Critic Raelee Lancaster joins Rebecca to discuss the final title in the series, Ellen van Neerven's extraordinary debut book. A collection of interlinking stories that dissolve boundaries and binaries with its depictions of blak queer lives, Heat and Light encourages readers to question their sense of belonging and identity, and has carved out lasting space in the queer literary canon.

Critic Nigel Featherstone joins Rebecca to discuss the iconic gay memoir, Holding the Man. It is the love story of Tim and John, who first met as teenagers at their all-boys Catholic school in Melbourne, and whose lives are torn apart by the AIDS crisis. First published in 1994, the book continues to have a profound impact on countless readers. 

Critic Dzenana Vucic joins Rebecca to discuss The Well, which won Elizabeth Jolley the Miles Franklin Award in 1986, and established her reputation as one of Australia's most celebrated writers. When ageing spinster Hester brings home orphaned teenager Kathy to her remote farm in WA, she develops powerful, obsessive and possessive feelings. One night they accidentally hit and kill a man on the road and hide his body in a well—an event that haunts both of them and threatens to destroy Hester.

Critic Sam Twyford-Moore joins Rebecca to discuss Fairyland. This book is perhaps the most old-fashioned on the list, exploring not only queer awakening but also other social issues. It was Locke Elliott’s final book, where he openly and publicly discussed his queer identity and the loneliness he experienced. The story is primarily set in Sydney from the late 1920s to the 1950s, after which the protagonist, a writer, moves to the US.

Critic and memoirist Sam Elkin joins Rebecca to discuss Danielle Laidley’s unflinching autobiography, Don’t Look Away. A powerful account of a compartmentalised life, this book follows Laidley as she reckons with her gender identity over many decades inside the deeply masculine and heteronormative institution of the AFL. 

Read Sam Elkin's essay, "This Secret Valley", here. Get the best of KYD by joining as a member.

Bestselling novelist and literary critic Madeleine Gray joins Rebecca to discuss Beverley Farmer’s Alone, a lyrical, tender, sad exploration of a young woman’s heartbreak, hopelessness and obsession provoked by the ending of a passionate relationship and rejection by her female lover due to the social stigma of 1950s Melbourne.

Read Madeleine Gray's essay, Lesbians and Palimpsests here. Get the best of KYD by joining as a member.

New series from Kill Your Darlings, Australia’s leading independent literary organisation! Australian literature has a queer history. Join author and KYD publishing director Rebecca Starford as she chats with literary critics about the books that have a profound impact on our understanding of LGBTQIA+ experiences, gender and sexuality in Australia. From classic texts to hidden gems, they revisit these works with fresh eyes and uncover their lasting influence.

Editor’s note: This episode contains discussion of death and grief practices.

Each month we celebrate an Australian debut release of fiction or non-fiction in the Kill Your Darlings First Book Club. For June that debut is The Eulogy by Jackie Bailey (Hardie Grant), an autofiction novel about family, death and grief that was shortlisted for the 2018 KYD Unpublished Manuscript Award.

Our theme song is Broke for Free’s ‘Something Elated’. Sound production by Nial Hosken.

Further reading:

Read Ellen Cregan’s review of The Eulogy in our June Books Roundup.

Read about Jackie’s favourite books and reading habits in this month’s Shelf Reflection.

How To Be Between is available now from your local independent bookseller.

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Each month we celebrate an Australian debut release of fiction or non-fiction in the Kill Your Darlings First Book Club. For May that debut is How To Be Between by Bastian Fox Phelan (Giramondo), a memoir about female facial hair, polycystic ovarian syndrome, and negotiating identity for those visibly between gender binaries.

Our theme song is Broke for Free’s ‘Something Elated’. Sound production by Nial Hosken.

Further reading:

Read Ellen Cregan’s review of How To Be Between in our May Books Roundup.

Read about Bastian’s favourite books and reading habits in this month’s Shelf Reflection.

How To Be Between is available now from your local independent bookseller.

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Each month we celebrate an Australian debut release of fiction or non-fiction in the Kill Your Darlings First Book Club. For April that debut is Hovering by Rhett Davis (Hachette), a powerful and kaleidoscopic story about three people struggling to find connection in a chaotic and impermanent world. Rhett discussed the novel with our First Book Club host Ellen Cregan at a live event at Bargoonga Nganjin, North Fitzroy Library on 7 April.

Our theme song is Broke for Free’s ‘Something Elated’. Sound production by Nial Hosken.

Further reading:

Read Ellen Cregan’s review of Hovering in our April Books Roundup.

Read about Rhett’s favourite books and reading habits in this month’s Shelf Reflection.

Hovering is available now from your local independent bookseller.

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