Bonus episode #3

The Garret interviews writers about the craft of writing. But the literary industry includes more than just writers - editors, publishers, self-publishers, critics and agents all play roles. We publish a bonus episode with a prominent figure in the literary industry once a season. 

Here we interview Euan Mitchell, Australia's foremost expert on self-publishing, or indie publishing, as it is increasingly becoming known.

Euan has helped thousands of people down the often perilous track of indie publishing. A writer, a publisher, a lecturer, his interest in this field began with the publication of his own novel, Feral Tracks in 1998.

Euan self-published Feral Tracks after it was rejected by 25 literary agents and publishers. After its success, Hardie Grant published Euan's first non-fiction publication, Self-Publishing Made Simple: the Ultimate Australian Guide. Euan then started his own publishing imprint, OverDog Press, to release the second edition of the work. In 2014 he published Your Book Publishing Options: How to Make and Market Ebooks and Print Books with the support of the Australian Society of Authors.

Euan has a PhD in Creative Writing from Victoria University. He taught at Box Hill Institute of TAFE and now teaches at Swinburne University.

About The Garret

The Garret is committed to accessibility and education. The transcript and interactive show notes of Euan's interview are available at www.thegarretpodcast.com/euan-mitchell.

Thomas Keneally is a legend of the Australian literary scene. He is a novelist, playwright and essayist, and a force to be reckoned with.

He won the Booker Prize in 1982 for Schindler's Ark (which was made into Schindler's List by Steven Spielberg), and was shortlisted for the Booker Prize on three other occasions for The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith, Gossip from the Forest, and Confederates.

He has been awarded received Australia's most prestigious literary prize, the Miles Franklin Literary Award, twice for Bring Larks and Heroes (1967) and Three Cheers For The Paraclete (1968). In addition, An Angel in Australia (2003) was shortlisted and The Widow and Her Hero (2008), The People's Train (2010) and The Daughters of Mars (2013) were longlisted for the Miles Franklin. 

Tom's non-fiction includes the memoir Searching For Schindler: A Memoir and Three Famines (an LA Times Book of the Year), as well as the histories The Commonwealth Of Thieves: The Improbable Birth of Australia, The Great Shame: An the Triumph of the Irish in the English-speaking World and American Scoundrel: The Life of the Notorious Civil War General Dan Sickles.

About The Garret

The Garret is committed to accessibility and education. The transcript and interactive show notes of Tom's interview are available at www.thegarretpodcast.com/thomas-keneally.

Garth Nix has devoted his career to the written word. He was a literary agent, marketing consultant, book editor, book publicist, book sales representative and bookseller, and he has now been a full time writer since 2001.

Garth’s books include the award-winning young adult fantasy novels in the Abhorsen series (Sabriel, Lirael, Abhorsen, Clariel and Goldenhand); the dystopian novel Shade’s Children; the space opera A Confusion of Princes; and a Regency romance with magic, Newt’s Emerald.

His fantasy novels for children include Frogkisser; The Ragwitch; The Seventh Tower sequence (The Fall, Castle, Aenir, Above the Veil, Into Battle and The Violet Keystone); The Keys to the Kingdom series (Mister Monday, Grim Tuesday, Drowned Wednesday, Sir Thursday, Lady Friday, Superior Saturday and Lord Sunday); the Troubletwisters series (Troubletwisters, The Monster, The Mystery and The Missing); and the Spirit Animals series (Wild Born, Hunted, Blood Ties, Fire and Ice, Against the Ties, Rise and Fall and The Evertree, all co-written with Sean Williams). 

More than five million copies of his books have been sold around the world, his books have appeared on the bestseller lists of The New York Times, Publishers Weekly, The Guardian and The Australian, and his work has been translated into 40 languages.

About The Garret

The Garret is committed to accessibility and education. The transcript and interactive show notes of Garth's interview are available at www.thegarretpodcast.com/garth-nix.

Hannah Kent made waves in Australia's literary scene in 2013 with her first novel, Burial Rites. The novel was translated into 28 languages and was shortlisted for the Baileys Women's Prize for Fiction (formerly the Orange Prize) and the Guardian First Book Award. It won the ABIA Literary Fiction Book of the Year, the Indie Awards Debut Fiction Book of the Year and the Victorian Premier's People's Choice Award, and was shortlisted a host of awards, including the Stella Prize and the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award. 

Her second novel, The Good People (2016), received similar acclaim. The Good Peoplewas shortlisted for the University of Queensland Fiction Book Award, the Readings Prize for New Australian Fiction, the Walter Scott Award for Historical Fiction (UK), the Indie Book Award for Literary Fiction and the ABIA Literary Fiction Book of the Year Award.

Hannah is also the co-founder and publishing director of Australian literary publication Kill Your Darlings, which was established in 2010.

About The Garret

The Garret is committed to accessibility and education. The transcript and interactive show notes of Hannah's interview are available at www.thegarretpodcast.com/hannah-kent.

Morris Gleitzman Was appointed as Australian Children’s Laureate for 2018 and 2019.

Morris was born in England and emigrated to Australia in 1969. He started his career as writer for the TV comedy The Norman Gunston Show. He then wrote his first children’s novel, The Other Facts of Life, in 1985. Morris adapted The Other Facts of Life into a screenplay, which won an AWGIE Award for the Best Original Children’s Film Script.

Morris became well known through his semi-autobiographical columns in The Age and Sydney Morning Herald, which he wrote for nine years. However, he is best known for his children’s books, which have been published in about twenty countries.

All Morris’ children's books have been shortlisted for or have won numerous children’s book prizes here and overseas. The Felix series (Once, Then, Now, After, Soon and his 2017 book Maybe), follows 10 year old Polish Jewish Felix as he escapes from the Nazis in World War 2.

His other titles include Second Childhood, Misery Guts, Worry Warts, Puppy Fat, Blabber Mouth, Sticky Beak, Belly Flop, Water Wings, Bumface, Gift Of the Gab, Toad Rage, two six-part novels written in collaboration with Paul Jennings (Wicked and Deadly), Adults Only, Toad Heaven, Boy Overboard, Teacher’s Pet, Toad Away, Girl Underground, Worm Story, Aristotle’s Nostril, Doubting Thomas, Give Peas A Chance, Toad Surprise, Grace, Too Small To Fail, Pizza Cake, Extra Time, Loyal Creatures, Toad Delight and Snot Chocolate.

Related episodes:

Alison Lester was the inaugural Children’s Laureate, and she spoke to The Garret about her illustrating and writing career.

Leigh Hobbs was Children’s Laureate in 2016 and 2017. He welcomed The Garret into his studio to show us where he creates.

Ursula Dubosarsky is another children’s writer known for dealing with traditionally adult subjects, including The Holocaust, in her writing.

About The Garret

The Garret is committed to accessibility and education. The transcript and interactive show notes of Morris' interview are available at www.thegarretpodcast.com/morris-gleitzman.

Alice Pung is a writer, editor, teacher and lawyer. She has won numerous awards for her two memoirs, and her writing has appeared in The Monthly, The Age, Meanjin, Best Australian Stories and Best Australian Essays. In 2017 she is the Artist in Residence at the Janet Clarke Hall at the University of Melbourne.

Her long-form works include:

Unpolished Gem (2007), received the Newcomer of the Year Award in the Australia Book Industry Awards for her first book Unpolished Gem.

Her Father's Daughter (2011), was awarded the Western Australia Premier's Book Award for Non Fiction, and was shortlisted for the Premier's Literary Awards in Victoria and New South Wales, as well as the Queensland Literary Awards.

Laurinda (2014), Alice's first novel, was awarded the Ethel Turner Prize at the 2016 NSW Premier’s Literary Awards.

And the Marly Series (Meet Marly, Marly's Business, Marly and the Goat, Marly Walks on the Moon).

Alice also edited Growing Up Asian in Australia. 

Related episodes:

Alice published Alice Pung on John Marsden in 2017, and you can listen to our interview with John here.

Erik Jensen also contributed to the Writers on Writers series with Erik Jensen on Kate Jennings.

Christos Tsiolkas, along with Zadie Smith, Donna Tartt and John Marsden, are on Alice's ideal dinner party guest list.

About The Garret

The Garret is committed to accessibility and education. The transcript and interactive show notes of Alice's interview are available at www.thegarretpodcast.com//alice-pung.

Don Watson began his literary career an academic historian, but soon moved on to political satire and speechwriting. He wrote political satire for the comedian Max Gillies, and then became speechwriter for Prime Minister Paul Keating.

Since 2003 Don has been documenting the viral spread of management-speak and the decline of public language on weaselwords.com.au. He is a regular contributor to Australian public debate, including in The Age and The Monthly.

His published long-form works include:

Rabbit Syndrome: Australia and America (Quarterly Essay #4, 2001), awarded the inaugural Alfred Deakin Prize in the Victorian Premier's Literary Awards

Recollections of a Bleeding Heart: Paul Keating Prime Minister (2002), awarded The Age Book of the Year and Non-Fiction Prizes, the Brisbane Courier Mail Book of the Year, the National Biography Award and the Australian Literary Studies Association's Book of the Year

Death Sentences: How Cliches, Weasel Words and Management-Speak Are Strangling Public Language (2003), awarded the Australian Booksellers Association Book of the Year

Watson's Dictionary of Weasel Words: Contemporary Cliches, Cant and Management Jargon (2004)

American Journeys (2008), awarded The Age Book of the Year and Non-Fiction Book of the Year, the inaugural Indie Award for Non-Fiction and the Walkley Non-Fiction Award

Bendable Learnings. The Wisdom of Modern Management (2009)

The Bush: Travels in the Heart of Australia (2014), awarded won the Indie Book of the Year and the NSW Premier's Literary Award, as well as the Non-Fiction Award in the Queensland Literary Awards and the FAW Non-Fiction Prize

Worst Words: A compendium of contemporary cant, gibberish and jargon (2015)

Enemy Within: American Politics in the Time of Trump (Quarterly Essay 63, 2016)

A Single Tree (2016).

Don has also written feature films, including The Man Who Sued God and Passion. In 2010 Don was awarded the Phillip Hodgins Memorial Medal for Australian Literature.

About The Garret

The Garret is committed to accessibility and education. The transcript and interactive show notes of Don's interview are available at www.thegarretpodcast.com/don-watson.

Isobelle Carmody is one of Australia's foremost authors of YA fiction and children's literature. 

She began writing The Obernewtyn Chronicles while she was still at high school. The first book, Obernewtyn, was short-listed for the Children’s Book Council Book of the Year Award (Older Readers) in 1988. The series was finally finished more than twenty years later with The Red Queen in 2015.

Isobelle's other recognitions and awards include:

The Farseekers: The Obernewtyn Chronicles, awarded the Children's Book Council of Australia Book of the Year for Older Readers in 1991

Scatterlings, awarded the Talking Book of the Year Award in 1992

The Gathering, awarded the Children’s Literature Peace Prize in 1993 and the Children's Book Council of Australia Book of the Year Award in 1994 

Ashling: The Obernewtyn Chronicles, awarded the Aurealis Award for Best Young Adult Novel in 1996

Darkfall, awarded the Aurealis Award for Best Fantasy Novel in 1998

Greylands, awarded the Aurealis Award for Best Young Adult Novel in 1998

Billy Thunder and the Night Gate, shortlisted for the Patricia Wrightson Prize for Childrens Literature in the 2001 NSW Premiers Literary Awards

Alyzon Whitestar, awarded the Aurealis Award for Best Young Adult Novel and the 2005 Golden Aurealis for Best Novel in 2005

Little Fur: The Legend of Little Fur, awarded the Aurealis Award for Children's Long Fiction in 2006

A Fox Called Sorrow: The Legend of Little Fur, awarded the Aurealis Award for Best Children's Novel in 2006

The Stone Key: The Obernewtyn Chronicles, shortlisted for the Aurealis Award for Best Young Adult Novel in 2008

The Red Wind, awarded the Children's Book Council of Australia's Young Readers Book of the Year in 2011 (Younger Readers)

The Cloud Road, shortlisted for the Aurealis Awards for Best Children’s Book in 2013

In 2017, Isobelle is the ACT Writer-in-Residence at the ACT Writers Centre. She is also currently working on PhD at the University of Queensland.

About The Garret

The Garret is committed to accessibility and education. The transcript and interactive show notes of Isobelle's interview are available at www.thegarretpodcast.com/isobelle-carmody.

Bonus episode #2

The Garret interviews writers about the craft of writing. But the literary industry includes more than just writers - editors, publishers, self-publishers, critics and agents all play roles. We publish a bonus episode with a prominent figure in the literary industry once a season. 

Here we interview Mark Rubbo, Managing Director of Readings and the Readings Foundation.

Readings is an independent retailer of books, music and film, and a cornerstone of the Australian literary landscape. In 2016 Readings won the Bookstore of the Year Award at the 2016 London Book Fair, and in 2017 opened its seventh books and mortar store in Melbourne.

In addition to his life's work at Readings, Mark serves on the Board of The Wheeler Centre. He was previously President of the Australian Booksellers Association, Chair of the Australian Book Review Board, and the founding chair of the Melbourne Writers Festival.

Mark received the Australian Book Industry Awards's Lloyd O'Neil​ Award for distinguished service to the Australian publishing industry in 2015. He also received a Medal of the Order of Australia in 2006 'for service to the community through fostering an awareness of Australian literature as a bookseller, literary critic, and promoter and supporter of Australian writers'.

About The Garret

The Garret is committed to accessibility and education. The transcript and interactive show notes of Mark's interview are available at www.thegarretpodcast.com/mark-rubbo.

Christos Tsiolkas is one of Australia's most courageous writers.

He has published five novels, several of which have been adapted for the screen. Loaded (1995) became the movie Head On, and The Slap (2008) was turned into an Australian and U.S. television miniseries after it won the 2009 Commonwealth Writers' Prize, was shortlisted for the 2009 Miles Franklin Literary Award and was longlisted for the 2010 Man Booker Prize.

Christos is also a playwright, essayist, screen writer and film critic. His other published works include his first short story collection Merciless Gods (2014), his reflective essay Tolerance, Prejudice and Fear (1997) for PEN Sydney.

Related episodes:

 

In a continuation of this interview, Christos participated in our first live podcast event. He spoke about the politics of writing and read from his latest work in progress, ‘Damascus’.

Tony Birch talks about The Slap and reflects on the reactions he has seen from students to Christos' writing.

Alice Pung would invite Christos to attend her ideal literary dinner party.

About The Garret

The Garret is committed to accessibility and education. The transcript and interactive show notes of Christos' interview are available at www.thegarretpodcast.com/christos-tsiolkas.