histories Of Bad Behaviour and it is quite honestly the most fun I have ever had reading about history.  In this interview Mikey talks about his new book, the process of writing it, and he also offers up some great advice for aspiring writers.  

John Wood is not a full time writer, but he's got an impressive writing resume nonetheless. He is a successful playwright and he has written screenplays for legendary Aussie shows like The Sullivans, Cop Shop and Prisoner: Cell Block H. Then of course there's his other career as a much loved Gold Logie winning actor. John has been in our lounge rooms for over a quarter of a century as Michael Rafferty (Rafferty's Rules), Senior Sergeant Tom Croydon (Blue Heelers), and Patrick Tyneman (The Doctor Blake Mysteries). John's new memoir is called "How I Clawed My Way To The Middle".